Thirty-eight years ago Ted Simon took off on an around-the-world motorcycle ride that he immortalized in his book Jupiter's Travels. Simon is now launching the Ted Simon Foundation with the purpose of "Encouraging those who adventure into the world to go the extra mile and transform their experiences into something of value for the world to share."
The organization, a non-profit headquartered in California, describes its mission in this manner:
The Foundation was created by a group of people who believe that individuals of good will, moving among foreign cultures and making themselves vulnerable to the beliefs and customs of strangers, have great importance in promoting world understanding, and even more so when they can distill the essence of their experiences into a form that can be absorbed by many.
The purpose of the Foundation is to encourage and assist travellers in making an extra effort to develop their observations and insights into something of value for the rest of the world to share, whatever their medium of expression might be.
To those who are setting out we will offer advice, contacts and, where possible, practical help. To those on the road or returning, we will offer assistance in transforming the raw material of adventure into something stunning for the rest of the world to appreciate. We will not be timid in our assessments and we will strive for high standards.
The words we live by are Exploration, Comprehension and Communication.
The foundation will have its launch event at the Coventry Transport Museum in the UK on Oct. 6, the 38th anniversary of the day Simon set off on his journey. It is soliciting travelers to sign up to become a "Jupiter's Traveller," saying, "If you're a traveller and believe your insights could be of value in promoting world understanding, please apply to become a Jupiter's Traveller."
An annual Jupiter Awards ceremony will recognize the contributions made by Jupiter's Travellers in promoting world understanding.
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