Sea, youth, ports, and navigation. Over 240 days in the Mediterranean Sea. 30 stopovers, 200 young people from different cultures, languages, and ethnicities, all together for peace.

The training ship Bel Espoir set sail last March from the port of Barcelona. It is sailing along five shores of the sea that unites Europe and Africa, to offer its contribution to the most urgent issue of the present and of humanity in every era: the end of all wars. It will continue until October, welcoming a total of eight groups on board, each made up of 25 youth of different nationalities, cultures, and religions.

The importance of dialogue and understanding

What the youth aboard the Bel Espoir have in common is the desire to work for a better world. They pursue this goal through the tools and values of understanding and knowledge, and through dialogue, in which each person shares their own life experience. Various topics are explored during this meaningful journey, which also includes young peace ambassadors from Living Peace and the Focolare Movement.

Dialogue between cultures, education and society, women of the Mediterranean, religions in dialogue, environment and development, migration challenges, Eastern and Western Christianity, building peace—these are the themes addressed at the different stages of this eight-month journey on the water.

Bertha’s testimony

Among the many youth who boarded the Bel Espoir is Bertha El Hajj, a young peace ambassador from Lebanon involved in the MediterraNEW project, which focuses on educating youth in the Mediterranean, especially migrants.

At the end of the journey, Bertha shared her experience aboard the ship in a report entitled On the Same Boat: A Journey Towards Peace. We are sharing most of the key passages here, and at the end of our article, you’ll find a link to read Bertha’s full story.

“A few weeks ago,” she begins, “I took part in the MED25 project, a school-ship for peace. We were 20 youth from all over the Mediterranean—North, South, East, and West—aboard a boat called ‘Bel Espoir’”.

Important and beautiful, but not easy

“It wasn’t just a journey — it was a path through the lives, minds and cultures of others. Living on a boat with so many different people was beautiful, but not always easy. Every day we had to share responsibilities: cooking, serving meals, cleaning, washing dishes. We rotated in teams, so everyone experienced the full rhythm of life on board. I wish I could say that by the end it all became natural, but in reality, it was harder than expected. You start to realize just how much teamwork it literally takes to move forward. We were there to talk — really talk. These weren’t theoretical discussions. They were deeply personal. We shared our perspectives, and sometimes we clashed. Sometimes the discussions got heated. There were moments of frustration. Some conversations even turned into actual arguments.”

The value of knowledge on the Bel Espoir 

“But here’s the truth: on a boat, you can’t just walk away. You can’t go home and sleep on it. You live together. You eat together. You sail together. You are literally on the same boat. This changes everything. It makes it impossible to stay upset for long. We had to talk about it. We had to listen to each other, and sometimes we had to admit we were wrong. For me, this was the most powerful part of the experience. I realized that most conflicts between people or between countries don’t arise from hatred. They arise from a lack of knowledge. From stereotypes. From misinformation. And just as we had the chance to get to know each other on that boat, so can the world. If we managed to overcome years of misunderstandings in just two weeks together, imagine what would be possible if people were truly willing to listen to one another.”

What’s in common on the Bel Espoir 

“What struck me most was that, despite all our differences, we had so much in common. We laughed a lot. We danced. We experienced seasickness together. We also had the opportunity to fast together, as it was during Lent and Ramadan. We made art, read, joked, prayed in many different languages at the same time, explored religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, slept under the open sky, and shared silent and sacred moments. And through all this, I realized that peace is not something distant or unattainable. It is something very human. It is chaotic and requires commitment. But it is possible.”

The joy of change 

“I returned changed. Not because I believe we have now solved all our problems, but because I now believe that peace is not a dream—it is a choice. A choice that truly begins with seeing and listening to the other. And if 20 strangers managed to do this on a boat in the middle of the sea, then there is hope for the rest of the world too.”

Bertha’s words are full of meaning and express well the essence of the experience carried forward by the Bel Espoir ship: the three-masted schooner that meets the different faces of the Mediterranean and became a reality following the Mediterranean Meetings held first in Bari (2020), then in Florence (2022), Marseille (2023), and Tirana (2024). The great journey of the Bel Espoir will conclude in Marseille on October 26th.

Below is a useful link to learn more about the project and to read Bertha’s full text.