Completion Ceremony Held for Recipients of Second NYK Nature Fellowship
October 24, 2007
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Koji Miyahara) held a completion ceremony on October 23, 2007, for recipients of the second NYK Nature Fellowship at the company?s head office.
NYK president Koji Miyahara expressed his gratitude to all participants in a welcoming speech, saying he was greatly looking forward to hearing their reports about their experiences. Also attending were Kikujiro Namba, president of Earthwatch Japan, and Yoko Takahashi, president of the Japan Philanthropic Association.
The five fellows had conducted pertinent projects over a two-week period during August and September, and they reported on their experiences.
Yuki Nakazato, who participated in biological research on manati, which are in danger of disappearing in Belize, commented on her experiences participating in the project. ?After finishing the project, my view of nature was changed,? she said. ?I could actually feel in my bones that all actions start with loving nature.?
Yukari Kato, who participated in biological research at a world heritage - listed penguin colony in South Africa, told those attending of her new ambition. ?I would like to describe the spectacular landscape that I saw and the feelings I gained through those experiences to as many people as I can,? she said.
NYK will provide the fellowship again next year, dispatching university students to marine environmental research sites for them to engage in marine research with colleagues from around the world.
As one of the projects marking NYK?s receipt of the Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award in May 2005, the company established the NYK Nature Fellowship. Administered jointly with Earthwatch Japan since its inception in 2006, this five-year project sends Japan-based university students, and NYK employees, to maritime environmental research and study sites around the world. Once on location these fellows provide support for the research and survey activities being conducted. The fellowship is funded in the amount of approximately 50 million yen. Of this sum, roughly 11 million yen (U.S. $100,000) is a cash prize that accompanied receipt of the award, while the balance, nearly 40 million yen, is contributed by NYK.
About Earthwatch JapanEarthwatch, established in 1971 in Boston, is the world's largest international nongovernmental organization and provides researchers with both human and financial support for overseas field research and surveys. Volunteers dispatched all over the world by Earthwatch have taken active roles at cutting-edge scientific sites, receiving instruction from world-class scientists.
Earthwatch Japan was established in 1993 for the purpose of promoting Earthwatch activities in Asia. In 2003, it was certified as a nonprofit organization.
About the Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental AwardThis award was established by Dr. Thor Heyerdahl and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association in June 1999 in order to improve the global environment, announce to all segments of society the environmental benefits of shipping as a mode of transport, and encourage the implementation of new, specific environmental measures.
An award recipient is generally selected every two years. The Green Award Foundation won the inaugural award in 2001, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation won the award in 2003, and NYK won the third award in 2005 and received a cash prize of US$100,000.
(http://www.heyerdahlaward.com)
A Norwegian cultural anthropologist and explorer, Dr. Heyerdahl successfully completed a voyage in 1947 on the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Polynesia on a kon tiki, a light raft made of balsa without nails or wires.