| Posted: April 09 2010,03:57 |
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Postal address of organization/institution
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B1, 3-13-1 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-0075, Japan
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E-mail address of organization/institution
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pbglobal@peaceboat.gr.jp
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Website address of organization/institution
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www.peaceboat.org
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Telephone of organization/institution
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+81-3-3363-8047
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PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity |
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TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity |
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PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What
partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus
strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace? |
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security http://disarm.igc.org
Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Northeast Asia Secretariat http://www.gppac.net
Member of the International Peace Bureau http://www.ipb.org
Member of the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education http://www.haguepeace.org
Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), http://www.whiteband.org/
Global Article 9 Campaign http://article-9.org/en/index.html
Abolition 2000 http://www.abolition2000.org/
Affiliate Member of Friends of the Earth International http://www.foei.org
World Social Forum http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/
Member of the Nonviolent Peaceforce
http://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
World Peace Now http://www.worldpeacenow.jp/
Founding member of Peace Now Korea Japan http://give-peace-a-chance.jp/pnkj/
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ACTIONS: What activities have
been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a
report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010
report.
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Work by Peace Boat to promote a culture of peace and non-violence has concentrated in these main areas:
1) Peace Boat voyages for peace
In
this second half of the decade, Peace Boat has launched seventeen
voyages for peace, of which fourteen have been global voyages and the
other three have been regional voyages in Northeast Asia. A
further voyage will launch in April, and two more are planned for later
in 2010. See the end of this report for a full list of the voyages
undertaken since the beginning of the Decade.
Onboard each of
these voyages, the ship, as a neutral space beyond borders, becomes a
floating peace village, encouraging a sense of community and enabling
direct dialogue between those onboard and in the ports that we visit.
Our programmes, both onboard and in port, explore the main aspects of
Peace Boat's activities - peace, human rights, sustainability and
respect for the environment - and aim to develop travel as a tool
for peace and sustainability.
Peace Boat visits an average of 15
ports on each global voyage. During our visits, typically one to three
days in length, we develop various ways through which our overall
objective of promoting peace and sustainability can find a concrete
expression, locally and globally. The port is the place for us to build
alliances and promote solidarity with different actors and at different
levels of each society. Activities are jointly organized and aim to
answer to the needs of our partners in each port at the same time as
they become powerful mobilizing tools for the whole range of Peace Boat
participants.
Peace
Boat's chartered passenger vessel, SS The Oceanic - featuring the logo
of the United Nations Millennium Campaign symbolising Peace Boat's
committment to creating a peaceful and sustainable world."
2) Peace
Education - development of Global University, International
Students Programme and GET (Global English/Español/Japanese Training)
* Global University
An
intensive peace and sustainability studies programme for participants
onboard, combining advanced study of selected topics onboard the ship
with exposure programmes in various countries. Our goal during each
voyage is to provide participants with the insight and skills necessary
to play an active role in education, activism and peace-building
activities at the grass-roots level in their home countries and
internationally. The programme is guided by special guest educators and
specialists from Japan and many countries around the world. Among the
wide-ranging topics of study are the conflicts in Israel/Palestine, the
former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland; historical reconciliation;
sustainable globalization; the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
nuclear disarmament, peace constitutions and climate change. Key
developments in the last six years have been the completion of
partnership agreements with for example Seisen University in Tokyo,
SongKongHoe University in Seoul, South Korea, Tuebingen University in
Germany and other universities – with more partnership agreements
currently under discussion.
* International Students
Peace
Boat aims to increase access to peace education and conflict resolution
training to young people from regions affected by conflict through the
International Student (IS) programme. We invite a select number of
young people from opposing sides of conflicts to participate in an
advanced conflict analysis and peaceful conflict resolution training
programme, on a scholarship basis. As well as peace training, the
international students help other participants onboard understand their
lives and challenges, thus contributing greatly to the general
participants' overall understanding of the nature of conflict.
The
aim of the programme is for students to learn about peaceful conflict
resolution and develop the knowledge, skills, experience and motivation
that will equip them with the means to work for peace when they return
to their homes.
To date, students have come from for example
Palestine, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Northern
Ireland, Colombia, the United States, Korea, China, and Taiwan.
* Global English, Espanol and Japanese Training
Peace
Boat, through its GET Programme, organizes onboard English, Spanish and
Japanese language programmes that allow participants to communicate
more effectively with the people they meet onboard the ship and in
port, with the philosophy that shared language and better communication
are an important tool for peace.
