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Sixteen days in Tunisia

Bab Al-Bhar, the historic Sea Gate of Tunis, once opened directly onto the Mediterranean. Today, white colonial buildings stand where water once lapped at the city walls.
Bab Al-Bhar, the historic Sea Gate of Tunis, once opened directly onto the Mediterranean. Today, white colonial buildings stand where water once lapped at the city walls.

Tunisia is named after Tunis. Not the other way around. If the country takes its name from the city, then any attempt to understand Tunisia must start in Tunis.

Before reading any further, look at a map. You must appreciate the exceptional location of Tunis; only then does the city make full sense. Historically, Tunis was little more than a compact nucleus pressed in the strip of land between the Séjoumi lagoon (a flamingo sanctuary) and Lake Tunis, once the natural harbour. Everything that now feels expansive, avenues, neighbourhoods, infrastructure, rests on land reclaimed from water. Bab Al-Bhar, the Sea Gate, crystallises this transformation: standing there today, flanked by white buildings, you have to imagine the water once visible straight through the gate. The city quite literally stole land from the sea as it expanded.

That tension between land and water, between natural geography and human intervention, repeats itself everywhere in Tunisia. An artificial peninsula appears in the ancient harbours of Carthage. Salt lakes replace vanished seas in Chott el Djerid. Urban coastlines are pushed back, fortified, paved over. Today, the landscape bears the marks of centuries of negotiation with water, sometimes reverent, sometimes violent. But let’s stay in the capital for a moment.

Visiting the medina (old town) on a Sunday, when most souks are closed, made the architecture audible. Without the commercial noise, proportions, light and texture take over; the business-day buzz is thrilling, but silence teaches you how the city breathes. That quiet also sharpens your attention to thresholds. And then the beauty of the doors hits you. Again and again. Painted, carved, symbolic, they demand to be read, often concealing unexpected worlds behind them. In the medina, access is never guaranteed: museums may still be family homes, so you knock, you wait and someone might let you in. Knowledge survives through generosity. This constant negotiation between private and public space explains why repurposing feels so natural here. People inhabit ancient burial sites, former shrines become cafés and even the old slave market has transformed into the jewellers’ quarter; history reused rather than erased. The twenty madrasas scattered through the medina embody this logic perfectly: still embedded in daily life, neither fully public nor entirely private, their doors test your luck. Finally stepping inside one felt unreal, courtyards opening suddenly, tiled interiors that seemed imagined rather than constructed. I honestly felt I was dreaming.

But don’t forget to look up, as architecture constantly communicates power, belief and belonging, often far more than we initially perceive. The green-tiled domes signalling burial places, the octagonal or patterned motifs minarets proclaiming variants of Islam (Ottoman and Almohad respectively) or the colour codes identifying hammams and barber shops all speak a visual language that locals instinctively read. In Tunis, belief is never private, it is inscribed into skylines and façades.

That inscription extends inward. Mosques feel less like austere institutions than wellness centres, spaces of rest, learning and calm. Mats are placed against ancient columns to shield people’s backs from the cool marble. I even witnessed people nap inside Al-Zaytuna. So much peace that you can sleep. How do churches compare?

The courtyard of Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis, built in the seventh century with repurposed Roman columns. The Great Mosque remains the spiritual and commercial heart of the medina.
The courtyard of Al-Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis, built in the seventh century with repurposed Roman columns. The Great Mosque remains the spiritual and commercial heart of the medina.

Al-Zaytuna itself is the city’s anchor, the Great Mosque. The souks grew around it, originally as little more than rented awnings, now covered streets wrapping commerce around devotion. You walk through trade and suddenly stumble into the sacred. Built in the seventh century, shortly after the Islamic conquest of Byzantine Africa, the mosque stands on layers of belief. While it is likely that a temple existed here since antiquity, legend says it was built on the shrine of Saint Olive of Palermo. “Zaytuna” means olive, in Arabic and in Spanish. Language preserves memory even when stones are repurposed. Indeed, the entire prayer hall is held by a forest of Roman columns and capitals, older worlds literally supporting newer ones.

