On August 9, 2018, Hawaii state senator, Les Ihara, Jr., has announced the launch of the Civic Square (aka The Whole): A Sacred Civic Space to Live Aloha.

You can read more about the Civic Square in Civic Square Manifesto.

The following are excerpts from the three-page Civic Square Manifesto:

Civic Square is a sacred civic space in the public square. Civic Square is a safe space for people to share their civic aspirations, values, and practices with each other. Civic Square is a network of civic-minded people who practice a community ethic of living Aloha, as defined in Hawai'i law, §HRS 5-7.5. We are a learning community interested in civic acts of courage, community, collaboration, and networked markets...

Civic Square is a non-partisan, private nonprofit organization. Its mission is to create and share global narratives in the community and on CivicSquare808 social media platforms. Civic Square will share its narrative and platform at meet-ups and events initiated by participants, including at group meetings and school classes. Civic Square supports the aspiration of a citizen-centered democracy, and proposes the civic leader as an archetype for humanity...

Civic Square seeks to establish online networking as a regular and normal practice among people who collaborate for civic purposes. Civic values live in relationship, so people in CivicSquare808 are encouraged to participate in pairs or groups. Joint civic efforts express values that appear on Civic Square's radar as the civic acts of those relationships. Our self-organizing principles mean that participants collaborate to decide the interests and projects they want to pursue...

Civic Square is a sacred civic space in the public square. We invite people to honor civic values in their life, and share stories of living Aloha. Learn more about us and how to participate at www.facebook.com/civicsquare808 and on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Vimeo. We can also be contacted by email at civicsquare808@gmail.com.

Civic Square was created in May 2018 by Les Ihara, Jr., in partnership with Russell Ruderman. Civic Square's nonprofit corporation is registered with the Hawaii State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.