OHA's Community Consultation Network aims to help you, your family, friends and community answer the question, "What steps should we take as we build our nation?" - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom

E ho'omaka kākou – Let us begin!

CCN: The Community Consultation Network

By Nara Cardenas / OHA Community Outreach Specialist

After taking the first step by registering in Kau Inoa, Hawaiians often ask, "So what's next?" Now that more than 100,000 of you have placed your names, we are asking for your mana'o. What steps do you think we should take as we build our nation?

The Community Consulta-
tion Network uses video conferencing to connect the Office of Hawaiian Affairs with beneficiaries near and far to understand the will of the people. Why video conference? Because our people are widely dispersed, with family residing across the North American continent and around the globe. These are hard economic times and the cost of travel is rising. We must be resourceful and use modern technology to our advantage.

Video conferencing is only a part of the Community Consultation Network, which coordinates the video conferences with media such as our Ka Wai Ola newspaper, our Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino radio show, our Ho'oulu Lāhui Aloha community television show, the midmonth e-newspaper Ka Wai Ola Loa: www.oha.org/kwo/loa, our web site: www.oha.org, the bimonthly Ho'oulu Lāhui Aloha newsletter, and the web-based television network Pacific Network TV: http://pacificnetwork.tv.

OHA loans equipment to groups who want to host a video conference, and OHA's IT staff assists with setup by phone. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection. OHA staff will facilitate the discussion. Written notes and a recording of the session will be made available online for you and your guests.

The event can take place in your home, at your office or at a community meeting hall. The idea is to have the meeting in a private location, where your guests feel free to candidly tell us what is on their minds. CCN is ideally suited for smaller groups of about a dozen or less. Each meeting will last about an hour. The meeting starts with a short video presentation of the history of the movement, after which the facilitator will begin the discussion of where we are and ask for your mana'o about where we hope to be.

Get your family together to voice your opinions. Invite your co-workers to share the lunchroom conversation with us. Take an hour with your hālau hula, your kanikapila crew, your bowling league or your canoe club and let us know what you would like to see ahead. If you've ever said, "You know what they should do…?" – host a meeting and tell us through the CCN!

How do I sign up? Contact us at 808-594-1759 or hla@oha.org. We'll be happy to provide you with more information or get you started with everything you need for your own CCN event.