3) Advocacy Activities for a Culture of Peace
* Northeast Asia Regional Secretariat for the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
Peace
Boat serves as the Secretariat for the Northeast Asia regional process
in this global effort to highlight the role of civil society in the
non-violent prevention of armed conflict and improve interaction
between civil society, government and the United Nations in this field.
Since its inception in 2004, GPPAC Northeast Asia (GPPAC NEA) has
developed into a fully functional and effective cross-border network,
made up of over 200 organizations and individuals. With focal points in
11 major cities throughout the region, GPPAC NEA carried out an
extensive consultation process, and now holds regional consultation
meetings. The Regional Work Plan of GPPAC NEA was symbolically launched
in North Korea close to the DMZ and in Seoul in 2006. Peace Boat is
primarily involved in activities together with regional and global
members of GPPAC in the fields of awareness raising, media, peace
education and interaction and advocacy.
* Global Article 9 Campaign
The
Global Article 9 Campaign is a peace movement initiated by Peace Boat
in 2005 in reaction to the debate over revising Japan’s pacific
constitution. Indeed, Article 9 of Japanese Constitution renounces war
and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international
disputes; it also prohibits the maintenance of armed forces and other
war potential. Since its launch, a strong international network of NGOs
and individual has formed in support of the campaign that strives for a
global peace that does not rely on force. As a major part of the
campaign, Peace Boat has co-organized a number of international events
to discuss the principles enshrined in Article 9 and have a dialogue
over the role that citizens of the world can play to realize them
through promoting peace constitutions, disarmament, demilitarization
and a culture of peace. The large scale “Global Article 9 Conference to
Abolish War” was held in Japan in 2008, as well as follow-up events in
Costa Rica and Ecuador in 2009.
* Historical Reconciliation in East Asia
Peace
Boat was created in 1983 at the initiative of a group of Japanese
students as a creative response to government censorship of the
country’s past military aggression in Asia-Pacific. Indeed, Japan has
failed to atone for its colonization and military invasions of
neighboring countries and the human rights abuses and war crimes
committed in this period. Thus, the teaching of history in this region
is intensely politicized and divisive. To overcome a intensely
politicized and divisive teaching of history and build mutual
understanding, Peace Boat and the Green Foundation of Korea have
organized regional voyages focusing on the historical reconciliation
issues faced by the Northeast Asian region. During the second half of
the decade, four such voyages took place, brouging together well over
2,000 Japanese and Korean citizens and creating a conducive environment
for them to share their common vision of a peaceful and sustainable
future for East Asia.
In addition, Peace Boat has organized and
participated in a number of events pertaining to Japan’s recognition of
history and history education. Notably, Peace Boat sits in the the
organizing committee of the Forum of Recognition of History and Peace
in East Asia held annually, most recently in Tokyo in 2009.
Furthermore,
besides contributing to a region-wide initiative to write a common
history textbook for the region, Peace Boat’s own Asian History Project
Team has been lobbying the government over Japan’s revisionist
textbooks and has been compiling booklets aimed at Japanese youth which
tackle the suffering caused by the Japanese military occupations and
highlight the viewpoints of other Northeast Asian peoples.
4) Disarmament
Peace
Boat is actively engaged in the movement for disarmament and nuclear
weapons abolition, notably through following closely the
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Process and advocating for the creation
of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Northeast Asia. Following are some of
Peace Boat key advocacy efforts that have taken place during the second
half of the decade, in the area of disarmament education, advocacy and
campaigning:
* Peace Boat Hibakusha Project
Peace Boat
Hibakusha Project is a unique civil society initiative aimed at
influencing the nuclear disarmament debate and meant to contribute
building a consensus towards the elimination of nuclear weapons through
educating people about the human costs of nuclear weapons, engaging
decision-makers and catalyzing support around the world. The project
consists of inviting Hibakusha (survivors of the atomic bombing in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki) to participate in around-the-world voyages to
share their tragic experiences and call for a nuclear-free world. Peace
Boat started working with Hibakusha in 2008 and has since organized
three Global Voyages for a Nuclear-Free World, involving over 120
Hibakusha.
* International Commission for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
Through
the appointment of its senior staff and nuclear disarmament expert
Kawasaki Akira to the position of NGO Advisor, Peace Boat closely
followed the work of the Commission, participated in meetings and
discussions, and made the link with international civil society,
notably by bringing the voices of civil society to the ICNND and
lobbying for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Since the Commission’s
report was released, Peace Boat is advocating for the implementation of
its recommendations.
