Peace Boat presents its youth ambassadors for oceans and climate action
Peace Boat is proud to present the young people who will be part of the first ‘Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador Programme’. These young women and men between 19 and 26 years old are from the regions of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Caribbean. They are young leaders in their communities and have extensive experience in the struggle against climate change and ocean degradation locally and internationally.
The participants are Lavetanalagi Seruiraduvatu (Fiji); Selina Leem (Marshall Islands); Matea Matthew Nauto (Kiribati); Ashwa Faheem (Maldives); Shafira Charlette (Seychelles); La Tisha Parkinson (Trinidad and Tobago) and Zana Kristen Wade (Belize).The group will embark upon the 95th Global Voyage in Barcelona on September 22, 2017.
They will connect with civil society organizations and government agencies in ports visited, including Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Iceland and the USA. Their voyage will end as Peace Boat docks in New York on October 15, 2017, where the youth ambassadors will report on their efforts to both the United Nations community and the broader public. This will be a highlight of the events held in New York for the 95th Global Voyage.
Organized in collaboration with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the programme will bring these youth leaders from states on the front line of climate change and marine degradation to travel onboard Peace Boat, engaging in capacity building and bringing their message to citizens and government representatives throughout the voyage. Participants will give testimony of their experiences and the impact of climate change and marine degradation on their communities.
Music, dance, art and spoken word will be incorporated into the activities in port for wider appeal and dissemination via social and traditional media both as a call to action and to build momentum for the Bonn 2017 UN Climate Change Conference (COP23). The programme will highlight the outcomes of The Ocean Conference that took place on June in New York and make a Youth Call for Action. Their experiences will be documented and shared widely at COP23, and beyond. At the same time, this programme will continue the work of Peace Boat as a committed campaigner for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will explore connections between SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14 (Life Under Water), as well as the other 17 goals including quality education, responsible consumption, gender equality, reducing inequalities and peace and justice.
Peace Boat is proud to have the support of Ms. Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including during the historical Paris Agreement of 2015, and the convener of Mission 2020. Ms. Figueres will join the participants for part of the voyage.
Since 1983, Peace Boat has been travelling around the world organizing global educational programmes, cooperative projects and advocacy activities. These activities are carried out on a partnership basis with other civil society organizations and communities in Japan, Northeast Asia, and globally. Peace Boat believes in the power of personal experiences and testimony as a call to action. Those who have first-hand experience are best able to educate, raise awareness and mobilize. Peace Boat regularly uses its ship as a venue to share such first-hand experiences, for example through inviting youth from tsunami- and nuclear-disaster-affected regions of northeast Japan to share their experiences from the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 triple disaster. Peace Boat has also organized ten voyages for atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to travel around the world sharing their experiences and calling for a ban on nuclear weapons.