As a Spaniard, Tunisia had many a surprise in store for me. Rue des Andalous reveals one of Tunisia’s most consequential migrations. During the Middle Ages, much of Spain was Muslim. Forced conversions, expulsions and finally the mass expulsion even of Moriscos (former Muslims converted to Christianity) in 1609 drove tens of thousands across the sea. Spain was Al-Andalus in Arabic and so these Spaniards became known as “Andalusians”. Large numbers settled in Tunisia, founding neighbourhoods and entire industries. That legacy is not abstract. Chechias, the characteristic red felt hats associated with Tunisois men, were produced using techniques brought by Andalusian refugees. By the nineteenth century, chechia makers were among the wealthiest and most influential merchants in Tunis. The Tunis souks where you can still watch them work are living archives of forced migration turned cultural inheritance. Indeed, the link with Al-Andalus is still emotionally present. Several people called me “cousin” when I told them I was Spanish. It did not feel metaphorical. It felt familial. Spanish presence resurfaces repeatedly: forts at La Goulette, inscriptions in Castilian, Andalusian refugees founding towns like Testour, where the mosque clock runs backwards (‘anticlockwise’) like Arabic script. Jewish and Muslim Spaniards built whole towns together after fleeing persecution. They brought urban planning, architecture, food and memory.

The ribat of Monastir, a fortified Islamic monastery, now separated from the Mediterranean by a modern coastal road. The ancient fortress once stood directly on the beach.
The ribat of Monastir, a fortified Islamic monastery, now separated from the Mediterranean by a modern coastal road. The ancient fortress once stood directly on the beach.

Non-human animals are also everywhere if you know where to look, silently narrating human history. Today, cats dominate Tunis, lounging, glamorous, fully at home in the city. But North Africa was once also home to another feline: lions, ultimately erased from the landscape by hunting. At the Bardo museum, Roman mosaics celebrate them while also depicting their mass slaughter in amphitheatres. Venationes (gladiatorial hunting shows) paved the way to extinction long before modern poaching. Rome’s “games” were ecological disasters disguised as entertainment. El Djem boasts the third largest amphitheatre in the world, an uncomfortable reminder that the spectacle of violence against animals became industrial. Birds, too, mark survival. Storks now nest on electrical poles, thanks to recent conservationist efforts, and the ancient castle on the artificial Chikly island in Lake Tunis is now a natural reserve for over fifty-seven species.

Water management reveals another continuity of power. Ancient Carthage was defined by water engineering. Artificial harbours, commercial and naval, remain legible after 2,200 years. Aqueducts carried water across vast distances; cisterns stored enough to sustain one of the Mediterranean’s largest cities. Fresh water was sacred. Springs, such as that at Zaghouan, were divine. Nymphs were believed to guard the source so temples rose where water emerged from the rock. But human transformations of the landscape sometimes rival natural phenomena. Chott el Djerid, now a salt desert, was once part of the Mediterranean Sea. When geological shifts cut it off, the water evaporated, leaving salt behind. The salt is now actively extracted and shipped north, sold to Scandinavian countries as grit to combat icy roads. At the same time, visions of reversing this desiccation persist, from colonial-era schemes to the revival of the “Sahara Sea” project in the 2010s, approved by the Tunisian state in 2018. Coastlines have also been shaped by humans. Hammamet’s medina once met the waves directly. Boulders and walkways intervened. Monastir’s ribat once stood on the beach before roads severed it from the sea. Sousse’s medina now violently cut away from the Mediterranean. Tunisia has never stopped imagining how to reshape water.

The medina walls of Hammamet meet a rocky breakwater constructed to protect the coastline. Where waves once touched ancient stone, boulders now buffer the historic town from the sea.
The medina walls of Hammamet meet a rocky breakwater constructed to protect the coastline. Where waves once touched ancient stone, boulders now buffer the historic town from the sea.
A fisherman wades through the ancient Punic harbours of Carthage, still in use after 2,200 years. The artificial basins, once home to Carthaginian naval and merchant fleets, now serve local fishing communities.
A fisherman wades through the ancient Punic harbours of Carthage, still in use after 2,200 years. The artificial basins, once home to Carthaginian naval and merchant fleets, now serve local fishing communities.
The Temple of the Nymphs at Zaghouan, where a sacred spring once fed the Roman aqueduct supplying Carthage. Fresh water was divine; nymphs were believed to guard this source.
The Temple of the Nymphs at Zaghouan, where a sacred spring once fed the Roman aqueduct supplying Carthage. Fresh water was divine; nymphs were believed to guard this source.

