East-West Center Leadership Program

We are excited to welcome the participants of the 2025-2026 Indo-Pacific Futures Fellowship to Honolulu. The cohort of 16 fellows from 13 countries brings with them vision of communities from across the region. Over the next year, they will work together on the urgent challenges of ensuring that food and energy systems are resilient and adaptable; build lasting connections; and imagine new futures together.

Presented by the East-West Center and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design), the fellowship supports rising leaders from across the Indo-Pacific.

As the 2024–2025 Indo-Pacific Futures Fellowship wrapped its first year in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, fellows reunited in person to explore how communities can build systems that sustain both people and planet.

The week was grounded in powerful experiences—beginning with warm welcomes into Indigenous Māori spaces and local marae, where we connected with the deep meaning of place, ceremony, and community. Site visits to the Capital Kiwi Project, Zealandia’s groundbreaking ecosystem restoration, Victoria University’s “Living Building,” Wellington City Mission, and thought-provoking panel discussions challenged us to reimagine leadership, belonging, and intergenerational resilience. These moments were further enriched by hands-on workshops that offered space for reflection, peer learning, and actionable insight.

With support from Alec Wagner of the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa's Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation (OIKI), we close out this fellowship year with immense gratitude to the people and places of Wellington for sharing their wisdom, hospitality, and heart.

The Indo-Pacific Futures Fellowship—an initiative of the East-West Center and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation—brings together changemakers across sectors to co-create solutions that promote long-term sustainability and equitable access to essential resources across the region.