Just days after Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the 17th Annual University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability is putting a spotlight on recovery and resilience across the Marianas.

Tuesday saw Day 2 of the conference, where leaders are focusing on recovery, resilience, and the future of island communities. Building on the theme "Illuminating the Path to Prosperity," CIS director Dr. Austin Shelton shared a poem, reciting, "The theme is illuminating the path to prosperity. So he has a couple of really great lines in her like prosperity has been with our people for generations. Our elders used words for abundance that didn’t mean taking for wealth. Abundance that only increased when shared among many hands. The path forward glows with island wisdom."

Dr. Shelton shared says organizers even considered delaying parts of the conference due to Typhoon Sinlaku, but despite those concerns, the turnout remained strong. He recalled, "We were going to take part of our conference over to Saipan this week originally and I said, 'President Galvin De Leon Guerrero are we going to, what should we do? Should we postpone? How can we help with what we’re doing, we’re struggling here in Guam, but we know you’re struggling more there in Saipan and in Tinian. What should we do?' And he stopped me and said, 'Austin, now is not the time to stand down, this is the time to stand up, this is what you're conference is about.' The sustainable future is a resilient future and its all about the recovery in times like this."

After the conference, KUAM News caught up with Dr. Shelton to learn more about what the conference is about and what this means for Guam. "It's really about building the future after a disaster, building a future that we want to see. So what we try to promote in the concepts of sustainable development is the sustainable prosperous in the near future. Sustainability is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations, which means we want to live on our island like we intend to stay here," he explained.

Executive director Dr. Miriam Goldstein provides heartfelt words to those at CNMI who were affected by Typhoon Sinlaku, and also spoke about federal processing. "First of all, I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to CNMI under their extremely difficult situation...President Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 , about a year ago that fast tracked deep sea mining, both in international waters, right not that is not very near CNMI or Guam, but also US federal waters and that is the areas they're contemplating to the east and the west of CNMI and the federal waters and that is moving quickly forward."

"And now they have said they are going to issue leases in the fall of 2026, so there will be further public comment, opportunities, but its been very clear that this issue is a priority of this administration and that they have not been very open to input about the people who are close to this lack of desire to move forward."

The conference continues through the week, organizers say conversations like these are key to helping island communities better prepare for future challenges.