"Doing good environmental work." That is such a vague qualification, I'm sure by design. It is intriguing to see how people interpret such criteria and choose just one organization to fulfill it. In any case, I chose an international NGO that I learned about ten years ago but I haven't followed their work much since. It's called Peace Boat and it is headquartered in Japan. I actually read about it in a book I bought at fifteen called Delaying the Real World and I wanted to volunteer on it since it would have been easy to get to Yokohama at that time. Sadly, I turned 18 and came to America for college instead and now it's a much further trip to Japan.
But back to Peace Boat. "Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment." (Explore here) It sounds broad, but the organization does have a number of varying projects related to each of these areas. What makes it unique and innovative is their chosen medium for change and the philosophy behind it. They have a strong focus on education and advocacy programs for social and political change, and are historically and operationally entrenched in the civil society part of the triangle. Peace Boat's main activities occur on "peace voyages" taken around the world on a charter boat. "The ship creates a neutral, mobile space and enables people to engage across borders in dialogue and mutual cooperation at sea, and in the ports that we visit." They also have a number of land-based centers for regional work around East Asia. The ports for each voyage are chosen based on local partnerships and the potential for social and educational programs rather than mainstream commercial interests. The organization puts a strong emphasis on participation, partnerships, hands-on learning and people-to-people contact as necessary for shaping change in the world. I find their use of the ship as a way to break down borders as particularly unique.
Peace Boat's history, mission, and main principles make it an effective organization in their goals for change. Its first voyage was organized by Japanese university students in 1983 as a way to learn about the effects of past wars on other countries in the region. Japan had a policy of censorship regarding its military history, and this was a way for the students to learn firsthand and foster the people-to-people connection. Some other main facets of Peace Boat include volunteerism, financial self-sustainability (the organization is funded completely by the people who participate in peace voyages), horizontal working systems, mobilizing people for civil society movements, and remaining unaffiliated from any political or religious group.
Tying this organization into the themes and paradigms of our class, I believe that Peace Boat as an entity would be close to a social green and a system reformer. The organization shuns traditional media and has a strong focus on social justice and reforms. While they are involved in a number of environmental projects (such as Galapagos reforestation), people and social issues within sustainability are the focus of Peace Boat. The organization is a system reformer because it works toward social and political change in innovative ways and civil society movements. Clearly is apart from "business-as-usual" activities, but it works within existing structures and frameworks. For instance, it often partners with local advocacy and volunteer organizations at its ports, but it also partners with the United Nations on a number of projects and has its own Peace Boat Millenium Development Goals campaign.
I did not go into depth on the specific projects and voyage activities of Peace Boat, but this should give a general overview into its type of work and paradigms. Its grassroots beginnings, continuity in operations, global focus with local action, and creative people-based methods of program delivery are all elements that we could explore in seeking to make effective change. Every organization has its own specific focus and can't "do it all" necessarily, but examining the values and structure of an organization can help us understand what ways we would like to influence the world.
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