Posted on: Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Bytemarks
Hawai'i can learn from Singapore

By Burt Lum

Hawai'i is moving slowly onto the global information landscape. Some may claim that this has been happening for years. Others might say that Hawai'i has the viewpoint of an isolated 50th state and continues to look elsewhere for answers. It all boils down to perspective and trying to see how things fit the big picture.

Here's an example of what I mean: Guam, a U.S. territory with a population the size of Maui's, has much more international travel to Asia and other Pacific islands than does Hawai'i. Partly due to geography, travel has helped broaden Guamanians' view of their island's role on the international stage. A case in point: While many Guam residents vacation in Asia, more Hawai'i folks head to Las Vegas.

Rather circuitously, this brings me to a discussion of a couple of Singapore-based Web sites that recently caught my attention. The first is Partner Singapore (www.partnersingapore.org). I met coordinator Wilson Lim at a recent Asia Productivity Organization meeting held in Hawai'i, where he introduced me to the Partner Singapore concept. This site is sponsored by the Singapore government and functions as a portal for small- to medium-size enterprises interested in partnerships. It is a government-sponsored initiative that drives business interaction with Singapore. I find it quite focused and proactive. Being promoted as far away as Hawai'i is a reflection of Singapore's broad view.

Another site with connections to Singapore is the Asian Conservation Awareness Program (www.acapworldwide.com). I find it interesting in that it brings focus of another sort to the region: on the protection of wildlife and natural resources. Obviously, as Asia continues to industrialize, it is the environment that ultimately suffers.

While these two sites seem diametrical in purpose, the fact they both caught my attention in the course of the same week is an indication of Singapore's promotion of itself on the world stage. It's a global information stage that Hawai'i should play on as well. ;-)

Burt Lum, cyber-citizen and self-anointed tour guide to the Internet, is one click away at burt@brouhaha.net.