Ship for World Youth Australia



			Together Towards Tomorrow The Ship for World Youth 17th Program Lachlan McIver “G’day! Kia-ora! Bula vinaka! Hola! Bonjour! Jambo! Merhaba! Zhen-dobre! Hello!” Every day for several weeks these were the greetings that sounded through the halls of the Nippon Maru each morning as the 264 partipants of the 17^th Ship for World Youth headed for breakfast in the dining hall. Every day these young people from all over the globe, united by enthusiasm and initiative and quickly becoming close friends, studied together; discussed and shared with each other; inspired one another; misunderstood, corrected and laughed with each other, on a mission to promote cross-cultural understanding, friendship and cooperation. I was extremely fortunate to have been selected along with eleven other young Australians to represent our country and join delegations from twelve other countries on this tremendous international program. It was a privilege to have been given the opportunity by the Australian and Japanese governments to participate, and my experiences in Japan, on board the Nippon Maru and at the ports of call as a participant of the Ship for World Youth have had a profound effect on my life and my perspective as a young Australian and member of our 21^st century global community. The 17^th Ship for World Youth (SWY) program began officially in Tokyo at the beginning of January 2005 when the delegations from the twelve overseas participating countries – Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Mauritius, Kenya, Poland and Turkey - met the Japanese delegation (comprised of 120 youths) and boarded the Nippon Maru. However for most delegations, including ours, the program had begun several months earlier, upon being advised of our selection. In September 2004 I was notified by the Australian Federal Government Department of Family and Community Services that I had been shortlisted, and soon after that the names of the Australian delegation were announced and our unique team was formed – David Skinner (National Leader), Jessica Kiely, Masepah Banu, Adrian Pattra, Caroline Bergman, Michelle Cheah, Alicia Lamaro, Simon Rice, Deborah Marshall, Naomi Godden, Antoine Meijer and myself. As yet almost completely unknown to each other, we spent the next few months working together and communicating via email and teleconference to prepare ourselves individually and as a team. Our activities at this time included the organisation of sponsorship (mainly in the form of gifts and Australian products and souvenirs) and our National Presentation – an hour-long showcase of Australia that we would be presenting to the rest of the ship’s participants prior to the Sydney port of call. We were also receiving information about the on-board program and were required to prepare for our Course Discussion topics by doing background reading, research and assignments. It was a busy but exciting period; it was thrilling to finally meet the rest of the Australian team for our pre-departure conference and workshop from January 7-10 in Sydney. We spent this time cataloguing gifts, attending workshops from past-participants on various aspects of the program, preparing for the Sydney port of call, purchasing our team uniforms and putting further work into our National Presentation. On 11^th January we arrived in Tokyo and met the other overseas participant youths (OPY’s), and from January 14^th-16^th we were billeted out on homestays in several prefectures around Japan. Our Australian team went to Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikkoku with the Costa Rican delegation, where we received an incredibly warm welcome and stayed with families in and around the small city of Takamatsu – one of the real highlights of the entire program. Back in Tokyo prior to boarding the ship we were united with the Japanese participant youths (JPY’s) and spent two days at the National Youth Centre preparing for the on-board program. We also visited the United Nations University, and the National Leader (NL) and two Assistant National Leaders (ANL’s) of each delegation (of which I was one) paid courtesy calls on the Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan. Jessica Kiely – the female ANL of the Australian delegation – accompanied David Skinner to visit the Prime Minister; David and I later went to the Imperial Palace for a reception with the Crown Prince. As a country lad from Far North Queensland I was truly in awe of this experience; the Crown Prince was charming, friendly and gentle, and chatted to each of us individually about our countries, backgrounds, homestays in Japan and the SWY program. He had travelled to Australia several times and paid great compliment to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest in my region. Once on board the ship we each participated in one of six different Course Discussions – Education, Environment, Economy, Information and Media, Inter-Cultural Understanding and the United Nations. I was in the United Nations group and found this academic side of the program fascinating. Facilitated by a Japanese UN Volunteer currently working in Honduras, and advised by academics from the UN University in Tokyo and headquarters in New York, we studied the history, makeup and role of the UN; the necessity and capacity for reform; and shared our knowledge and experiences of the UN and related agencies within our countries and regions. We held two model UN summits and debated mock resolutions regarding questions such as disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; compensation of former colonies; and the right of Japan to become a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. An additional aspect of the academic program was the free discussions and seminars organised by participants, which dealt with topics as wide-ranging as conflict; natural disasters; indigenous cultures; environmental pollution, wastage and genetically-modified organisms; religious beliefs and traditions, and peace and security. There were also many different cultural and club activities in which every participant was involved. These ranged from classes for languages, dancing, martial arts or cooking to sports and recreation, choirs and music groups. Towards the end of the on-board program an exhibition was held to showcase the new skills shared and learned by the participants. One of the most interesting features of the program was the National Presentations, where each delegation presented different aspects of their country’s history, culture and identity through media such as music, song, dance, film and fact. Preparation and rehearsal for these presentations took up much of the free time in the early part of the program, but the results were spectacular, enjoyable and informative. The Nippon Maru docked at three official ports of call, in Sydney, Wellington and Suva, each for three or four days, where activities were organised by the SWY alumni associations in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji respectively. Each port of call had a different theme, and participants had the opportunity to meet locals from the port of call countries, visit institutions such as museums and schools and participate in local indigenous ceremonies. Some of the most personally rewarding port of call activities were visiting the Te Papa museum in Wellington and witnessing a Maori traditional powhiri or welcome; and visiting a Fijian village, singing with the villagers, eating from a lovo or earth oven and performing the yaqona or kava ceremony. We were honoured to be received in New Zealand by Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright and in Fiji by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and Mr. Isireli Leweniqila, Minister for Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports. In Sydney the NL and ANL’s of each delegation paid a courtesy call on Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales, who was most hospitable and very popular with the delegates. As the program drew to a close the realisation was reached that we as participants had achieved an immense amount in terms of deepening our understanding of other cultures, increasing our knowledge and awareness of global issues, broadening our perspectives and forming friendships with like-minded young people from other countries. We also realised that there was yet significant potential for cooperation and sharing of knowledge and resources to build on projects, including those already in place and in future, in our home countries. I’m certain that the relationships formed during the 17^th Ship for World Youth program are ones that will be not only tremendously useful, but treasured with affection to me for many years and throughout my future career as a medical doctor. I have no doubt that many of my fellow participants – dear friends – will be leaders in their countries and on the world stage in years to come. I am extremely grateful to the Australian government for having selected me, and particularly to the Japanese government and the Director General on Policies for Cohesive Society for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this extraordinary program. I am indebted to my fellow participants for opening my eyes and my mind to the issues that are important to young people from all over the globe. In turn I intend to educate my peers and broaden the awareness in the community about these issues, and take some small steps towards improving our world to make it a more gentle, accepting and above all safe place for us and our succeeding generations. Lachlan McIver Assistant National Leader Australian Delegation 17^th Ship for World Youth

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