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Peace Boat Director Yoshioka Honored with International Humanism Award
Peace Boat’s Founder and Director Yoshioka Tatsuya was honoured to receive the Humanism Award from the International Schools Association in Geneva on July 2, 2026. The Association was founded in 1951 as a joint initiative with major educational institutions such as the United Nations International School (UNIS), Ecolint (International School of Geneva) and the United Nations Nursery School, and has since been working to promote international and intercultural understanding.
This award is presented to individuals and organizations who believe that international humanism is a philosophy, a way of being, and a way of life, and that it consists of a set of universal human values revealed only through active dialogue and shared experience.
Yoshioka's pioneering efforts with Peace Boat to promote the building of a sustainable society - including initiatives for peace, human rights, marine conservation, and the climate crisis - were recognized. Previous recipients of the award include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, the UNHCR, and leading peace educator Betty Reardon.
Yoshioka made the following remarks at the award ceremony:
“It is a great honor to receive the International Humanism Award from the International Schools Association as you mark your 75th anniversary.
This award serves as encouragement for us to redouble our efforts in international peace education.
Regrettably, wars are intensifying not only in Gaza, Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, and Lebanon but across the globe, and calls for military expansion in the name of security are growing louder.
However, we will not give up on the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Promoting international peace education is a concrete step toward that goal!
For over 40 years Peace Boat has engaged in unique international peace education through our voyages. Our ship, sailing beyond borders, creates a unique international community onboard. You, as international schools, all know the value of people to people friendship across borders and I’m proud to say that Peace Boat creates that space on the ocean.
At a time when global divisions are deepening and even nuclear war has become a realistic threat, I am convinced that international peace education represents a beacon of hope for humanity.
Alongside the threat of nuclear war, we must also address the climate crisis—an issue that endangers humanity's very survival. I look forward to collaborating with the international school community to advance international peace education and ensure we can pass on a peaceful, sustainable future for our global society to the next generation.
Congratulations on your 75th anniversary, and - from the bottom of my heart - thank you for this tremendous honor.”