Many remote Pacific communities lack reliable Internet access, which has prevented participation in the global digital economy. Today, we share some work updates that Google has done to close the digital gap in Hawaii and Pacific region.
Translation of Language and Connection of Society in the Pacific Ocean
This month, Hawaiian Language Month, or Mahina ʻōlelo Hawaii in Hawaii, is a time when people are celebrating Hawaii languages and its contribution to the world. Last year we brought seven Pacific Island languages (Chamorro, Chuukese, Fijian, Marshallese, Tahitian, Tok Pisin and Tongan) to Google Translate in our biggest extension of language to date. This milestone built on Hawaiian, Maori and Samoan’s existing accessibility on Translate, which now includes nearly 250 languages. We continue on our mission to support 1,000 of the world’s most spoken languages thanks to our work in AI.
Google Translate’s language expansion complements the Pacific Connect initiative, which we introduced in 2023 to deliver new international submarines to Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Tuvalu and many more across Pacific – of digital connection in the region.
To give Hawaii -Beboers AI and Workspower Development Programs
To help Hawaii build skills in high growth, sought-after fields, we have launched a new partnership with the University of Hawaii System to offer Google Career Certificates, Google AI Essentials and access to the Gemini app for students across all 10 campuses.
Google career certificates are online, self-pace training in fields such as cyber security, data analysis and it supports to help give students the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market and fill out after-demand job. The University of Hawai’i students also have access to Google AI Essentials -an online course that teaches basic AI skills, best practice and how to use AI responsible.
Students participating in the Google Career Certificate program have access to the Google Employer Consortium by more than 150 companies-including Deloitte, Ford, T-Mobile, Verizon, Wells Fargo and Google- There undertake to consider candidates for Google Career Certificate for relevant jobs. More than 350,000 people graduated from the Google Career Certificate program in the United States, and more than 70% of candidates report positive career results (eg a new job, promotion or withdrawal) within a six -month certificate ending.
When students develop their AI skills, we will also make sure they have access to AI tools to get AI to work for them. For students and teachers at the University of Hawaii System, we recently collaborated with the university to give access to the Gemini app with improved security and privacy for educational institutions. This can help support student learning with tailor -made practice materials or real -time brainstorming and helping teachers with time -consuming assignments from creating lesson plans to writing suggestions.
This is based on Google’s efforts with 30 organizations in the state to provide more than 46,000 Hawaii residents with digital skills training. Aloha ‘OE!