DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM (DBEDT)MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FestPAC) MEETINGMONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 AT 2:00 PM
VIA VIRTUAL APPLICATION ZOOM: VIDEO / AUDIO CONFERENCE
Commission Members Present were:
J. Kalani English, Chair
Snowbird Bento
Mehana HindKalani Ka‘anā‘anāDennis Ling-Monte McComber
Richard Onishi-Senate President’s Designee
Community Member At-Large
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Designee
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) Designee
Department of Business, Economic Development
and Tourism (DBEDT)
Governor’s Designee (arrived at 2:11pm)
House Speakerʻs Designee

Jacob Aki
Jackie Burke
Mamika Carroll
Eric Change
Donalyn Dela Cruz
T. Ilihia Gionson
Lynn Martin Graton
Amber Jacroux Bixel
Honey Maltin-Wisot
June Matsumoto
Beverly Mendheim-Senator English’s Office
Kahookele Art
Hawaiʻi State Art Museum
East-West Center
Strategies 360
Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association-Bishop Museum
Strategies 360
Pacific Island Institute (PII)--

Margaret Ahn
Marlene Hiraoka
Jamie Lum
Selma Malcolm
Timothy Tiu-Attorney General
DBEDT
DBEDT
DBEDT
DBEDT-Community Member At-Large
City and County of Honolulu Designee-Guests:

Staff:

