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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE October 7, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| September 23, 2007 |
Departure of the 59th Global Voyage |
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he dazzling lights of Yokohama added to the festive atmosphere as Peace Boat got ready to depart on its 110 day voyage around the world. |
As day turned to dusk and summer changed to fall, hundreds of family and friends bid farewell to the 59th Peace Boat voyage on September 23, 2007. As the ship inched away from Yokohama port and the city’s glowing skyline, both well-wishers and participants joyously waved their lit cell phones instead of throwing the traditional streamers in the dark. The excitement was palpable as the 1,100 passengers onboard cheered the beginning of Peace Boat’s longest and biggest voyage yet. While the majority of participants are young adults and retirees, the youngest passenger is the tender age of six and the oldest is 89. In addition to the participants from all over Japan, 21 countries are represented as part of Peace Boat staff, volunteer language teachers, and 'communication coordinators' (interpreters), and scholarship students. |
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Cruise Director Inoue Nao, who has been on more than ten voyages, shares his enthusiasm with over 1,000 participants on the 59th voyage. |
Inoue Nao, the charismatic Director of this voyage and veteran Taiko (traditional Japanese drum) musician, welcomed participants by sharing the simple thought that peace begins by meeting and connecting with people and opening up to those who challenge and question our beliefs. The Master of TSS the Topaz, Captain Konstantinos Christoforidos, also addressed the crowd for the exciting Bon Voyage. He welcomed participants with a toast to safe sailing and a hearty ‘Sayonara!’ (goodbye) to the hoards of people onshore waving farewell. |
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Participant Yuzawa Hiroyuki shares some champagne with Global English and Espanol Training (GET) teacher Adriana Gelover from Mexico (right) and GET teacher Carolyn Proud from Australia (left) whose birthday fell on the same day as departure. |
The 110 day voyage will take participants through both the Suez and Panama Canals, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Latin America and through the Pacific back to Yokohama on January 10, 2008. The voyage will visit a total of 22 ports in 21 countries on its journey to promote peace, human rights, respect for the environment and people to people exchanges around the world. The overarching theme for this voyage is “Imagine.” According to Ken Rhodes, International Director for the 59th voyage, the inspiration for this theme rose from the notion that it is difficult to really understand what it is like to live in many of the developing countries Peace Boat will visit. Due to a lack of interest, understanding and narrow media coverage, those from industrialized nations have a very limited idea of what life is like amidst poverty. ‘Through using our imaginations, we can really begin to understand how these people live, and we can begin to feel compassion towards them. We can also use our imaginations to begin to create solutions to some of the issues we encounter on the voyage,’ he commented.
Onboard, special attention will be given to the situation in Palestine and the Middle East, and a visit to Jordan will allow participants to experience firsthand the situation of Palestinian refugees there. Agriculture and Sustainable Society is another area that will be discussed in depth as we head to Cuba. Through the Pacific,the focus will shift to Indigenous Rights and Nuclear issues, with an emphasis on promoting Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces war as a means of settling international disputes.
The ship will also host an array of international Guest Educators – including academics, activists, NGO workers, photojournalists, researchers and artists – each of whom will lead events and lectures that explore peace and sustainability issues in the countries we visit. Through their presentations, these educators, who come from countries all over the world, including Japan, Viet Nam, Palestine, Peru, Ecuador, Cuba, Tahiti and New Zealand, give an opportunity to raise awareness and learn from each other as well as to experience and celebrate the various cultures and traditions we encounter. |
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| University Students from South Korea, who are part of a collaboration between Peace Boat and Korean NGO Green Foundation get excited about the adventure ahead. |
Cultural exchange is a key component of Peace Boat and as part of the Peace & Green Scholarship Project, six Korean scholars will join this voyage as participants in a special programme focusing on environmental and conflict issues. For part of the voyage, German university students will also join in order to both participate in onboard programmes as well as run workshops and lectures for other participants to promote international understanding and awareness, themes central to Peace Boat’s mission. |
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