* Disarmament for Development
Throughout
its work and its different programs, Peace Boat consistently spreads
the “no military, no war” message and appeals for a demilitarized
society. Based on Article 26 of the UN Charter that calls for the
establishment of a system of regulation of armaments with the least
diversion of the world human and economic resources for armaments in
order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international
peace and security, Peace Boat is advocating for a shift in the
allocation of resources, namely a decrease of military expenditures and
the reallocation of funds to eradicate poverty and invest in
sustainable development and human security.
In addition, Peace Boat
participates in a number of international disarmament networks and
coalitions, including the Geneva-based NGO Committee on Disarmament,
Abolition 2000, Mayors for Peace, the Pacific Freeze, and more.
5) Development
Peace
Boat has long been involved in local and global initiatives to
eradicate poverty in the world. Particularly in recent years, Peace
Boat has been actively carrying out projects towards the realization of
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
* Peace Boat MDGs Campaign
Notably,
in 2009, Peace Boat launched its MDGs Campaign, in partnership with the
United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) to raise awareness about the
MDGs and the role of civil society in achieving these goals.
One of
the central part of Peace Boat MDGs Campaign is the MDGs Training
Program designed to develop an understanding of the challenges faced in
eradicating poverty and promote activism for achieving the MDGs.
Participants in the program attend lectures and workshops with guest
educators, including Asia Director of the UNMC Minar Pimple and Toko
Tomita of the Hunger Free World Development and Advocacy Division in
Burkina Faso and Benin.
In addition, the first African Youth MDGs
Forum was held onboard, in which youth representing ten countries
including South Africa, Ghana, Malawi and Kenya discussed how young
people can contribute to ending poverty and achieving the MDGs.
The
third dimension of the campaign is the artistic one, known as the MDGs
Dance Project. It consists of performances meant to raise awareness
about the MDGs and inspire actions towards the eradication of poverty.
Symbolizing
the strength of the collaboration between Peace Boat and the United
Nations, the UNMC’s logo “End Poverty 2015” was painted on the body of
the Peace Boat’s vessel.
6) Sustainability and the Environment
Sustainability has always been at the heart of Peace Boat’s concerns and activities.
Throughout
its voyages, Peace Boat consistently raises local environmental issues,
looking at their impact on people at the local level, as well as on a
global scale and stressing the importance of peace as a precondition
for sustainability, as well as sustainability for a lasting peace.
Peace
Boat has been organizing environmental education programs, including
during visits to the Antarctic and Andean regions. Vigorous advocacy
and educational programs have brought participants face-to-face with
local manifestations of global problems such as global climate change
and the struggle to find solutions and effect positive change towards
environmentally sustainable development.
* In Latin America
During
the Latin American segment of voyages, representatives from the
environmental movement in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Salvador have
come onboard to address the issues such as access to clean water,
climate change, and the protection of nature in Patagonia to name just
a few.
Indeed in Patagonia for example, Peace Boat works closely
with CODEFF, on of Chile’s oldest environmental organizations, to raise
awareness about a controversial hydro-electric project that threatens
to do ecological damage to the Aysen region, whose diverse wildlife and
other biological and geographical features are already endangered by
development and resource exploitation. Peace Boat has lent its voice to
the call to register Patagonia as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and
helps fundraise for environmental activities in Chile.
* In Northeast Asia
At
the regional level in Northeast Asia, Peace Boat is collaborating with
the Green Foundation, Korea’s largest environmental group to organize
Peace and Green Boat Voyages that focus on sustainable lifestyles and
address regional environmental issues. Among them figure for instance
the environmental impact of the presence of US military bases in
Okinawa, the threat posed by the nuclear reprocessing facility
operating in Rokkasho, as well as the danger posed to wildlife and bird
preservation by wetland reclamation and development projects in the
Korean peninsula.
