World Scout Jamboree visits Peace Memorial Park to learn about Hiroshima
Aug. 5, 2015
by Daisuke Yamamoto, Staff Writer
The World Scout Jamboree, an international event for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts currently being held in the city of Yamaguchi in Yamaguchi Prefecture, began its peace program on July 30 at the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. About 26,000 scouts from some 150 countries and regions will visit Hiroshima through August 5, in turns, to learn about peace. The city of Hiroshima is marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing this year.
About 4,100 scouts ranging in age from 14 to 17, along with their adult scout leaders, took part on the first day of the six-day program. They visited the Peace Memorial Museum and toured the Peace Memorial Park, visiting the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and various other monuments. In the International Conference Center Hiroshima, they listened to a recitation of testimonies and poems written by A-bomb survivors.
Ulf Richard Olausson, 17, a high school student from Sweden, said that although conditions in the city after the bombing were horrific, he was very impressed to see how Hiroshima has successfully recovered from the devastation that claimed so many lives. As part of the special events held during the peace program, many scouts tried their hand at calligraphy using Kumano brushes, a local product from Kumano-cho in Hiroshima Prefecture, and origami as they folded paper cranes.
On August 6, a total of 200 scouts representing each country taking part in the Jamboree will attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony and offer folded paper cranes, made during their event, at the Children’s Peace Monument in the Peace Memorial Park.
(Originally published on July 31, 2015)
The World Scout Jamboree, an international event for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts currently being held in the city of Yamaguchi in Yamaguchi Prefecture, began its peace program on July 30 at the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima. About 26,000 scouts from some 150 countries and regions will visit Hiroshima through August 5, in turns, to learn about peace. The city of Hiroshima is marking the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing this year.
About 4,100 scouts ranging in age from 14 to 17, along with their adult scout leaders, took part on the first day of the six-day program. They visited the Peace Memorial Museum and toured the Peace Memorial Park, visiting the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and various other monuments. In the International Conference Center Hiroshima, they listened to a recitation of testimonies and poems written by A-bomb survivors.
Ulf Richard Olausson, 17, a high school student from Sweden, said that although conditions in the city after the bombing were horrific, he was very impressed to see how Hiroshima has successfully recovered from the devastation that claimed so many lives. As part of the special events held during the peace program, many scouts tried their hand at calligraphy using Kumano brushes, a local product from Kumano-cho in Hiroshima Prefecture, and origami as they folded paper cranes.
On August 6, a total of 200 scouts representing each country taking part in the Jamboree will attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony and offer folded paper cranes, made during their event, at the Children’s Peace Monument in the Peace Memorial Park.
(Originally published on July 31, 2015)