Just as water and animals shape human settlement, so too does climate. Again and again in Tunisia, habitation reveals extraordinary adaptation to environment. At the ancient site of Bulla Regia, houses were built partly underground to escape heat, flooding interior spaces with light while sheltering them from extremes. At Matmata, troglodyte dwellings carved into the earth have stabilised temperature in a harsh desert landscape for centuries. At Zriba Olia, a town only abandoned decades ago, Amazigh (Berber) architecture merges seamlessly with mountain rock: the house ends, the mountain begins. Even the Roman theatre at Dougga takes perfect advantage of the mountain’s elevation. These are not picturesque oddities; they are intelligent, time-tested responses to landscape. But changes aren’t always benign, especially when colonial brutality is concerned. In Carthage, Roman policy deliberately buried, erased and levelled the Punic past on Byrsa Hill. Centuries later, French authorities turned amphitheatres into chapels, erected cathedrals atop Punic acropolises and even built a farmhouse on the Roman capitol at Oudna. Layers of civilisation were literally crushed to assert dominance. The irony is that archaeology eventually resurrected what imperial ideology tried to annihilate.

An underground villa at Bulla Regia, the ancient Roman city where homes were built below ground level to escape North African heat. Roman columns frame a sunken courtyard still preserving intricate floor mosaics.
An underground villa at Bulla Regia, the ancient Roman city where homes were built below ground level to escape North African heat. Roman columns frame a sunken courtyard still preserving intricate floor mosaics.
A traditional troglodyte dwelling in Matmata, where Amazigh families have carved homes into the earth for centuries. The sunken courtyard design provides natural climate control in Tunisia's arid south.
A traditional troglodyte dwelling in Matmata, where Amazigh families have carved homes into the earth for centuries. The sunken courtyard design provides natural climate control in Tunisia’s arid south.
The Roman theatre at Dougga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built into the mountainside to capture both acoustics and panoramic views across the Tunisian countryside.
The Roman theatre at Dougga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built into the mountainside to capture both acoustics and panoramic views across the Tunisian countryside.

Language binds all of this astonishing diversity together. Phoenician (Punic) script underpins our Latin alphabet. Tifinagh survives among Amazigh communities. Writing systems are fossils of contact. Even humour reveals linguistic layering: Tunisians seem to have the worst, and best, wordplay, producing gems like “Pub-elle”, “Bar Celone” or “Mec Anic”, jokes cleverly built on French that land perfectly in Tunisian streets. Religion, too, refuses neat boundaries. Phoenician deities merge with Egyptian, Persian and Roman gods. Judaism flourished in North Africa from antiquity and remained deeply rooted in Tunisia until the twentieth century. Christianity arrived early, fractured into multiple denominations and left basilicas, cathedrals and martyrs’ narratives across the landscape. Islam absorbed, adapted and reinterpreted what came before. Syncretism is not the exception here, it is the rule.

By the end, what remains clearest is this: Tunisia is not a palimpsest with erased layers. It is an accumulation where nothing disappears entirely. Former seas leave salt. Empires leave infrastructure. Migrations leave words, recipes, and cousins!

Sixteen days is nothing.
And it was everything.

Written by: Fernando Nieto-Almada

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fernando read History at university in London and Paris and currently teaches Languages. You can follow him on Instagram here.

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Tiny Organisms, Big Impact: The Winners of the 2026 Science Without Borders Challenge

Nearly 900 students from 65 countries answered the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s 2026 brief: paint the invisible ocean. The winners of the Science Without Borders Challenge turn plankton, archaea, and zooxanthellae into images that translate the engine room of the blue planet.

The ocean’s most consequential workforce is microscopic. Plankton, marine bacteria, archaea, symbiotic microalgae: the species too small to see with the naked eye produce more than half of Earth’s oxygen, drive nutrient cycling, anchor every marine food web, and quietly regulate the climate. They are the engine room of the blue planet. They are also, for most students, invisible.

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has spent fourteen years using one of the most underrated tools in ocean education to fix that: a paintbrush. The 2026 Science Without Borders® Challenge, the Foundation’s annual international student art competition, has just announced its winners. This year’s theme, Microscopic Marine Life, drew nearly 900 entries from students aged 11 to 19 in 65 countries. The brief asked them to make the invisible visible.

