Posted on: Thursday, September 18, 2003

EDITORIAL
Conferences show off Hawai'i's serious side

Until there are more direct flights between the Islands and Asia, particularly China, Hawai'i will be slow to evolve into Gov. John Burns' vision of a "Geneva of the Pacific." Yet despite our isolation, we haven't been too shabby lately at attracting national and international conferences.

In November, Honolulu will play host to the inaugural Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit & Exposition at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will attend along with such security experts as Pacific commander Adm. Tom Fargo and former CIA director James Woolsey.

As home to the East-West Center and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu has an impressive roster of experts to trot out.

As for commerce, some 3,000 U.S. bankers are headed to the Big Island Saturday for the annual convention of the American Bankers Association. The conference at the Hilton Waikoloa Village includes sessions on such hot issues as money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Here's a chance to impress upon our influential visitors that Hawai'i has a lot more to contribute nationally and globally than surf and sun. Now, if we can just find a way to make it easier to get here, we can really become a gathering place for Pacific Rim leaders.