High school peace ambassadors present report on their U.N. activities at Hiroshima City Hall, express pride in being able to spread message of nuclear abolition
Sep. 9, 2015
by Kyosuke Mizukawa
Two high school students from Hiroshima Prefecture who called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the 18th Annual High School Student Peace Ambassadors Program held at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland reported on their activities at a press conference at Hiroshima City Hall on August 24.
As a Peace Ambassador from Hiroshima, Tsugumi Inoue, 15, a resident of Aki Ward and first-year student at Prefectural Hiroshima High School, gave her first speech in English before the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on August 18. She referred to her great-grandfather’s atomic bombing experience and called on participants in the meeting to “take a big step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons” this year, the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings. Recalling her experience, Ms. Inoue said, “People listened carefully while taking notes and nodding. I’m proud that I was able to convey the feelings of the atomic bomb survivors.”
Karen Wakihara, 16, a first-year student at Fukuyama Akenoshi Girls’ High School, described her efforts, including the submission to the U.N. of petitions with 160,000 signatures calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. “After hearing supportive comments from people in Geneva, I felt even more strongly that people and nuclear weapons cannot coexist,” she said, adding that she planned to continue her grass-roots activities.
The two students were selected by the High School Peace Ambassador Dispatch Committee, an organization based in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were in Switzerland from August 16 to 20 along with 19 other students from outside Hiroshima Prefecture.
(Originally published on August 25, 2015)
Two high school students from Hiroshima Prefecture who called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the 18th Annual High School Student Peace Ambassadors Program held at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland reported on their activities at a press conference at Hiroshima City Hall on August 24.
As a Peace Ambassador from Hiroshima, Tsugumi Inoue, 15, a resident of Aki Ward and first-year student at Prefectural Hiroshima High School, gave her first speech in English before the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on August 18. She referred to her great-grandfather’s atomic bombing experience and called on participants in the meeting to “take a big step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons” this year, the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings. Recalling her experience, Ms. Inoue said, “People listened carefully while taking notes and nodding. I’m proud that I was able to convey the feelings of the atomic bomb survivors.”
Karen Wakihara, 16, a first-year student at Fukuyama Akenoshi Girls’ High School, described her efforts, including the submission to the U.N. of petitions with 160,000 signatures calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. “After hearing supportive comments from people in Geneva, I felt even more strongly that people and nuclear weapons cannot coexist,” she said, adding that she planned to continue her grass-roots activities.
The two students were selected by the High School Peace Ambassador Dispatch Committee, an organization based in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were in Switzerland from August 16 to 20 along with 19 other students from outside Hiroshima Prefecture.
(Originally published on August 25, 2015)