First Place 15-19: Ocean's Hidden Jewel Box by Sophia Jiye Lee
First Place, 15-19: Ocean’s Hidden Jewel Box by Sophia (Jiye) Lee, age 17, USA. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

15 to 19 age group

First Place went to Sophia (Jiye) Lee, a 17-year-old at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, New Jersey, for Ocean’s Hidden Jewel Box. The piece is a mixed-media work on a custom-cut wooden canvas shaped to mimic an oxygen molecule, two circular panels bridged by a rectangular insert. Inside the panels, microscopic marine organisms (diatoms, crystal-walled Acantharia) are rendered as gemstones glowing against deep ocean blacks.

“When people see my work, I hope they recognize that significance is not defined by scale. I want them to feel a sense of awe for the unseen and to realize that impact can extend beyond just the source. Just as my piece breaks traditional borders of a canvas, the contribution of these organisms breaks the borders of the ocean to sustain every breath we take, no matter where we are.”

Sophia (Jiye) Lee, First Place, 15-19
Sophia Jiye Lee with her art teacher Natalia Mak
Sophia (Jiye) Lee with her art teacher, Ms. Natalia Mak. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Second Place 15-19: The Deep Microcosm of Life by Qing Yang Cheng
Second Place, 15-19: The Deep Microcosm of Life by Qing Yang Cheng, age 17, Canada. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

Second Place went to Qing Yang Cheng, 17, from Canada, for The Deep Microcosm of Life, a detailed portrayal of the archaea that thrive around hydrothermal vents and the chemosynthetic ecosystems they sustain in the absence of sunlight. This is biology that operates by rules most surface readers do not know: not photosynthesis but the harvesting of sulfur, methane, and dissolved minerals into living tissue.

Third Place 15-19: Sea Manual by Hyang Yu Lee
Third Place, 15-19: Sea Manual by Hyang Yu Lee, age 17, Republic of Korea. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

Third Place went to Hyang Yu Lee, 17, from the Republic of Korea, for Sea Manual: an inventive illustration of marine bacteria’s decomposition and nutrient-cycling work, rendered in the unmistakable visual language of an IKEA instructional manual. Step one: a fallen whale. Step two: bacterial decomposition. Step three: nutrients return to circulation. The joke lands; the science does too.

11 to 14 age group

First Place 11-14: The Giant and the Invisible by Olivia Shin
First Place, 11-14: The Giant and the Invisible: A Story of Ocean Recycling by Olivia Shin, age 14, Canada. Charcoal on recycled cardboard. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

First Place went to Olivia Shin, 14, a student in Calgary, for The Giant and the Invisible: A Story of Ocean Recycling. The work is charcoal on a piece of recycled cardboard. It depicts a whale fall: the slow decomposition of a blue whale carcass on the seafloor, broken down over decades by microscopic organisms whose collective work sustains entire deep-sea ecosystems. The material choice and composition are not incidental. Both reinforce the theme of interconnection.

“I was inspired by how bacteria clump together and work with microorganisms, which to me resembled the game of Tetris. I hope that my artwork can encourage others’ thoughts and interest in marine life.”

Olivia Shin, First Place, 11-14

Inside the studio: Olivia Shin at work

Olivia’s winning charcoal-on-cardboard piece did not arrive on the page fully formed. She worked through it over weeks, building the whale fall in layers, refining the bacterial mats and sediment textures with her teacher, Ms. Lily Kim of About Art Studio in Calgary. The process shots below offer a rare look at the discipline behind the final image.

Olivia Shin creating her winning artwork
Olivia Shin at work on The Giant and the Invisible. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Olivia Shin building the composition in charcoal
Building the composition in charcoal. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Olivia Shin with her art teacher Lily Kim
Olivia Shin with her art teacher, Ms. Lily Kim of About Art Studio, Calgary. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Olivia Shin and Ms. Lily Kim review the work
Reviewing the piece with Ms. Lily Kim. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Olivia Shin creating an underwater scene of sea otters
Olivia at work on an earlier piece, an underwater scene of sea otters. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
Second Place 11-14: The Touch of Life by Jieming Zhang
Second Place, 11-14: The Touch of Life by Jieming Zhang, age 11, China. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

Second Place went to Jieming Zhang, just 11 years old, from China, for The Touch of Life: a vivid illustration of the symbiotic microalgae (zooxanthellae) that live within coral tissue, photosynthesising and feeding their host in a partnership without which tropical reefs would collapse. With ocean warming bleaching reefs at scale, this is exactly the biology a generation of young readers needs to understand.

