Participants join the departure ceremony live on Youtube
News
Peace Boat’s First Online Global Voyage!
On Saturday August 22, the first online global voyage in Peace Boat's history was held. While sailing from Asia through the Suez Canal, Europe, Latin America and Antarctica and finally to the Pacific, Peace Boat organised a series of lectures and workshops virtually on issues related to ports of call and various projects and campaigns.
Throughout the day, dozens of lectures, language classes, self-organised events and other activities, including even a tour hosted by international partners, were organised using Zoom and Youtube, interweaving together to make a taste of life onboard a Peace Boat voyage.
Connecting virtually for an online tour of the Green School in Bali
A total of more than 550 people registered to join the event. It took place from 10 am until 5pm, starting from an online departure ceremony which was attended by more than 250 people. Just as onboard the ship, participants were able to freely participate in the various events taking place in numerous virtual venues from their homes, with an electronic version of the ship's onboard newspaper at hand.
Participants exercised their bodies through stretches and Pilates, learned greetings from around the world in a children's world quiz, and introduced each other to books they would like to take with them on their travels through a self-organised event.
Guest educators who joined the day included journalist Ito Chihiro, Farish Noor on the history of batik, and Shimogo Satomi on the current situation in the Amazon. There was also a live erhu performance by Zhang Yan, and an Andean music performance by Japan-based band ILLAY. Participants seemed to enjoy the many simultaneous activities taking place at the same time, wondering where they would go and even going back and forth between venues throughout the day.
Although such online activities cannot fully replace the connections and experiences which can be created through in person encounters, being able to travel from different venues and different countries with just a single click of a mouse also has its appeal and meaning. Peace Boat will continue to explore further online opportunities for learning and exchange, until we are able to resume our voyages once again – and perhaps even beyond. Please follow our homepage and social media for future opportunities to join us virtually!
