On Friday July 13th, along with three students from Global to Local,  we were fortunate to head out to Manhattan Cruise Terminal to attend Peace Boat’s Education for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals program, which focused on empowering youth to achieve the SDGs. Not only did we learn about the amazing programming offered by Peace Boat, with three trips around the planet each year, but we also learned about many of the other organizations that are working to better their communities and the world.

We met Nana Eyeson-Aki Wowo, the president and founder of African Health Now, whose organization provides information and accessibility to sustainable primary health care to women, children and families living across Sub Saharan Africa (#GhanaBound2020).  Scribbling tons of notes to bring new resources back to our classrooms, we heard from Mayaan Cohen from the Alliance for Climate Education, an organization with the mission to educate young people on the science of climate change and empower them to take action. We listened eagerly to Dana Pauzaulskie from Earth Guardians, who works to empower youth as environmental leaders and amplify their voices as advocates for sustainable practices.  Both of us were moved to tears by Junko Nagao’s guided meditation and inspired by La Tisha Parkinson’s reflection on her Peace Boat voyage.

We had the opportunity to sit as panelists for the main event of the afternoon and talk (read: brag) about our dedicated students and the work they just did in Cambodia.  After the panels, our students had the privilege of networking with the crowd of thoughtful, future-focused environmental advocates.

We had the honor of reconnecting with Javier Valdez, the founder of MYGHT, and one of the most ardent supporters of Global to Local.  Javier is the reason we were privileged enough to attend this event, bring our students to meet all of these amazing changemakers, and speak on the panel about our work.  It was awesome to tell him just a little about our Cambodian adventures, and our still-green plans for next year.

A huge thank you to Peaceboat, MYGHT, Emilie McGlone, and our fantastic students for a memorable day!