Third Place, 11-14: The Invisible Engine of the Ocean. Image courtesy Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

Third Place went to Eason Liang, 14, from Irvine, California, for The Invisible Engine of the Ocean, a piece that reimagines microscopic marine life as the literal machinery powering Earth’s natural systems. The metaphor is precise. Without the ocean’s microscopic life, the carbon pump stalls, food webs unravel, and atmospheric oxygen levels fall. The engine is not optional.

Why this matters

Each winner receives a scholarship of up to $500 from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. The prize money is the smallest part of what the competition delivers. The larger return is what the students themselves carry forward.

“This year’s theme challenged students to explore a world that is rarely seen but absolutely essential to life on Earth. Through their artwork, these students transformed complex scientific ideas into powerful visual stories, helping others better understand the critical role microscopic marine life plays in sustaining our oceans and our planet.”

Amy Heemsoth, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Education, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

Marine phytoplankton are responsible for roughly half of global net primary production, the foundation of nearly every ocean food web (Field et al., Science, 1998). The biological carbon pump driven by these organisms transports an estimated 10 to 12 gigatonnes of carbon from the surface ocean to the deep sea each year, a climate-regulating service whose collapse is one of the most studied risks of ocean warming (Henson et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022). When a 14-year-old draws a whale fall in charcoal, or an 11-year-old paints symbiotic algae inside a coral polyp, they are not making decorative work. They are translating the biggest planetary processes most adults never learn about into something a stranger can grasp at first glance.

Now in its 14th year, the Science Without Borders® Challenge has put generations of young artists through that translation exercise. The Foundation’s bet, year after year, is that the artists who learn to render the ocean’s hidden machinery on a canvas at 14 will be the same people negotiating policy on its behalf at 34. The 2026 cohort suggests the bet is paying off.

The full gallery of winning artwork and high-resolution images are available via the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation announcement. For information about the competition and the 2027 theme, visit LOF.org/SWBChallenge.

All artwork © the named artists, reproduced courtesy of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. SEVENSEAS Media thanks Liz Thompson, Chief Communications Officer at the Foundation, for sharing the announcement with our community.

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Protected: The Koovagam Festival: A Celebration of Trans Identities and a Marriage to God

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Sailing Toward a Sustainable Blue Future: An Interview with Emilie McGlone, Director of Peace Boat US

On the eve of World Oceans Day, Peace Boat US Director Emilie McGlone reflects on a 41-year voyage in peace, sustainability, and youth-led ocean action, from Tokyo to the United Nations to the upcoming Ocean Gala onboard the MV Pacific World in New York City.

Emilie McGlone is the Director of Peace Boat US, the New York-based office of the international non-governmental organization Peace Boat. Founded in Japan in 1983, Peace Boat promotes peace, human rights, and sustainability through Global Voyages on its chartered passenger ship, the Pacific World, often described as a “floating university.” Peace Boat holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, serves as a key campaigner for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is a prominent member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Peace Boat hosts three Global Voyages per year, each lasting roughly 100 days, weaving together educational lectures, cultural exchanges, and humanitarian projects as the ship circumnavigates the globe. As Director and United Nations liaison, McGlone leads programs that bring peacebuilding, sustainable development, and environmental advocacy onboard. She founded the “Youth for the SDGs” scholarship to empower young leaders in ocean and climate action, coordinates side events at the UN such as the ECOSOC Youth Forum, supports global emergency response through the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Centre (PBV), and champions the Ecoship Project, an initiative to build the world’s most sustainable passenger ship.

McGlone has been with Peace Boat since 2004, initially joining as a volunteer Spanish teacher after living in Japan for a decade, and has now circled the world with Peace Boat six times.

Portrait of Emilie McGlone, Director of Peace Boat US and UN liaison for ocean and climate action
Emilie McGlone, Director of Peace Boat US and United Nations liaison.

Tell us about the educational and professional journey that led you to becoming Director of Peace Boat US.

I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Cultural Studies, and I began volunteering abroad at a very young age. After spending months studying Spanish and working alongside NGOs in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Chile, I traveled to Japan to begin teaching with the Ministry of Education through the JET Program (Japan Exchange and Teaching). I later led an environmental awareness bicycle ride called BEE, Bicycle for Everyone’s Earth, cycling from Hokkaido in Japan’s northern island down to Okinawa, where we learned about ocean conservation and shared a message of environmental sustainability.

