Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  January 1, 2008
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December 13, 2007 In Pictures – Photo Tour IV of Life on Board
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On November 22, Peace Boat participants flocked to the ship’s front deck to watch the transit through the Panama Canal, which took about 13 hours. Because there were many engineering difficulties during the building of the Suez Canal, engineers of the Panama Canal developed a system of locks to lift boats 25 meters to the level of Lake Gatun. The canal remains one of the greatest engineering feats of all time and each year, more than 12,000 ocean-going vessels transit it.
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Cross-dressing Fundraising Event
 The “Miyabi Fundraising Event” was held onboard to raise funds for the Galapagos Re-forestation Project in which Peace Boat participants plant native Galapagos trees in the islands. Miyabi means elegant and refined in Japanese, and that’s just what the 20 men dressed as nubile beauties embodied at the event. Donning their finest borrowed dresses, the men graciously primed and preened and even shaved their legs all in the name of a good cause. After a self-introduction, the ladies joined the throngs for photo sessions and to sip cocktails while trying to encourage tipping, which led to USD773 being raised for the Galapagos Re-forestation Project.
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Rapa Nui Onboard Peace Boat
 When Peace Boat anchored at beautiful Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a troupe of indigenous dancers from the dance group Matatoa came onboard to give participants an unforgettable experience of traditional Rapa Nui culture. Their passionate performance, which was based on legends of creation, showcased not only their significant musical and dancing talent but also their unique identity which has strong Polynesian roots.
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Global Festival – Around the World in 110 Minutes
While sailing between Rapa Nui and Tahiti, participants and volunteer staff put together a festival representing some of the nationalities onboard, such as Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Singapore and the United States. Participants were able to learn about these countries by visiting country booths and joining in cultural activities and games such as a Maori stick game and Singaporean four stones. Taking advantage of the warm Pacific climate, touch rugby, cricket and an egg and spoon race were held on the top deck. Participants were also able to sample both Vegemite and Marmite from the UK as well as sip Chai tea from India.
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AIDS Awareness Day
 On December 1, which marks AIDS Day, Peace Boat staff, volunteer staff and participants put together a series of lectures and workshops to highlight the situation of HIV/AIDS around the world. Supporters wore red ribbons and learnt about the virus through a series of surveys and quizzes, as well as the plight of HIV/AIDS orphans in Thailand, and the different ways in which sex education around the world prepares, or doesn’t prepare people to engage in safe sex. Organizer of the event, Peace Boat’s Ito Masae was motivated to bring the information to the participants because, ‘Japanese people tend to think that HIV/AIDS is something that exists outside of Japan in developing countries. But in fact, Japan is the only developed nation that is showing an increase in the virus, and there is a lack of awareness, knowledge and policy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Japan.’
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Celebrating Human Rights Day
 On December 10, which marks Human Rights Day, participants dressed in black to show solidarity with those around the world who are suffering human rights abuses. Human Rights Day was designated by the United Nations to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the third General Assembly on 10th of December 1948. There were also a series of lectures and workshops onboard which aimed to raise awareness. One activity was a quiz in which participants tested their knowledge of Human Rights, and were surprised to learn that in 2006, Japan accepted only 34 refugees, in stark contrast to Canada which accepted 42,000. Another activity taught about the UDHR and participants were given a list of articles of the declaration and asked to prioritize them by placing them on a pyramid. This sparked lively debate and highlighted how what we view as important is highly subjective.
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World Champion Entertainer – Kim Chang Heng
 Veteran Peace Boat guest Kim Chang Haeng joined Peace Boat from Cuba to Tahiti and brought with him his two passions: entertaining and educating people about the issue of Zainichi (descendents of Korean immigrants) in Japan. As a third generation Zainichi, Mr Kim has faced discrimination both socially by Japanese and politically by the Japanese government. Although Zainichi pay taxes, they cannot vote or work as civil servants. According to Mr Kim, ‘Globalisation in Japan is very superficial. Economic globalization is happening but not cultural globalization. There is still a lot of discrimination, and unless you have an awareness of other people, and can co-exist together peacefully, then globalization cannot be realized.’ In addition to his eye-opening lectures, Mr Kim treated participants to his world-famous show The Panic Art and showed off the skills that won him Entertainer of the Year contests in 2000 and 2004.