From left to right: Shiori, Sarah, Valentina, Rachel, Maya, and Andrea
Peace Boat US welcomed four new interns to the New York office this month: Valentina Zhou, Maya Florence Adelman Cabral, Andrea Guerra, and Shiori Makino on January 7th, 2014. At Hollins University, Professor Vladimir Bratic is one of Peace Boat’s guest educators and thanks to his introduction, three of the interns (Maya, Andrea, and Shiori) are from Hollins University, staying in New York City during their winter recess as Peace Boat US interns.
Maya is pursuing an interdisciplinary major in Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies and a minor in Studio Art (concentration in photography). She is interested in documentary studies and how that can be a part of her activism and work for social change.
Andrea is majoring in economics and minoring in Communication Studies. She is very intrigued by the creative approach Peace Boat and Peace Boat US have taken in order to promote peace, tolerance and connectivity through a platform that allows people the opportunity to learn and experience other cultures as well as empowering the participants onboard to become ambassadors of their own cultures.
Shiori is an international student from Japan at Hollins University. She majors in American English at her Japanese university, Kansai Gaidai University, and International Studies at Hollins. She has strong interests in Cultural Studies and International Programs, especially study abroad programs.
Valentina has various international experiences in event organizing and has decided to focus her career on working more closely with NGOs and the United Nations. She became very interested in Peace Boat two years ago when she met Emilie McGlone, the Director of Peace Boat US and the founder of Parties 4 Peace.
The new interns are excited to work with Peace Boat US and are already planning to attend various events at the United Nations in order to gain more knowledge about peace education and global issues. They will attend events regarding the genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda on January 15th, and the Women, Peace and Security lecture about Women’s Participation and WPS Accountability in Syria on the 16th of January. These events will help them to learn not only about the history of international conflicts, but also about the current solutions towards building peace in the world, thus encouraging them to contemplate the activities they can create for the Peace Boat participants to expand their perspectives.
By Shiori Makino