Puerto Vallarta will receive the Peace Boat Cruise Tuesday morning so that passengers have the opportunity to enjoy a bit of the destination such as strolling along the Malecon, exploring the beaches, enjoying its varied gastronomy, art, and culture, adventure and ecotourism, among others.
Last weekend, interim mayor Rodolfo Domínguez Monroy, met with the international coordinator of the Peace Boat organization, Hiroshi Kusafuka, who also formalized the invitation to the mayor to be part of the International Conference of Mayors for Peace. He specified that the cruise will arrive for the first time at this tourist destination with 1,200 passengers, among them three survivors of the atomic bomb of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, in addition to 350 crew members.
He said that this visit will be a test trip so that it can be established within the calendar of stops next year. He recalled that 10 years ago this same cruise visited Puerto Vallarta (on that occasion under the acronym of the company Carnival, operated by Ocean Dream shipping line), but only to refuel.
The ship has different routes leaving the port of Yokohama, Japan, and in its journey of more than 100 days, it visits between 20 and 25 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, so it only makes three trips a year.
Peace Boat’s first voyage was organized in 1983 by a group of Japanese university students as a creative response to government censorship regarding Japan’s past military aggression in the Asia-Pacific. They chartered a ship to visit neighboring countries with the aim of learning first-hand about the war from those who experienced it and initiating people-to-people exchange.
Timeline of Activities
1983
Peace Boat is established. First Asian Regional Voyage.
1984
Goods for Sustainability – United People’s Alliance (UPA) Project started.
1990
Peace Boat launches first around the world voyage, as the Gulf War starts, making peace appeals in each port.
1992
Peace Boat delegation attends the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
1995
Peace Boat carries out disaster relief activities in Kobe after the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
1998
Peace Boat (Land)Mine Abolition Campaign (P-MAC) is established, raising funds for de-mining in Cambodia.
“No More Hibakusha” photo exhibition depicting nuclear victims from Hiroshima and Nagasaki held in India and Pakistan following nuclear tests in these countries.
First Peace Boat Peace Award granted to Mikhail Gorbachev.
1999
First Peace Boat southern hemisphere global voyage sails.
Peace Ball Project to promote international exchange and cooperation through sports is established.
Peace Boat participates as an Organizing Committee member of the Hague Appeal for Peace.
Peace Boat voyage accredited as an Official Programme of the UNESCO-led “International Year for the Culture of Peace.”
Peace Boat International Students (IS) Programme is launched.
Onboard GET language programme launched.
2000
Peace Boat establishes its “Global University” peace education programme.
2002
Peace Boat gains Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
2003
Second Peace Boat Peace Award granted to Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
2004
Peace Boat ship calls in at the World Social Forum in Mumbai.
Peace Boat becomes the Northeast Asia regional secretariat for the ‘Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict’ (GPPAC).
2005
First ‘Peace & Green Boat’ voyage sails in cooperation with the Korea Green Foundation.
Agent Orange victims support campaign launched.
2006
Peace Boat US established in New York in collaboration with the Hague Appeal for Peace.
2007
Launch of the ‘Reviving the Galapagos Forest Project’ with the Charles Darwin Research Center.
Cooperation project with Venezuela’s music education foundation ‘El Sistema’ established.
2008
‘Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War’ held.
‘Peace Boat Hibakusha Project – Global Voyage for a Nuclear Free World’ launched.
2009
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Campaign launched with the United Nations.
International conferences on Peace Constitutions organised in Costa Rica and Ecuador.
2010
Peace Boat Montessori Programme and Global School Programme established.
2011
Relief efforts begin in areas affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan.
Fukushima Youth Project launched.
2012
Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World held.
2013
Ecoship Project launched at PB’s 30th Anniversary Celebrations.
Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú visits Peace Boat.
2014
Partnership with UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign.
2016
Peace Boat sails as a committed campaigner for the UN SDGs. The logo is painted on the hull of the ship.
Peace Boat and the UN DPI hold a “Floating Festival for Sustainability” in New York City.
