How Google is helping to close the digital divide in Hawaii and the Pacific
Many remote Pacific communities lack reliable internet access, which has hindered participation in the global digital economy. Today we’re sharing some updates on work Google has been doing to close the digital divide in Hawaii and the Pacific region.
Translating languages and connecting communities in the Pacific
This month is Hawaiian Language Month, or Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in Hawaii, a time when people celebrate Hawaiian language and its contributions 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 largest expansion of languages to date. This milestone built on Hawaiian, Maori and Samoan’s existing availability 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 subsea cables to Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Tuvalu and many more locations across the Pacific — furthering the reach, reliability and resilience of digital connectivity in the region.
Providing Hawaii residents with AI and workforce development programs
To help Hawaii build skills in high-growth, in-demand fields, we’ve launched a new partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi System to offer Google Career Certificates, Google AI Essentials, and access to the Gemini app to students across all 10 campuses.
Google Career Certificates are online, self-paced training in fields like cybersecurity, data analytics and IT support to help provide students with the skills they need to succeed in today's job market and fill in-demand jobs. University of Hawai’i students will also have access to Google AI Essentials — an online course that teaches foundational AI skills, best practices and how to use AI responsibly.
Students who participate in the Google Career Certificate program have access to the Google Employer Consortium of more than 150 companies — including Deloitte, Ford, T-Mobile, Verizon, Wells Fargo and Google — that commit to considering Google Career Certificate graduates for relevant jobs. More than 350,000 people have graduated from the Google Career Certificate program in the U.S. and more than 70% of graduates report positive career outcomes (e.g. a new job, promotion, or raise) within six months of certificate completion.
As students develop their AI skills, we also want to make sure they have access to AI tools to make AI work for them. For students and educators in the University of Hawaiʻi system, we recently partnered with the university to provide access to the Gemini app with enhanced security and privacy for education institutions. This can help support student learning with tailored practice materials or real-time brainstorming and help educators with time-consuming tasks from creating lesson plans to writing proposals.
This builds on Google’s efforts with 30 organizations in the state to provide more than 46,000 Hawaii residents with digital skills training. Aloha 'oe!
