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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE January 21, 2008
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| January 12, 2008 |
A Smooth Departure Despite Stormy Skies |
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| Family and friends came from all parts of Japan to bid farewell to participants of the 60th Global Voyage for Peace |
Undaunted by the cold wind and steady rain, friends and family lined the terrace of Osanbashi Port in Yokohama, Japan, to send off the Peace Boat’s 60th Global Voyage on January 12, 2008. Despite the inclement weather, passengers crowded the deck to shout goodbyes of “Ittekimasu!” (a Japanese expression used when departing and leaving someone behind), and their loved ones on shore responded with cries of “Itterashai!” (a Japanese expression wishing the traveller a good voyage and safe return). |
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| Participants onboard grow thoughtful as the departure draws near |
The 108-day journey will be Peace Boat’s first full southern-hemisphere voyage since the 52nd Global Voyage two years ago. Over 900 participants will join the voyage, scheduled to circumnavigate the earth with stops in 18 ports in 14 countries along the way. From Japan, the Peace Boat will travel through Southeast Asia and head west across the Indian Ocean to Africa, then around the Cape of Good Hope before traversing the Atlantic Ocean. After several ports of call on the east coast of South America, the ship will make its way south for Peace Boat's first visit to Antarctica. The Peace Boat will then make port twice in Chile and sail west to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). After visiting Polynesia, Australasia, and Melanesia the Peace Boat will return to Yokohama on April 28, 2008. |
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| Waving a final goodbye to those being left behind in Japan |
Peace Boat Educational programmes on the 60th voyage will focus on the following major themes:
Global climate change
Environmentally sustainable development and lifestyle change
Poverty in Japan and world-wide
The economic disparity between the Global North and South
Article 9 of Japan's constitution, and the support of peace constitutions world-wide
Learning from indigenous peoples and alternative lifestyles |
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| Yokohama's Osanbashi Port grows smaller as Peace Boat heads for open water |
During the course of a Peace Boat voyage, participants are challenged to consider the possible causes and solutions to global issues highlighted by visits to affected regions. Among the regional issues of focus on the 60th Voyage include the following; Japan-Korea relations, land mines in Cambodia, post-apartheid South Africa, neo-liberalist ideology and Latin Americans of Japanese descent in South America, the effects of war, nuclear testing and colonialism in Tahiti and Papua New Guinea, and the impact of modernization on indigenous peoples in Argentina, Chile, Tahiti, and New Zealand. Additionally, the issues of global climate change and unsustainable development will be reoccurring themes throughout the 60th voyage, during which participants will bear witness to the condition of our world today and the need for change. |
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| Shrouded in storm clouds, the coast of Japan soon fades into the distance behind Peace Boat |
Rough seas and dark, stormy skies did little to dampen the lively atmosphere of the departure and the Peace Boat set sail with high hopes for the voyage. Excited voices and carefree laughter filled the air and drowned out the howling wind and crashing waves as the Peace Boat made its way out to sea. Though numerous challenges will certainly arise along the way, this enthusiasm and energy will allow Peace Boat participants to overcome obstacles to share a message of peace and effect positive change throughout the course of the Peace Boat’s 60th Global Voyage. |
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