7) A full list of the voyages undertaken since the beginning of the Decade
* 68th Voyage December 28, 2009 – April 9, 2010 Global Voyage (Capes route)
Yokohama
– Keelung – Manila - Singapore - Port Victoria - Mombasa – Cape Town –
Walvis Bay – Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires – Montevideo – Ushuaia –
Punta Arenas – Valparaiso – Callao – Rapa Nui - Papeete – Suva -
Yokohama
* 67th Voyage July 25 - November 7, 2009 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Da Nang - Singapore - Port Victoria - Mombasa - Port Said - Kusadasi
- Piraeus - Dubrovnik - Valetta - Civitavecchia - Casablanca - Las
Palmas - Havana - Progreso - Cristobal - Guayaqil - Callao - Rapa Nui -
Papeete - Apia - Yokohama
* 66th Voyage April 23 - August 6, 2009 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Xiamen - Singapore - Male - Aqaba - Suez Canal - Port Said - Piraeus
- Catania - Malaga - Le Havre - Stockholm - St. Perersburg - Helsinki -
Copenhagen - Bergen - Flam - Viking Island - Reykjavik - New York - La
Fuaira - Cristobal - Punta Arenas - Acapulco - Vancouver - Alaskan -
Seward - Yokohama
* 65th Voyage November 21 - 28, 2008 Regional Voyage
Kobe - Ishigaki Island - Keelung - Busan - Hiroshima
* 64th Voyage January 15, 2008 - April 18, 2009 Global Voyage (Capes route)
Yokohama
- keelung - Da Nang - Singapore - Mombasa - Zanzibar - Cape Town -
Walvis Bay - Rio de Janeiro - Montevideo - Buenos Aires - Ushuaia -
Antarctic - Punta Arenas - Rapa Nui (Easter Island) - Papeete - Noumea
- Cairns - Rabaul - Yokohama
* 63rd Voyage September 7 - January 13, 2009 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Da Nang - Singapore - Kochi - Massawa - Safaga - Port Said - Kusadasi
- Piraeus - Valetta - Palermo - Barcelona - Las Palmas - La Guaira -
Santo Domingo - Cristobal - Callao - Rapa Nui (Easter Island) - Papeete
- Auckland - Sydney - Rabaul - Koror - Yokohama
* 62nd Voyage May 14 - September 4, 2007 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Da Nang - Singapore - Salalah - Aqaba - Suez Canal - Port Said -
Kusadasi - Piraeus - Naples - Barcelona - Le Havre - Amsterdam - Bergen
- Norwegian Fjords - Reykjavik - Nuuk - New York - La Guaira -
Cristobal - Panama Canal - Puerto Quetzal - Acapulco - Vancouver -
Alaska - Seward - Yokohama
* 61st Voyage July 15 - 29, 2007 Regional Voyage
Yokohama - Hachinohe - Kushiro - Kamchatka - Sakhalin - Vladivostok - Busan - Moji (Fukuoka)
* 60th Voyage January 12, 2008 - April 28, 2008 Global Voyage (Capes route)
Yokohama
- Hong Kong - Da Nang - Singapore - Port Victoria - Mombasa - Cape Town
- Walvis Bay - Rio de Janeiro - Buenos Aires - Port Stanley - Ushuaia -
Port Foster - Punta Arenas - Valparaiso - Rapa Nui (Easter Island) -
Papeete - Auckland - Sydney - Rabaul - Yokohama
* 59th Voyage September 23 - January 10, 2008 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Da Nang - Singapore - Kochi - Aqaba - Suez Canal - Port Said -
Kusadasi - Piraeus - Valetta - Civitavecchia - Barcelona - Las Palmas -
Santiago de Cuba - Maracaibo - Cristobal - Panama Canal - Guayaquil -
Callao - Rapa Nui - Papeete - Auckland - Sydney - Rabaul - Yokohama
* 58th Voyage June 9 - September 20, 2007 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Naha - Da Nang - Singapore - Cochin - Aden - Aqaba - Port Said
- Mikonos Island - Piraeus - Catania - Bilbao - Amsterdam - Copenhagen
- Bergen - Sail Through FJord - Dublin - New York - Montego Bay -
Cartaena - Cristobal - Balboa - Puntarenas - Puerto Quetzal - Vancouver
- Alaska - Seward - Yokohama - Kobe
* 57th Voyage December 13 - 27, 2006 Regional Voyage
Hakata - Hong Kong - Cailan, Viet Nam - Subic, Philippines - South Korea - Hakata
* 56th Voyage February 25 - June 6, 2007 Global Voyage (Capes route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Keelung - Da Nang - Singapore - Colombo - Mombasa - Massawa -
Port Said - Piraeus - Dobrovnik - Cape Town - Venice - Casablanca - Las
Palmas - Bridge Town - La Guaira - Cristobal - Acajutla - Acapulco -
Vancouver - Seward Yokohama - Kobe
* 55th Voyage November 2, 2006 - February 11, 2007 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Naha - Da Nang - Singapore - Port Victoria - Mombassa - Aqaba
- Port Said - Piraeus - Valetta - Tripoli - Civitavecchia - Barcelona -
Gibraltar - Las Palmas - Belem - La Guaira - San Cristobal - Puerto
Quetzal - San Francisco - Honolulu - Yokohama - Kobe
* 54th Voyage July 21 - October 30, 2006 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Da Nang - Singapore - Cochin - Mombasa - Suez Canal - Port
Said - Istanbul - Piraeus - Dubrovnik - Civitavecchia - Barcelona -
Casablanca - Las Palmas - Montego Bay - Cartagena - Panama Canal -
Puerto Quetzal - Acapulco - San Francisco - Honolulu - Yokohama - Kobe