In 2004, I joined Peace Boat as a volunteer Spanish teacher and soon began working full time in the International Division in Tokyo, building onboard programs with guest speakers and partners around the world. That early work, focused on educational programming and international exchange, shaped how I think about people-to-people connection as the foundation of peacebuilding. In 2011, I was invited to become the United Nations liaison and Director of Peace Boat US, based in New York City. Peace Boat holds Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and we have an office at the UN Plaza, so my role is to build strategic partnerships and work alongside our partners toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Today, my focus is connecting education, advocacy, and global collaboration: building partnerships, coordinating programs, and creating spaces where youth, civil society, and global institutions can come together to advance peace and sustainability.

What are the core missions and projects of Peace Boat?

Peace Boat’s mission is to build a culture of peace and sustainability by connecting people across borders through education, advocacy, and partnership. Our work focuses on four key areas: ocean conservation, climate action, youth engagement, and disarmament. A core program onboard is the Youth for the SDGs scholarship, endorsed under the UN Ocean Decade, which brings young leaders aboard our voyages for experiential learning and action on ocean and climate issues.

Tell us about Peace Boat’s upcoming Global Voyages, and particularly the 123rd Global Voyage from April 7 to July 20, 2026.

Each year, we organize three Global Voyages, three-month journeys around the world that bring together about 2,000 participants from approximately 20 countries. The 123rd Global Voyage, sailing from April 7 to July 20, 2026, is especially meaningful: we are celebrating Peace Boat’s 100,000th participant. The voyage continues our focus on global environmental issues, with particular attention to ocean and climate action.

In New York City, we are hosting the Ocean Gala and Blue Innovation Reception onboard during our port call, in alignment with United Nations World Oceans Day and the UN Ocean Decade. The event brings together partners from the UN, civil society, the private sector, and youth leaders to strengthen collaboration around ocean protection and the blue economy. Participants will also engage with leading research institutions, including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, learning directly from scientists about biodiversity and environmental change.

Which UN events does Peace Boat prepare side events for each year?

Each year, we engage with major UN processes including the ECOSOC Youth Forum, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and the UN Climate Change Conferences (COP). We also contribute to ocean-related initiatives such as World Oceans Day, Climate Week NYC, and activities under the UN Ocean Decade. These spaces let us bring youth voices and civil society perspectives into global policy discussions, connecting our onboard work with international advocacy.

You founded the “Youth for the SDGs” scholarship. Tell us about this initiative.

I started Youth for the SDGs to create a space for young leaders aged 18 to 30 to engage with global challenges through experiential learning and practice. Endorsed under the UN Ocean Decade by IOC UNESCO, the program brings participants onboard Peace Boat to explore ocean and climate action while connecting with scientists, policymakers, and communities around the world. Through this experience, youth build knowledge, networks, and a sense of agency, and they are supported in taking action on the Sustainable Development Goals in their own communities.

Tell us about the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Centre (PBV).

Peace Boat Disaster Relief, or PBV, is a Japan-based NGO that supports communities affected by disasters and works to strengthen local response capacity, both in Japan and globally. PBV emphasizes that people are central to reducing disaster risk and building resilience. After Japan’s 2011 triple disaster, PBV recognized that well-trained and organized volunteers can play a crucial role in effective response and launched its Disaster Relief Volunteer Training Program. Sessions are held regularly across Japan and are open to anyone, regardless of background or experience. PBV also delivers tailored training for corporations, universities, Social Welfare Councils, and other organizations.

Tell us more about the Ecoship Project.

Ecoship is the next step in our 41-year evolution. It will be the future platform for Peace Boat’s global voyages, carrying 8,000 people per year, hosting exhibitions on green technology in up to 100 ports, and serving as a floating laboratory contributing to research on the ocean, the climate, and green technology. The ship will create awareness of and encourage active engagement with the challenges embodied in the SDGs, while modeling a transition path for decarbonizing the maritime sector.

Does Peace Boat participate in Climate Week events around the world?

Throughout Climate Week, we act as a key player in strengthening cross-sector collaboration and elevating inclusive leadership across global climate processes. During Climate Week NYC 2025, Peace Boat US and Blue Planet Alliance convened a series of engagements alongside the 80th UN General Assembly to advance ocean and climate action. A central highlight was the “From UNOC to Belém” high-level luncheon, which brought together senior leaders to elevate ocean priorities within global climate governance and finance. Youth leadership was also featured through the Youth for the SDGs event, where young leaders and global ambassadors shared initiatives on ocean literacy, science education, and climate action.

