Students are also taking part in APEC events through an organization known as "Voices of the Future."
On Tuesday, Kamehameha Schools took center stage for the opening ceremony.
Kamehameha Schools in Kapalama welcomed about 100 delegates from the 21 APEC economies. Although in this case, the delegates are not current world leaders, but students and educators.
While they’re here to learn about world politics and economics, it was just as important to learn about each other’s culture.
"And to take in really as much as we can from all the different people from the different APEC economies so that we can really find a way to cooperate with each other well and to better understand each other," said Leshae Herderson, student delegate from Kamehameha.
Three of the student delegates are from Kamehameha. And for the rest of the week, they will serve as Hawaiian ambassadors.
Visitors say they were quite impressed with the opening ceremony, and call it an eye-opener. For some, it brings home the fact that they share so many things in common.
"Our aboriginal people they are also good at singing and dancing, and about their clothes, their costumes they wear, it’s also pretty colorful," said Chi-Min Lin, a student delegate representing Taiwan.
The events will open their eyes to the controversial side of APEC, because they too are aware that protesters will be present.
"Every story has its two sides and there will always be people who are critical about their leaders, their governments and they have the right to say whatever they want to say," said Jason Gavina, a student delegate representing the Philippines.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
