Carrying a Message in a Bottle on a Journey: Cathay Pacific Helps 11 Youth Fly Toward the World

Carrying drift bottles to Nepal, she invited backpackers she met along the way to write down their thoughts about the local area and their visions of a simple life, then put them inside the bottles and pass them on to the next person. The final task was to ask the 10th person to send the bottles back to Taiwan, allowing the courage and energy of backpackers from around the world to be shared with travelers in Taiwan... This is the ambitious travel plan of a university girl and also one of the 11 "World Citizens Island: Travel with a Mission" travelers sponsored by Cathay Pacific, who hope to convey the concept of a simple life through message bottles.

What kind of impact can one trip bring? In 2013, the "World Citizens Island: Travel with a Mission" event hosted by the World Culture Association sent 129 travelers to five continents around the globe. Among them, 11 travelers sponsored by Cathay Pacific will head to Eswatini, Sri Lanka, London, and other destinations in June to embark on multi-faceted explorations and build their dreams.

 

Among these 11 travelers is Li Mengpin, currently studying Applied Mathematics at Kaohsiung University and the executor of the message bottle project — an energetic travel lover whose experiences as an international volunteer made her realize the importance of human communication and inspired her to bravely pursue new dreams. She plans to go to Nepal to experience the simplest and most ordinary form of happiness. During her two months in Nepal, Li Mengpin will continue to use the "message in a bottle" activity she conducted during her island-wide trip in Taiwan to interact with the outside world, bridging the growing emotional distance in modern society.

Hsieh Chunhung from Kaohsiung Normal University, besides volunteering as a tutor at a Hope Elementary School, is also pursuing a degree in interdisciplinary art studies and shows particular concern for underprivileged children. Having never been abroad before, Hsieh Chunhung will head to Eswatini, where the disparity between rich and poor classes and living environments is stark. Through art therapy in the form of theater, she aims to help local children learn to express themselves and piece together a fuller picture of who they are.

 

Traveler Zhang Enzi, who is about to go to Sri Lanka, grew up helping her parents sell clothes in traditional markets and, in an environment of financial hardship, earned tuition money through part-time jobs. She advanced from National Chengchi University’s Department of Diplomacy to National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Political Science. Fueled by passion and ambition, Zhang Enzi, during her three-month internship at the Asia Foundation’s Sri Lanka office, personally witnessed post-civil war social reconstruction and the tense, delicate atmosphere between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities. She decided to explore the inspiration behind the political rights struggles of Sri Lanka’s United National Party and the Muslim community through the lens of a young Taiwanese, and bring her insights back to Formosa, another island nation, to reflect anew on the roles youth groups should play in political life and their future prospects.

Lü Xuehai, Chairman of the World Citizens Culture Association, pointed out that the "World Citizens Island: Travel with a Mission" event, which sponsors 129 young people to explore the world, is a globally unprecedented initiative. Despite tremendous challenges in raising funds for airfare, they sought sponsorships one by one to give young people the courage to venture out and the opportunity to explore the world.

 

Lydia Lo, General Manager of Cathay Pacific Taiwan and Korea, stated that the power of a single trip can be immense. By supporting and encouraging young friends to step out of Taiwan, embrace the world, and chase their dreams, they face various difficulties and challenges while seeking a new future for Taiwan.

 

These 11 young travelers will set off to different countries and regions one after another, personally experiencing the local political, economic, cultural, and social customs. They will apply what they’ve learned, using their own eyes and hands to truly experience the real world. More stories about the travelers: www.wisland.org/html/index.php.

 

 

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