Ships from Holland America Line have transported travelers to destinations all over the planet since 1873. A lot has changed in the world since then. Like any other business (or life I suppose), surviving time is a challenge here as well. But it’s one thing to survive time and quite another to flourish over time in meaningful ways. To do that, to truimph over time, incremental moves that support an overall focus bigger than the sum of all they do is required.  That brings the Holland America Shared Humanity Award.

“Holland America Line is guided by the belief that travel changes the way we look at the world and helps create a path toward acceptance,” said Orlando Ashford,  Holland America Line President in a press release (full text below). This should not be news to regular readers.  About two years ago, in Holland America Christening Highlights Broader Focus, we identified the evolving story of Holland America Line.  That enlightened focus energized the Holland America organization in a number of ways, exampled at the time by the launch of new Koningsdam.

The ship itself was built to support an evolving travel company, adding new, relevant and engaging onboard programming.  But Koningsdam is just one ship with a twin sister ship due out later this year.  This is more than that.  Now we have the Holland America Shared Humanity Award, presented first to world peace/human rights icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa.

 

“By establishing the Shared Humanity Award, we can pay tribute to those who have inspired us and millions of others,” said Ashford, continuing to inspire then cut loose thinkers in the Holland America organization, as effective leaders do. A monetary donation to the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation was part of the new award that will happen anually,

Holland America Shared Humanity Award
Why should we care?

Well, my friends, these are the kind of moves we take the time to look at here. They are real life examples of what a cruise line is all about.  The definition of the brand. At the end of the day, these are little things that add up to feeling good about doing business with one cruise line over another. We want to travel with companies that think like we do.  Frankly, we have been talking about the transformative power of a cruise for a mighty long time. In the past, that discussion has focused on encouraging travelers to buy into onboard programming. The reward?  Insert your cruise line slogan here.  We did not know exactly what happened but at the end of the cruise, we felt a bit different.  Not to question that good feeling, we just did it over and over until we were addicted to cruise travel.

Older and (maybe) a bit wiser now, we know moves like this go deep to define a cruise line. Any cruise line. The effect of that definition brings us marvelous travel experiences and something to take home with us: an enlightened global view.

Let’s put this another way: all of the above was inspired by this:

 

 

Holland America Shared Humanity Award- Press Release:

To further strengthen its commitment to the transformative power of travel and the belief that connecting people from different cultures opens minds, builds connections and inspires shared humanity, Holland America Line is establishing the Shared Humanity Award to be given annually starting this year. The award will be presented to a leader and change-maker who has dedicated their life to inspiring others to see that the things that unite us are greater than those that divide us.  
 
Holland America Line president Orlando Ashford bestowed the first Shared Humanity Award on Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, in recognition of his lifetime spent championing equality, inclusion and peace. The Archbishop attended the program on April 4, 2018, aboard Amsterdam in Cape Town during a stop on its Grand World Voyage. Guests also heard highlights of the Archbishop’s remarkable life from Robert V. Taylor, president of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation in New York, who was in Cape Town for the event. Also in attendance was Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation.
 
Ashford presented a $40,000 donation on behalf of Holland America Line to the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation in commemoration of the award. Holland America Line’s Shared Humanity Award – together with a menu from dinner on board Amsterdam following the award program – will be showcased in the Archbishop’s museum once completed in Cape Town.
 
 “Holland America Line is guided by the belief that travel changes the way we look at the world and helps create a path toward acceptance. By establishing the Shared Humanity Award, we can pay tribute to those who have inspired us and millions of others,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We are incredibly honored to give the first Shared Humanity Award to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the world’s foremost human rights activists and spiritual leaders, who has dedicated his life to spreading peace, freedom, justice and democracy around the globe.”  
 
Tutu, the first black African to serve as Archbishop of Cape Town, and his work forging racial equality — beginning with his opposition to apartheid in South Africa — is renowned throughout the world. His leadership of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has offered a blueprint to nations across the globe seeking to recover from war, conflict and brutality. The Archbishop is known for his unshakable optimism in the face of overwhelming odds and his limitless faith in the ability of people to do good works. Over the last decade and a half he has been an outspoken voice for women’s leadership, girls’ education and LGBT rights, addressing climate change and seeking to end the practice of child brides.

Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1986, the Pacem in Terris Award in 1987, the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999, the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2007 and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

“There are many ways to celebrate Archbishop Emeritus Tutu — peacemaker, reconciler, champion of human rights of every kind, recipient of countless awards and hundreds of honorary doctorates, but this humble man who treads the face of the earth lightly loves the simplicity of being called ‘Father’,” said Robert V. Taylor, president of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.  “In the spirit of Holland America Line’s Shared Humanity Award we are invited to be inspired by what the Archbishop often says: Do your bit of good wherever you are because every bit of good adds up to change the world.”

 

Cover Photo: Holland America Line