Hawaiian Volcano Education And Resilience Institute

HVERI's Digital Resilience program builds community resilience against natural disasters by networking community members on trusted social media groups, training social media groups as Digital Resilience Hubs (DRHs) that can be activated in collaboration with Hawaii County Civil Defense and physical Resilience Hubs, and integrating digital literacy and artificial intelligence (AI) training, tools, and strategy into local communities. During 2024, the program produced 2 written manuals as references for the emerging network of Resilience Hubs, on Digital Resilience Hub Operations and on Social Media Moderation In Disasters, while training the first 8 individuals representing 4 prospective DRHs on the social media moderation module. SMMID training includes a half-day seminar, a 2-week moderation mentorship on the Hawaii Tracker Facebook Group with ~136k members at the end of 2024, and a digital simulation based on the 2018 eruption dealing with sharing information sourced from social media - the latter also developed during the year. The DRH framework is built on the successes of the Hawaii Tracker Facebook Group, which HVERI continues to maintain as the flagship DRH, training ecosystem, and proving ground for trainees. Its membership, 63% within Hawaii according to our survey, grew by 17% from 116k to 136k members across 2024. In collaboration with Civil Defense, emergency messaging is amplified across social media through DRHs similar to the role of emergency radio broadcasts, but with the ability for follow-up two-way communication. Together with the first 5 DRHs approaching certification, the combined reach of the full network totals 270k subscribers, an 83% increase over Hawaii Tracker alone. The Digital Resilience program also supported digital communications for physical Resilience Hubs, including communication protocols and backup systems involving Starlink units and portable generators. In addition, HVERI led instructional sessions at the Vibrant Hawaii Resilience Hub Summit (on Hawaii Island) and the Koolau Resilience Hub Network Symposium (on Oahu), with ongoing consultation throughout the year to an estimated total of 150 participants. Following the 2023 presentation series on "Catching the AI Wave" delivered both to the public and to fellow on-island nonprofits, in 2024 HVERI produced a new digital literacy and AI presentation titled "Protecting Yourself In A Digital World" which was delivered online to a live audience of 22 and remains available as a recording (https://youtu.be/cSfM5qDwtb8). A follow-up survey of 9 participants showed a 41% gain in confidence in protecting themselves online, 73% gain in ability to identify fake profiles on social media, 40% gain in recognizing and avoiding deceptive schemes, 61% gain in familiarity with AI models like ChatGPT, 96% gain in familiarity with AI image generators, and a 42% gain in using tools like anti-virus or pop-up blockers to enhance digital security. Finally, in partnership with Hawaii County Civil Defense and VOAD, HVERI assisted in the planning and execution of in-person Preparedness Fairs held in Hilo and Waimea during 2024. HVERI staff during these events split time between event coordination, recording or live streaming presentations from experts, and sharing our own services and support with the public, with an estimated combined in-person attendance of 300.

HVERI's newest program builds community resilience by helping youth develop competence, confidence, connection, character, and compassion as key outcomes to help them overcome severe stress and high-risk conditions. Leaning on the Volcano Education and Digital Resilience programs to provide opportunities, youth are empowered to be involved in decision-making, develop leadership skills, meaningfully engage with community and make real contributions, develop and test new knowledge and practical skills, experience success, develop positive and supportive relationships with adults and peers, and engage with adults around common goals. Over time, facilitators provide supports that create a safe physical and emotional environment for youth with clear appropriate boundaries and guidance, facilitate supportive youth-adult relationships, and engage family, school, and community as partners with youth. They help overcome mistakes, encourage a sense of belonging, build new skills, and enable youth to better their communities. HVERI's Youth Development program was just formalized during 2024 with the board's addition of key language to the nonprofit's mission statement. The "Volcano Outreach Traveling Toolkit" offered up to 8 educational component activities for skill development, to increase public awareness of the science and hazards of volcanoes, and to inspire better preparedness in families and among youth. After development of the toolkit over the first half of 2024, it was deployed at 8 events in East Hawaii starting from June, serving over 500 youth based on event logs, and finding particular success at regional "Science Nights" in collaboration with the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum. Youth could recreate lava flows with corn syrup, examine gas bubbles moving through different viscosity fluids, compare models of strato and shield volcanoes along with elephant toothpaste analogues of their eruptions, induce magma mixing by dropping alka-seltzer into DIY lava lamps, observe crater formation and caldera collapse in a tub of flour with a buried balloon, or use modified stomp-rockets to launch lava bombs at different angles. The components have been initially designed to accomodate a rapid pace of interactions, but they are robust enough to become full classroom lab exercises with development of lesson plans for different age groups in the future. We also maintain a web page with links to free DIY educational activities, preparedness videos, and teaching resources. In association with the University of Hawaii at Hilo in Spring 2024, we hosted our first intern in digital production with support from the Big Island Press Club. The intern's completed project streamlined our production of short video volcano content and made it more accessible to youth, while earning course credit and a small stipend. That same term, we also mentored Computer Science students in software development. Students created the "Aloha AI Watchtower" to compile situation reports using AI from information solicited on social media, which were fact-checked and delivered to Hawaii County Civil Defense to aid their situational awareness in the lead up to potential disasters, such as a hurricane landfall. The project continued beyond the mentorship period as a result of students' interests and volunteer efforts, and has recently been adopted for an upgrade by a new group of students in 2025. The "Youth Resilience Through Place-Based Visual Storytelling Using AI" project began towards the end of 2024 in collaboration with Pohaku Pelemaka. Primarily intended to promote opportunities where youth can develop leadership, creative problem-solving, and collaborative skills, the project also grows cultural and volcano awareness while introducing AI skills. The outreach workshops entail a portable setup with a computer and projector under a canopy, connected by Starlink to the internet. Students are introduced to the mechanics of AI image generation along with a theme, for this project consisting of the volcanic history of the presentation location and Hawaiian cultural references to the place, before being unleashed to create and explore the AI tool and theme. The project continued development through the end of 2024 for deployment in 2025.