Cruise Report

April. 23rd

From the perspective of food safety – eliminating hunger
(Oshidari Kenro – former director of UN World Food Program (WFP) Asia bureau)

Across the course of Peace Boat’s voyages, we are joined by guest educators, or “Navigators”, who enrich our lives onboard. The original navigators board incoming ships to help guide them safely through unfamiliar waters and harbours, however on Peace Boat our navigators hold numerous events on board to guide and inform us about a wide range of topics. In today’s lecture, former Asia office director Oshidari Kenro spoke to us about his more than 30-year career working with the UN, on the frontlines of humanitarian aid and development support, and his time with the WFP from 2009-2014.

Kenro spoke about the WFP’s work around the world and the current state of food poverty, and WFP’s core ideology of delivering food to those in need. Using a range of videos throughout his talk, he spoke about how the earth is something we borrow from the children of the future, and that having awareness and empathy towards an issue are the first steps towards action. In the venue some attendees listened intently whereas others studiously took notes, with some participants commenting that they wanted to start putting into action what they could do. It was a fantastic opportunity to think about some of the imbalances the world faces, as well as the future, courtesy of food supply expert Oshidari Kenro.