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The Aloha Peace Forum 2006, "Dialogues for Peace -- Youth Voices of the Future," begins with a small film festival Wednesday and Thursday, then continues with this weekend's celebration of the Earth Charter.

Hosting the forum will be actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who will present the overall theme and share his work with children and youth as it relates to the charter.

The charter document, initiated by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 and finalized in March 2000, has won 2,400 endorsements representing millions of people, including several national and international associations and institutions such as UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the World Conservation Union.

The charter's preamble states that humanity "must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace."

The Peace Forum is being held in conjunction with the state's Children & Youth month running throughout October. Speakers include Ramsay Taum, co-facilitator of Sustain Hawaii; documentary filmmaker Edgy Lee; and local celebrity Kutmaster Spaz.

Afternoon workshops on Saturday and Sunday will be based on the four Earth Charter principles: respect for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence and peace.

Both the film festival and the forum will be held at the Soka Gakkai International-USA Culture Center, 2729 Pali Highway. Admission is free.

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THE FILM FESTIVAL, starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, comprises three films, two of which are from local historical documentarian Tom Coffman:

"The First Battle: The Battle for Equality in Wartime Hawaii": Coffman's take on an unfamiliar episode in Hawaii's history tells the story of the 1939 Council for Interracial Unity, an organization that sought to forestall the massive internment of Hawaii's Japanese Americans before the outbreak of World War II.

"A Quiet Revolution": Oscar winner Meryl Streep, narrated by real-life examples of individuals and groups turning around potential environmental disaster through grass-roots efforts in their communities.

"May Earth Live": Coffman's other documentary is a journey through the ancient forests of Hawaii. It tells how these forests evolved in geographic isolation over millions of years, how they've been altered and in many cases destroyed by man, and how Herculean efforts to save them compete with the syndrome of extinction.

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REGISTRATION for the Saturday and Sunday forums begin at 8:30 a.m. Highlights:

Saturday: "A Cultural Approach to Sustainability," with Ramsay Taum, 10:15 a.m.; and "Hawaii 2050 and How You Can Make a Difference," with state Rep. Lyla Berg, 11:40 a.m. (repeats Sunday)

Sunday: "Works of Substance -- Sustainable Art," with Edgy Lee, 10:15 a.m.; "A Human Rights Approach to Protect the Islands of the Pacific," with Kutmaster Spaz and Ben Namakin from the Republic of Kiribati, 3 p.m.

For more information, visit www.unahawaii.org.