Beyond your work with Peace Boat, you are the founder of Parties4Peace. Tell us about this initiative.

Parties4Peace (P4P) is a non-profit event production and fundraising organization that hosts music and art events to support global initiatives focused on education, sustainability, equality, and disaster relief. P4P unites people to create a culture of peace through dance and music, emphasizing collaborations with those who seek a platform to make a difference.

You are also a collaborator in M.A.P.A. (Music & Art Peace Academy). Tell us about this initiative.

MAPA aims to provide young artists, musicians, and producers from around the world with experiences and resources to further explore and develop their creative talents. The MAPA project invites individuals, organizations, musicians, artists, activists, DJs, photographers, designers, writers, actors, videographers, and promoters interested in social and environmental issues to work together to promote a culture of peace through music and art, and to join Peace Boat’s global voyage for the Music & Art Peace Academy onboard.

You are a Global Ambassador and UN liaison for Blue Planet Alliance. Tell us about this initiative.

As a Global Ambassador for Blue Planet Alliance, we are working together toward a 100 percent renewable energy future by 2045. We also invite youth leaders from Small Island Developing States to join us as part of the “Youth for the SDGs” scholarship for the UN Ocean Decade onboard. My work with Peace Boat connects this directly to the United Nations through our ECOSOC consultative status.

How can people get involved with Peace Boat, Parties4Peace, M.A.P.A., and Blue Planet Alliance?

People can get involved through a range of programs designed for different levels of experience and commitment. The Youth for the SDGs program is an experiential learning and capacity-building opportunity for young activists and scholars working on SDG-related initiatives, open to participants of any age and background, and endorsed by IOC-UNESCO as part of the UN Ocean Decade.

Internships with Peace Boat US offer hands-on experience in advocacy, youth engagement, sustainability, and international partnerships, supporting work on issues that include climate action, ocean conservation, disarmament, and peacebuilding. For more flexible involvement, volunteering opportunities are available on a project or event basis. Volunteers are especially important during Peace Boat visits to New York City and at public events, and they can support campaigns such as nuclear abolition or apply specialized skills to specific initiatives.

Anything else you would like to add?

We are excited to support an inclusive and sustainable blue economy for all, creating networks for ocean conservation and climate action, using our ship as a venue. Ocean Gala information will be shared at peaceboat-us.org/pb-ocean-gala-nyc.

How can people reach you?

People can learn more and get in touch through the Peace Boat US website at www.peaceboat-us.org, or follow on Instagram @peaceboatus for updates on programs and events. We are always open to connecting with individuals and organizations interested in peace, sustainability, and youth engagement. You can also write to info@peaceboat-us.org.

Call for Sustainable Fashion Designers and Artists: Join Peace Boat for The Ocean Gala in New York City, June 10, 2026

The Ocean Gala onboard the MV Pacific World, June 10, 2026, Manhattan Cruise Terminal, New York City.

As Peace Boat docks in New York City during its 123rd Global Voyage, a special Ocean Gala will be held onboard the ship on the evening of Wednesday, June 10. The event brings together diverse changemakers working to find innovative solutions to accelerate ocean and climate action, showcasing blue innovation and partnerships for a sustainable blue economy and resilient societies, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Peace Boat is an international NGO with Special Consultative Status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council, working to promote a culture of peace and sustainability worldwide by connecting people across borders and creating opportunities for learning, activism, advocacy, and cooperation. Its programs run primarily through voyages aboard the passenger ship MV Pacific World, enabling participants to learn first-hand about issues such as ocean conservation, environmental degradation, and gender equality. Peace Boat sails with the SDGs logo on its hull, visiting roughly 100 countries each year.

  • Date: Evening of June 10, 2026 (Wednesday)
  • Program: Talks, artwork, music, and sustainable fashion for the ocean
  • Venue: Onboard the MV Pacific World, docked at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, New York

Designers and artists interested in participating in person are invited to register their ideas by May 20, 2026 at forms.gle/hsN9UvWJEBwRP75K9.

By Selva Ozelli

Selva Ozelli is a contributing writer for SEVENSEAS Media covering ocean conservation, climate, art, and sustainability.

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