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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| September 22, 2003 |
Departure of the 43rd Global Voyage |
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| Final goodbyes in Tokyo |
Peace Boat's 43rd Global Peace Voyage departed in high spirits, in spite of the 24-hour delay caused by Typhoon No.15 which battered the Japanese coastline in the days leading up to departure. The voyage is a continuation of Peace Boat's commitment to bring diverse peoples together around to the world under the banner of a common culture of peace and to address some of the human security issues that we are currently facing in order to create a more sustainable world. The current voyage has based its education programme on themes such as the creation links of solidarity between people in East Asia, including minority groups within Japan and to spread a message of peace through a variety of media, including the arts. |
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| The weather improved and the departure celebration hit full steam in Kobe |
After a stop in Kobe on September 23 to welcome the passengers from Western Japan onboard, the ship forged out into the still torrid seas enroute to its first destination, Keelung, Taiwan. The mostly Japanese participants, aged between 2 and 92, come from a wide range of backgrounds, and bring with them diverse experiences to life onboard. They are joined by an international group of volunteer language instructors and interpreters serving a key role of communication facilitation for the onboard community as it comes into contact with a plethora of languages and cultures on its journey around the world. While for some, this will be their first experience of involvement with a social movement, many have spent many hours volunteering in Peace Boat's Japan offices or other civil society organizations, or in other ways come onboard with an active interest in working to change the world for the better. |
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The themes of the education programmes onboard and in port for this voyage will include peace and the arts, East Asian solidarity, peace-building in South Asia, refugees, conflict and the role of the media, the 'Slow Life' movement, the World Social Forum, the environment and grassroots social movements in Latin America. Our programmes will be led by guest educators from diverse fields including academics, journalists, NGO activists, musicians. The methodology is based on exposure and experiential learning, allowing the learners to interact with the subject matter on many different levels. Project teams onboard further serve to emphasise the pro-active and participatory nature of Peace Boat's education programmes by facilitating involvement in working to deliver relief and other goods to partner groups, produce documentary materials through various media, facilitate exchange through the medium of art. These activities seek to encourage a spirit of volunteerism and community awareness among the participants. In port, Peace Boat integrates its onboard activities with education and exchange programmes organized with partner organizations. Through this Peace Boat hopes to create learning experience that offers practical skills and personal experiences to inspire those involved to continue peace-building activities long after their experience with the 43rd Global Peace Voyage has relinquished itself to the memories of those who took part. |
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