Peace Boat trip to NYC, Oct 2016

On October 20, PFP board members Anne Polaski and Drew Gentile travelled to NYC to attend the Peace Boat’s “Floating Festival for Sustainablility” which was held in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Public Information to celebrate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The foundation has been working with our NYC partners Jean Trudel and Kelly Egan to explore the possibility of having the Big Book travel around the world next year on the Peace Boat and this event was the perfect opportunity to tour the boat and learn more about its mission.  The evening featured inspirational speeches from UN and Peace Boat representatives, as well as diplomatic and civil society members.  Over 600 people were welcomed on the boat and the gala evening was full of musical and cultural performances and exhibitions.  Both Anne and Drew came away from the event committed to collaborating with the Peace Boat with hopes of seeing our Big Book (in one form or another) on its voyage in 2017.  With a year to work on arrangements, the PFP Foundation is hopeful that the biggest peace boat and the biggest peace book can join efforts to promote peace worldwide.

Jean and Kelly have also been instrumental in working with the 9/11 Museum to consider the possibility of an exhibit of the Big Book there, and on October 21 Anne and Drew met with the education department staff of the museum to further that goal.  A valued partnership between that department and our foundation is growing, and Drew has written a post for their blog about his experience sharing the story of the Big Book with museum visitors this past summer. As we continue to seek out additional exhibit sites, the United Nation, the 9/11 Museum, and the Peace Boat are the ones we hope to secure to reach the widest global audience.