About

The Hawai‘i People’s Congress is gathering community leaders, organizations, and movements from across Hawai‘i who want to work together to build a more just, fair and healthy future.  There are so many good people working on important issues, from protecting our natural resources for future generations, to issues of homelessness, economic injustice, education and equal rights.  We believe that if we come together to identify the barriers we face in common and illuminate the root causes of injustice we all face, that we (and our work) can be more powerful and effective.  

The theme of this 2019 People’s Congress event in Honolulu, on November 23rd is: Towards a "Just Transition” moving away from extractive economies, looking at ideas in the Green New Deal, how they might be informed by Aloha ʻĀina, and what Hawaiʻi's homegrown approach might look like to address interconnected climate and inequality crises.

Why now for Hawai‘i?

Hawai‘i residents are facing many crucial and interconnected challenges: a high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, historic wealth inequality, an education system in crisis, and the 6th highest rate of poverty in the United States.  And Hawai‘i’s lands and waters are also facing serious threats: Hawai‘i is the endangered species capital of the world, and is especially susceptible to the effects of climate change.  As we import roughly 80% of the islands’ food, issues of drought and control over agricultural lands become urgent. The state’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerabilty and Adaptation Report projects 3-6’ of sea level rise within the next 50 years leaving many of our coastal towns and infrastructure underwater.

But there is hope.  There are so many good people in Hawai‘i working on solutions to these challenges we face.  The Hawai‘i People’s Congress is a way that we can come together across our issue areas, focus on the root causes of these problems, and be more powerful and effective — together.  Learn more!