Artists, community leaders, educators and government officials were among the 600 attending the event at the SGI-USA Hawaii Culture Center. Distinguished guests included Hawaii State Representatives Tom Brower and Corinne Ching; Hattie Phillips, director of Punahou School’s Hawaiian Studies Department; Loretta Yajima, president of Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center’s Board of Directors; Randall Roth, co-author of Broken Trust; Dr. Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta; and Diane Lansberg from Miami-based Non-violence Project.
 

Among the evening’s highlights was a reading of ICAP co-president Herbie Hancock’s congratulatory message to the people of Hawaii for this significant event.

Andrea Kobayashi, a student at Punahou School, President Barack Obama’s alma mater, read her contest-winning peace essay to a thunderous ovation. Andrea was the winner of this year’s annual contest sponsored by Hawaii State Representative Lyla Berg for the purpose of Hawaii’s future leaders.

The previous day, Dr. Lawrence Carter served as inaugural speaker for a lecture series at Punahou School. In his address, titled “Affirming the Dignity of All,” he emphasized the importance of empathy and encouraged the audience to make daily efforts to grow, develop and contribute to society as peacemakers.

ICAP member and Hollywood actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje served as master of ceremonies for the evening concert, which was highlighted by a magnificent performance by flautist and Latin Grammy Award winner Nestor Torres. Nestor’s set included music from his recent Grammy-nominated album Nouveau Latino, and he was backed by a band consisting of Reiner Guerra on drums, David Goodwin on bass, Jose Gregorio Hernandez on percussion, and Jorge Luis Sosa on keyboards

The next day, local youth along with Nestor and his band came together for a spectacular jam session. The unity of musicians across a wide spectrum of ages delighted a standing-room only crowd that had once again filled the auditorium.

After the concert, Nestor took time to engage the youth in dialogue, filling them with hope and confidence toward achieving their infinite potential.