* 53rd Voyage April 5 - July 16, 2006 Global Voyage (Canals route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Da Nang - Singapore - Colombo - Aqaba - Port Said - Piraeus -
Catania - Tripoli - Bilbao - Tilbury - Bergen - Dublin - New York -
Montego Bay - Cristobal - Acajutla - Acapulco - Vancouver - Seward -
Yokohama - Kobe
* 52nd Voyage December 26, 2005 - March 31, 2006 Global Voyage (Capes route)
Yokohama
- Kobe - Da Nang - Singapore - Port Victoria - Mombasa - Cape Town -
Walvis Bay - Rio de Janeiro - Buenos Aires - Ushuaia - Valparaiso -
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) - Papeete - Lautoka - Rabaul - Yokohama - Kobe
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PROGRESS: Has your organization
seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain
of action and in your constituency during the second half of the
Decade? |
Despite
ongoing wars and violence around the world, we are witnessing progress
toward a culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the
decade.
We have a historic opportunity to move forward
particularly in nuclear disarmament, largely thanks to relentless
efforts by civil society, as well as new high-level initiatives for a
world free of nuclear weapons. World leaders are once again set on the
discussion of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament at the
international level, precipitated by United Nations Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon’s ‘Five-Point Plan’ and President Obama’s initiative.
Hoping for a breakthrough agreement in the upcoming Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference or in the near future, a lot of
NGOs and civil groups are making vigorous efforts to push for progress
in the negotiations. As part of this cooperative effort, Peace Boat
continues its disarmament education of the ‘Hibakusha Project’ –
travelling the world with atomic bomb survivors and providing vivid
testimonies of their experience with nuclear destruction to raise
public awareness.
Even in the broader spectrum of the peace
movement, we have seen positive progress. The civil society network has
been strengthened and different NGOs and organizations have shown
growing solidarity on critical peace and security issues. For example,
the Northeast Asia regional process of the Global Partnership for the
Prevention of Armed Conflict (http://www.gppac.net), which Peace Boat
serves as the regional secretariat, has played a critical role to
develop a culture of peace in the region and actively engaged in
various joint campaigns ranging from the development of peace education
to the anti-foreign military base movement.
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OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?
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The
Cold War legacy is still persistent in governments’ security policies
and prevents the implementation of a culture of peace and nonviolence.
The old-fashioned logic of nuclear deterrence still lingers around and
obstructs meaningful changes on the nuclear agenda. In the Northeast
Asia region, negotiations over the issue of North Korea’s nuclear
program are stalled and Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan remain under the
US nuclear umbrella. Furthermore, the scale and role of US military
stationing in the region has expanded, thus hampering the likelihood of
building a better relationship among countries in the region.
Moreover, the failure of the
world’s governments to embrace the voice of civil society often delays
or prevents more constructive changes to build a culture of peace and
nonviolence. Therefore, mechanisms for democratic participation of
civil society at the governmental and international levels should be
developed in this regard.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to
promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
We
will continue to actively take part in various peace movements’
campaigning, for nuclear weapons abolition, sustainable development and
human security. In the long term, we will continue our ongoing
programmes, including the Hibakusha Project, Disarmament for
Development and the Global Article 9 Campaign, and GPPAC, in order to
spread the culture of peace and nonviolence.
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GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??
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A
better coordination of activities in NGO networks needs to be put in
place. The collective voice of civil society can play a better and more
effective role in preventing conflicts and building peace. In addition,
a strengthened cooperative mechanism between governments, NGOs, and
international organizations will help to make a more inclusive and
participatory policy-making process that can foster a culture of peace.
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