PRESS RELEASE
African Youth Travel with Peace Boat to Promote Disaster Resilience
Tokyo, Japan, December 12, 2014
With the goals of building capacity of young African leaders and strengthening regional cooperation on disaster risk
reduction to reduce the impact of disasters and enhance community resilience, Japan-based NGO Peace Boat incooperation with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), through its Regional Office for Africa, will
welcome young leaders from countries visited in Africa to take part in workshops onboard Peace Boat's passenger ship
as it circumnavigates the globe.
UNISDR and Peace Boat signed a cooperation agreement in June 2014, by which the international NGO agreed to raiseawareness for the "Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!" Global Campaign - led by UNISDR since 2010 at each of the 60 ports of call of its educational voyage around the world between 2014 and 2015.
During the programme that starts on December 18, six young people from Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa
will join the 800 passengers aboard this multicultural boat. They will attend a training course and share initiatives andexperiences on disaster risk reduction and resilience building in their communities. They will also explore therelationships between disasters and other issues such as gender, education and sustainable development.
The participants will evaluate both the existing challenges to strengthening resilienceand potential solutions, and will have the opportunity to propose mechanisms forresilience building in the region. They will also discuss lessons learned from the 2011
earthquake and tsunami in Japan with those with first-hand experiences in the affectedareas. Other disasters such as floods and tropical storms which affect both regions will
also be evaluated.
The programme will be held from December 18 to 23 during the African segment of
the 86th Peace Boat's Global Voyage, between the ports of Maputo (Mozambique)and Cape Town (South Africa). At each port, press conferences will be conducted,
along with field visits related to disaster risk reduction.

ProgrammeThursday, December 18:
Maputo, Mozambique.
Programme starts, paricipantsfrom other countries join.
Friday, December 19:- Press Conference in Maputo,Mozambique.

About the "Making Cities Resilient" Global Campaign:

Saturday-Monday,
December 20-23:- Onboard programme.

More than 2000 cities around the world have joined the UNISDR-led campaign and areworking to make their communities more resilient to disasters. The Global Campaign is basedon 10 essentials for developing local resilience, which in turn build on the 5 priorities for actionof the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), adopted by UN Member States for the period
2005-2015 to increase the resilience of communities and nations through disaster risk reduction.

Tuesday, December 23:- Cape Town, South Africa(Disembarkation). PressConference.

About Peace Boat:
Peace Boat is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal andsustainable development and respect for the environment through global educational programmes on global peace voyages. Peace
Boat has carried out emergency relief operations for the past 19 years all over the world by delivering emergency assistance andraising funds, as well as coordinating the dispatch of experienced logisticians, interpreters and volunteer teams. One of our main
operations has been the coordination, training and dispatch of thousands of volunteers after the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami in March 2011.
Related links: Making Cities Resilient Global Campaign/UNISDR- Peace Boat Cooperation Agreement

Media Contact: Juan Carlos Uribe – Email: carlos(a)peaceboat.gr.jp/Robin Lewis – Email: robin(a)peaceboat.gr.jp

Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Buildingfor Youth Leaders in Africa - Programme Participants
Ms. Myriam VOLOLONARIVO (Madagascar)
Myriam is a journalist and reporter, with experience working as a communication officer for internationalorganizations such as UNDP and FAO. She is head of the Malagasy Youth for Sustainable Development movement,and is also active as a youth trainer and advocacy member for the World Association of Girls Guides and GirlsScouts. She writes blog articles for World Pulse, a women’s online network, and for International Youth Council.
Mr. Fetraniaina RAKOTONDRASOAVA (Madagascar)
Fetraniaina has five years of experience working as a TV reporter. He is also the Founder and General Coordinatorof TSIMANAVAKA, a local youth association that focuses on children, women and the vulnerable family. He is
also the Project Coordinator of MYSD – “Malagasy Youth for Sustainable Development”. Fetra holds a Master inLaw from the National Distance Learning of Madagascar, and a Media & Advocacy Certificate by Speak Africa, an
African youth action network.
Mr. Felix CARLOS (Mozambique)
Felix is an actor, trainer and community mobilization specialist, with broad experience using participatory theatre
for development. He is currently the artistic director of theatre group Luarte. For over 10 years, he has partneredwith NGOs and international organizations including UNICEF, OIKOS, Pathfinder and UN-Habitat, using social
theatre for advocacy, awareness raising and capacity building.
Mr. Fernando MUSSANE (Mozambique)
Fernando is an economics student at Eduardo Mondlane University and a volunteer for various social causes. He
has participated in training provided by Mozambique Red Cross in emergency issues and rescue operations in caseof floods. Since 2009 he is an active volunteer with the National Institute of Disaster Managements (INGC). He
also volunteers for Red Cross of Mozambique and the organizations’ Forum of the Municipal District
KAMAXAKENI.
Ms. Lalumbe MAKUYA (South Africa)
Lalumbe is the Founder and Project Director of the Naledi Foundation. Lalumbe works with rural schools in
isolated areas, to give them a different outlook on life and motivate them to strive beyond their current
circumstance. Because of this work, she was awarded the SET Africa award for her contribution in rural education
in South Africa. She is also a Mandela Washington Fellow.
Mr. Sabelo MNUKWA (South Africa)
Sabelo is a Psychology and Anthropology student at the University of Johannesburg and a Project Management Risk Management student from the University of South Africa. He has a keen interest in improving community
volunteers' Disaster Management skills. He has worked with various development organizations with a nationalreach such as Oxfam South Africa, Activate Leadership, Amandla.mobi and the German Embassy.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Buildingfor Youth Leaders in Africa - Programme Facilitators
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Ms. Isabel NJIHIA (UNISDR Regional Office for Africa)
Isabel serves as an Information Management Analyst at the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa and the regional
focal point for the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, Local Government Self-Assessment Tool (LG-SAT) andsupports the National HFA reporting process. Professionally, she has been involved in a wide range of projects
ranging from software development, information and knowledge management, project management and advocacy.
She has been instrumental in building capacity for National Disaster Loss Databases (DesInventar), as well as theLG-SAT in several countries, and in the advocacy of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign and International Day
for Disaster Reduction.
Mr. Raphael OBONYO (UN-Habitat’s Youth Board)
Raphael is a member and external advisor to the UN-Habitat Youth Board and an Africa Representative to theWorld Bank’s Global Coordination Board of Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network. He has extensive
knowledge and experience in public policy, international development, political economy, governance, non-profit
and project management, and has been recognized internationally for his critical roles in advancing youth
development. He has worked with the UNDP in New York, the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research in Kenya,
Youth Congress of Kenya and Kenya Human Rights Commission. He is a Ford Foundation Fellow and the chair ofthe Ford Foundation- East Africa IFP 9th Cohorts, as well as a member of the Civicus World Assembly and a key
reference to the Civicus Youth Advisory Group.

PROGRAMME COORDINATOR:
Mr. Robin LEWIS (Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center)
Robin is the International Coordinator for Peace Boat’s Disaster Relief Volunteer Center. There, he coordinatesinternational humanitarian response, disaster risk reduction and capacity building programmes, donor/partner
relations, and UN-related projects. He has experience leading international relief teams after the 2011 Great East
Japan Earthquake, as well as serving as Peace Boat’s field coordinator in disaster relief projects after Hurricane
Sandy in New York (2012/2013) and tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma (2013). He also serves as a bilingual trainer
for Peace Boat’s disaster relief training programs. Robin has traveled to more than 15 countries to implement
peace-building and humanitarian projects.