Peace Boat honoured to receive the Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher of 2021 Award

“If war is ever to be abolished, it will be in great measure due to the work of organizations like Peace Boat educating and mobilizing thinkers and activists, developing alternatives to violence, and turning the world away from the idea that war can ever be justified or accepted. World BEYOND War is honored to present our very first award to Peace Boat.”

Peace Boat is honored to announce that the organization is to receive the Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher of 2021 Award. The award is granted by World BEYOND War, a global nonviolent movement founded in 2014 to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. In 2021, World BEYOND War is announcing its first-ever annual War Abolisher awards.

The purpose of the awards is to honor and encourage support for those working to abolish the institution of war itself. World BEYOND War intends its awards to go to educators or activists intentionally and effectively advancing the cause of war abolition, accomplishing reductions in war-making, war preparations, or war culture.

Peace Boat was selected among hundreds of nominations due to the organization’s “tremendous work to build a global culture of peace and to advance nonviolent conflict resolution and demilitarization in various parts of the world. Peace Boat also builds connections between peace, human rights and environmental sustainability - including through the development of an eco-friendly cruise ship.”

The award justification highlights Peace Boat’s unique form of peace education and peace-building activism. Peace Boat is a mobile classroom at sea where participants learn about the world both on and off the ship. Peace Boat collaborates with academic institutions and civil society organizations, including Tübingen University in Germany, Tehran Peace Museum in Iran, and as part of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC). Peace Boat has educated and advocated for a nuclear-free world for many years. Through the Peace Boat Hibakusha project, the organization works closely with atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Peace Boat is one of the 11 organizations forming the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Peace Boat engages in disaster relief as well as education and activities for disaster risk reduction. It is also active in landmine removal programs.

The announcement was made on September 13, 2021, and an online presentation and acceptance event will take place on October 6, 2021, at 5 a.m. Pacific Time, 8 a.m. Eastern Time, 2 p.m. Central European Time, and 9 p.m. Japan Standard Time.

The event is open to the public and will include presentations of three awards (The Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher of 2021, The David Hartsough Lifetime Individual War Abolisher of 2021, and The War Abolisher of 2021, the last two to be announced shortly), a musical performance, and three breakout rooms in which participants can meet and talk with the award recipients. Participation is free and Japanese interpretation will be available. Register here for Zoom link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/first-annual-war-abolisher-awards

Accepting the award on behalf of Peace Boat on October 6 will be Peace Boat Founder and Director Yoshioka Tatsuya who released the following statement upon the announcement of the award: “On behalf of Peace Boat, I am very honored and grateful for receiving the very first Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher Award 2021 by World BEYOND War. The so-called “War on Terror” in Afghanistan has just ended after 20 years. Numerous lives were lost, but peace wasn't achieved and the government collapsed. I humbly receive this award as a sign of support and encouragement for our continued advocacy work in which we deliver the spirit of the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution: Peace cannot be made with armed force! With this award in mind, beyond national borders and the novel coronavirus crisis, we will continue to share our message of peace with people around the world, promoting a sustainable world without nuclear weapons, wars, and military.”

Access the full World BEYOND War press release here.