Apologies:
Māpuana de Silva
Misty KelaʻiMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
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CALL TO ORDER
Call to order: The meeting was called to order by Chair English on Monday, July 27, 2020, at
2:08 p.m., who welcomed everyone present via Zoom and Facebook.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS
Chair English invited members of the public to testify on any agenda item. The Chair noted thatthe Office of Information Practices (OIP) issued an advisory about inviting the general public tooffer testimony at the start of an agenda item; however, he indicated that he also will invite thepublic to offer comments toward the end of the meeting as well.
Hearing none, he continued with agenda items.
APPROVAL OF JULY 14, 2020 MEETING MINUTES
Minutes of the meeting held on July 14, 2020, were approved with a technical, non-substantive
change (correction to the spelling of Ms. Hind’s name), on a motion by Mr. Ling and seconded
by Rep. Onishi.
A roll call vote was requested with the following Commissioners approving the motion: ChairEnglish, Rep. Onishi, Mr. Ling, Ms. Bento, Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā, and Ms. Hind.
Motion was unanimously approved.
REPORTS
A. DBEDT Report:
Mr. Ling reported that Ms. Lum confirmed with Mr. Rojas of PA`I Foundation that theorganization’s QuickBooks subscription was solely used for FestPAC. Mr. Rojas
indicated that he will be forwarding receipts to DBEDT.
With respect to the audit of the PA`I contract, Mr. Ling reported that DBEDT received alisting of CPA firms that have been approved for professional services by the State
Procurement Office (SPO). Once the scope of services is drafted, DBEDT will issue arequest for quote from firms on this list.
B. Commissioners Report:
Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā stood on his report provided by Strategies 360 (S360) and included in theCommissioners’ packets. He also thanked Ms. Bento for providing content for the nextsocial media post. Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā said in order to keep pushing out content about theFestival, S360 intends to post a piece on social media every Friday. He would like toMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
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feature each of the Commissioners and asked if members could submit a short write-up,suggesting it could be a reflection from a past Festival or vision for the future ofFestPAC. Chair English lent his support to the request and thanked Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā andMs. Bento for kicking off this effort.
Mr. McComber reported that he spoke with Ms. Heather Giugni who is the Collections
Specialist/Producer for the ʻUluʻulu Moving Image Archive at the University of Hawaiʻi– West Oahu. He expressed Ms. Giugni’s excitement about the possibility ofdocumenting how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting Hawaiʻi and other Pacific nations
as well as the 13th FestPAC. With respect to a tentative budget, she stated that a project
like this would be in the ballpark of $300,000. There might be a possibility of securing$100,000 from the Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC) and more funders if thisproject gains momentum. Mr. McComber asked what the Commission’s thoughts wereregarding this matter.
Chair English commented that he is not surprised by the dollar amount of the tentative
budget, and he knows that ʻUluʻulu’s productions are high quality. He asked
Commissioners for their thoughts about approaching the Pacific Community (SPC) about
funding a portion of this project since it would cover the Pacific region and also help
document SPC’s programs. He suggested that the Commission approach SPC with aproposal.
Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā asked whether the $300,000 included travel expenses. Initially, since thefirst phase will be Hawaiʻi focused, costs of interisland travel should be considered.
There are opportunities for ʻUluʻulu to be the depository; however, if they will befocusing on documenting the greater Pacific, they would need to seek additional funding
sources.
Ms. Bento asked whether this effort could be a joint project with other Pacific Islands,
especially if SPC is not able to provide funding support. The Commission could ask theother Pacific Islands if they are thinking along the same lines as Hawaiʻi regarding theimportance of documenting the Festival as well as activities leading up to the Festival.
These efforts could culminate at the Festival, highlighting the various visions for thefuture of the people of the Pacific.
Mr. McComber indicated that he believes PIC would join this effort and supportʻUluʻulu. He commented that ʻUluʻulu has the hardware and that PIC could assist withfunding and facilitation of the project.
Chair English suggested that this idea be presented at the next Pacific-wide Talanoa thatmeets every Thursday. The last few meetings have included some high-level ministers
from various Pacific island nations, such as Mr. Aupito Tofae Suʻa William Sio, Ministerof Pacific Peoples in New Zealand. These ministers might be able to assist by directing
existing resources to this project. With the Commission’s permission, the Chair said heMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
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will request that this project be put on the agenda for a Talanoa in the near future. Aquestion was raised whether the Hawaiʻi Film Office might have funds available. Mr.
Ling indicated that the office is part of the Creative Industries Division at DBEDT and hewas not aware whether funding is available.
Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā suggested that the Commission may also be able to partner withUniversity of Hawaiʻi’s Center for Biographical Research and the Oral History Library.
Mr. McComber concurred that the idea was worth exploring. Chair English expressedthat it is great for Mr. McComber to be pursuing these opportunities and that theCommission has four years to plan and produce the documentary. This is important, as
the Festival is at a pivotal point, being the first time a hybrid versus traditional Festivalwill be presented. Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā stated that documenting the Festival itself, regardlessof Covid, is a worthy idea.
Ms. Bento informed Commissioners that she is looking into developing a mock-up of thedaily programming during the Festival. She would like to include highlights as well as a
10-day spectrum of the overall event. Ms. Bento hopes to provide a draft before the next
Commission meeting. She will be circling back to her initial points of contact for thosevenues and groups who had committed to participating this year in an effort to keep
everyone engaged and make sure they know the Festival will be in 2024.
Chair English thanked Ms. Bento. He suggested in an effort to keep FestPAC onpeople’s radar leading up to 2024 that the Commission consider using the City’s bus
pass/bus posters to promote the event. Perhaps over the next four years, a FestPAC bus
pass could be created for the month of June. He recalled that Ms. Kelaʻi said if it is done
as a community service, there should be no charge. Chair English said Ms. Kelaʻi should
be consulted regarding this idea.
Ms. Bento asked about the frequency of a newsletter. Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā reported that theywill be done quarterly and then monthly as the Festival gets closer. Ms. Bento indicatedthat the newsletters will be a great way to assist with disseminating information. She isthinking that instead of sending one large packet to the different countries containing
information about all the activities, the packets can be broken up into smaller groups ofactivities. The packets can be timed with the release of information through thenewsletters. This will help get a better handle on planning.
Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā suggested that Ms. Bento discuss these matters with Ms. de Silva. Ms.
Bento confirmed that she and Ms. de Silva have been in touch.
NEW BUSINESS
Chair English opened up the discussion about the theme of the Festival by sharing his thoughts.
The Chair expressed that with the pandemic there is a lot of shifting of thoughts and ideas within
the Pacific. He stressed that the Commission be aware of the feelings of the region andMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
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determine what is important and what is relevant. He considers resiliency, climate change,
health, safety and welfare, food production and security, and cultural resiliency and global
connection are all important themes to consider. Chair English expressed that, personally, hewondered how to countries can remain resilient in the Pacific and how island cultures andcountries can maintain their resiliency.
Chair English invited the Commissioners to give their input. Mr. Ka‘anā‘anā agreed that
resiliency should be part of the theme; however, he needs more time to think about it. He
suggested the Commissioners have a retreat to have a discussion about the theme.
Mr.Ka‘anā‘anā offered the use of one of the meeting rooms at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center
since they are equipped to conduct temperature screening, have the capability to social distanceand that there’s availability of parking.
Chair English agreed that conducting a retreat is a good idea. He also appreciated the use of theConvention Center. The Chair suggested that a half-day or full-day retreat be considered inorder to determine how the Commission should move forward and identify key issues ahead.
Mr. McComber also agreed that having a retreat is a good idea. Chair English asked DBEDT
staff and Mr. Aki to find an appropriate day to schedule this retreat.
For the record, all Commissioners agreed to move forward and plan to schedule a retreat. Mr.
Ling asked when the retreat would be scheduled. Chair English suggested it be scheduled inearly September.

PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Chair English invited anyone from the public to offer comments. He asked for their name andorganization they are representing. Hearing none, discussion was held regarding the next
meeting date.

NEXT MEETINGThe next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 1:00 pm.

CLOSING REMARKS
Chair English requested that during the next two weeks, Commissioners think about ideal themesthat would be meaningful and have value to everyone in the Pacific. He offered thoughts on howcultures can be perpetuated along with modernization and how those two ideals could beconnected. Once a theme is decided upon, the Commission can pursue the development of a newlogo. He believes that the sooner these decisions can be made, the better it will be for the region
and participating countries.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
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Chair English expressed thanks to everyone for attending the meeting.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:43 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

August 10, 2020
Senator J. Kalani English
ChairDateAugust 7, 2020
TO:
FR:
RE:

Dennis Ling, DBEDT
Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā, Commissioner
S360
FestPAC Hawaiʻi Website & Social MediaThis memo provides a brief overview of work performed from July 24-August 7, 2020. It details theproject deliverables and next steps.

OVERVIEW
S360 has continuously maintained and updated the FestPAC website and social media pages as Hawaiʻimoves ahead with planning for the 2024 festival. We continue to monitor media and website inquiries andpost on FestPAC’s social media platforms, as approved.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES••••

Website: Continue to monitor email inquiries and submissions from website email. Usage up
40% in the last month: 2.1K page views, 947 new users
Social media posts across all platforms as approved by designated FESTPAC Hawaiʻi.
o Facebook continues to be the dominant platform. Page views, reach, engagement,
followers are all up in the last 7 days.
o Post regarding Kumu Snowbird (7/31/20) getting a lot of positive feedback and shareso Instagram now has 525 followers
Respond or redirect inquiries via social media, as directed.
Monitored social media and media for festival-related posts.

ONGOING COMMUNICATION•••

Continuing communication with designated FESTPAC Hawaiʻi Commission supervisor.
As discussed at the last Commission meeting, we will be sharing content from eachCommissioner regarding their FestPAC experiences and/or their hopes and goals for FestPAC
Hawaiʻi. Next feature will be posted on website and on social on 8/14/20 with the hopes of a post
every other Friday after that.
Per Commissioner Kaʻanāʻanā, we have been added as administrators on the 13th Festival ofPacific Arts & Culture FB page. Awaiting guidance on how to proceed, or whether we hide it for
now to eliminate confusion.

• 851 FORT STREET MALL, SUITE 500 • HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I 96813 • (808) 524-1100

2|Page

WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS••••

Festpachawaii.org has seen a 155% increase in users in the last seven days. The number ofsessions is up 105%.
In the last 28 days, the officials FestPAC Hawaiʻi Facebook page has reached nearly 13K people.
It has 55 new followers. Engagement and page views are up, as well.
Twitter: In the last 28 days, the number of tweets, impressions, and followers increased.
Instagram: FestPAC Hawaiʻi has 510 followers.

NEXT STEPS•••••Continued content strategy planning with Commissioner Kaʻanāʻanā.
Await approval on posting of feature with link to website.
Continue to monitor website and social media pages.
Continue scheduled posts on social media, as advised.
Continue to compile assets for FESTPAC Hawaiʻi promotion on social media.

• 851 FORT STREET MALL, SUITE 500 • HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I 96813 • (808) 524-1100