HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
168 |
TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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requesting the Department of Education to SUPPORT a student exchange program to involve students in THE public schools in Hawaii and students in THE provinces in the Republic of the Philippines WITH WHICH THE STATE HAS STATE-PROVINCE RELATIONSHIPS.
WHEREAS, student exchange programs involving students in Hawaii's schools provide students with the opportunity to learn first-hand the diverse cultures of other countries of the world; and
WHEREAS, these exchanges also foster and sustain good relationships and cultural exchange between foreign countries and the State of Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the student exchange program between the State of Hawaii and the educational system in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, now in its fourteenth year, has demonstrated the benefits and cost-effectiveness of these programs; and
WHEREAS, implementing similar student exchange programs between Hawaii and the provinces in the Republic of the Philippines with which the State has State-Province relationships would provide a more concrete and viable connection between the State and those provinces than a mere paper relationship; and
WHEREAS, the Governors of the provinces in the Republic of the Philippines with which the State has State-Province relationships, especially in the Ilocos Region, have expressed strong interest in developing student exchange programs; and
WHEREAS, the Filipino community in Hawaii has demonstrated its unity and resolve as a growing ethnic group of immense potential and influence in Hawaii; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that this body respectfully requests the Department of Education to support a student exchange program to involve students in the public schools in Hawaii and students in the provinces in the Republic of the Philippines with which the State has State-Province relationships; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body expresses on behalf of itself and the Filipino community of Hawaii, strong support for the planning and implementation of such a project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, the Governors of the Provinces of Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Pangasinan in the Republic of the Philippines, the Filipino Chamber of Commerce, the United Filipino Community Council, the Filipino Coalition for Solidarity, United Pangasinan of Hawaii, Ilocos Surian Association, Ilocos Nortenians of North America, and the Congress of Visayan Organizations.
Report Title:
Student Exchange Programs for Hawaii/Philippine Sister-States