Gov. Linda Lingle and the president of the East-West Center will join with nearly 500 scholars, officials, educators and business leaders in Bali Nov. 13 through 15 for an international conference whose theme is "Building an Asia Pacific Community: Unity in Diversity."

Conference sessions will cover current regional issues, including international relations, security, democracy and Islam, global warming, volunteerism, gender issues, innovation, health, business, and social and cultural issues.

Among the featured speakers will be the new governor of Bali; Indonesia's ministers of trade, people's welfare and women's empowerment; the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia; and business leaders.

The conference is being jointly held by the East-West Center, an internationally recognized education and research institution, and the East-West Center Association, the organization that represents the Center's 55,000 alumni throughout Asia, the Pacific and the U.S., many of whom now serve in positions of responsibility and in their respective fields.

The Indonesian chapter of the Association is helping support the conference. Some 2,570 Indonesian scholars, researchers and professionals in business, government, journalism and the arts have participated in East-West Center cooperative programs since the Center was established in 1960.

For more information or to register online, visit www.eastwestcenter.org/bali2008.