On July 15, 2015, a young American woman, Cassandra De Pecol (Cassie), departed on an international expedition to travel to all 196 Sovereign States of the world, in an effort to break a Guinness World Record, while promoting World Peace through the International Institute of Peace through Tourism (IIPT). She hopes to inspire the world through her travels under Expedition 196, and connect with citizens of the world as she personally carries the banner of World Peace in traveling as a ‘World Citizen’.
Cassie has covered about 193 countries already so far. She is now in Pakistan for a few days and will be visiting Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Her programme in Pakistan is being organized by PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Pakistan Chapter, supported by the country’s leading PR firm, Asiatic Public Relations Network, or APR as it is better known.
“Tourism plays a vital role in promoting peace and understanding between the countries and the peoples of the world, and we are sure that Cassie’s visit to Pakistan will go a long way in projecting the real Pakistan to the world – a Pakistan of hospitable and peace-loving people, and a Pakistan of a rich diversity in every way,” stated Akbar A. Shareef, Chairman, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Pakistan Chapter.
While in Pakistan, Cassie will be delivering talks at leading universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and at a Rotary function, meeting the travel trade, visiting some important cultural and heritage sites, meeting the Karachi Mayor and participating in a tree plantation activity, meeting the media, and interacting with youth and social media activists, among still other activities in a hectic itinerary.
Speaking about his agency’s involvement in Cassie’s Pakistan trip programme, Zohare Ali Shariff, the CEO of Asiatic Public Relations Network said, “It is a great privilege for us to not only meet Cassie, but to also be directly associated in planning and executing a productive itinerary for her Pakistan visit, which we have thoughtfully worked out to give Cassie as wide an exposure as possible in the limited time available, to our people and especially to our youth, and to our rich and diverse heritage and culture. We are sure Cassie will leave Pakistan with indelible fond memories, and we wish her the very best for her world record attempt and her mission of promoting global peace.”
Cassie’s dream since high school has been to see every country on Earth, and it wasn’t until her 25th birthday that she realized her life-long dream was in plain sight, just waiting for her to make a move. There was no better time to pursue her goal of seeing every country on earth. So, she spent one month sweating over a wall map and planning her itinerary for what would be, Expedition 196.
“I choose to live my life in a unique way. To live in iconic, low key lifestyle where I do what I want, when I want, and inspire those along the way.” – Cassie De Pecol.
