UH Manoa Campus Center Ballroom
& Locally on Neighbor Islands
Saturday, November 14, 2009
1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Punahou and Lahainaluna vie for 1st place at PAAC’s Chevron Academic WorldQuest Competition
PAAC Celebrates Hawaii International Education Week

The tension was thick as teams from Lahainaluna High School and Punahou School competed in the Tie Breaker Round. At stake was a spot in the National WorldQuest Competition in Washington, DC, in April 2010- the grand prize provided by title sponsor Chevron, USA. When the tie breaker resulted in another tie, the teams went into a sudden death round, Punahou emerging victorious.

Four sites on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island were linked via teleconference to allow 65 teams from 26 schools to compete simultaneously. Students answered questions in six rounds, covering topics such as current events, women in leadership, pandemics, and the Six-Party Talks. The emcee, East-West Center Diplomat in Residence Leslie Tsou, commended the students’ participation and stressed the importance of international awareness. A team from Punahou finished in 3rd place, followed by a team from UH Lab School.

Students shared:
“We live in an inter-connected world so we should care about issues, even if they do not appear to impact our lives.”
“I want to learn more about what is happening around the world, and it’s very interesting.”
“This competition fills an important niche in high school academic competitions. There aren’t many other geography/international issues competitions around.”
“WorldQuest is awesome. I think it’s important for students to be aware of international issues.”

Test Your International IQ!
1. Africa’s first elected female head of state is President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of:
A. Algeria.
B. Liberia.
C. Mali.
D. Zimbabwe.

2. Which of the parties in the Six-Party Talks is North Korea’s main trade partner and host country of the negotiations?
A. China
B. Japan
C. South Korea
D. Russia

Mahalo:
Title Sponsor- Chevron, USA

Event Sponsors
Department of Education
Department of Educational Foundations at UH Manoa
Freeman Foundation
Friends of Hawaii Charities
McInerny Foundation
Na Lei Aloha Foundation
Radford Learning Center
Prize Sponsors
Big City Diner
Consolidated Theaters
Glow Putt Mini Golf
Zippy’s Restaurants

Answers: 1. B, 2. A

Please contact Natasha Chappel, High School Program Director at hs@paachawaii.org or (808) 944-7759 for more information about the Hawaii competition.

For information on the National WorldQuest Competition, please visit worldaffairscouncils.org or read more in the National & Local Competition Report.