Need for “moral education that does not accept nuclear weapons”: Disarmament forum in Nagasaki 250 participate
Aug. 21, 2012
by Aya Kano, Staff Writer
The two-day Global Forum on Disarmament & Non-Proliferation Education got underway at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum on August 10. Participants are discussing the nature of peace education and the development of the next generation of leaders, aiming at the abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The forum, the first of its kind, is being sponsored by the government of Japan and the United Nations University. The event has attracted approximately 250 participants from 19 countries, including representatives of four international bodies and various non-governmental organizations.
On the first day of the forum five people discussed the role of education. Hiromichi Umebayashi, director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, said, “At the higher education level it is important to work to expand peace and disarmament education beyond a specialized field and beyond the framework of the school system.”
Avner Cohen, a professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in the U.S., said moral education that does not accept the existence of nuclear weapons is necessary. Akira Tashiro, executive director of the Chugoku Shimbun’s Hiroshima Peace Media Center, reported on a program run by the center in which junior high and high school students interview atomic bomb survivors.
Next, seven diplomats and reporters discussed the creation of a “weapons of mass destruction-free zone” in the Middle East, a concept that has arisen because Israel is presumed to have nuclear weapons but is not a party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Sakue Shimohira, 77, a resident of Nagasaki who experienced the atomic bombing of the city when she was 10 years old, recounted her experiences. Ms. Shimohira serves as a “Special Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons” of the government.
The forum is part of the disarmament and non-proliferation education being promoted by the Foreign Ministry. The City of Nagasaki offered to host the event.
(Originally published on August 11, 2012)
The two-day Global Forum on Disarmament & Non-Proliferation Education got underway at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum on August 10. Participants are discussing the nature of peace education and the development of the next generation of leaders, aiming at the abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The forum, the first of its kind, is being sponsored by the government of Japan and the United Nations University. The event has attracted approximately 250 participants from 19 countries, including representatives of four international bodies and various non-governmental organizations.
On the first day of the forum five people discussed the role of education. Hiromichi Umebayashi, director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, said, “At the higher education level it is important to work to expand peace and disarmament education beyond a specialized field and beyond the framework of the school system.”
Avner Cohen, a professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in the U.S., said moral education that does not accept the existence of nuclear weapons is necessary. Akira Tashiro, executive director of the Chugoku Shimbun’s Hiroshima Peace Media Center, reported on a program run by the center in which junior high and high school students interview atomic bomb survivors.
Next, seven diplomats and reporters discussed the creation of a “weapons of mass destruction-free zone” in the Middle East, a concept that has arisen because Israel is presumed to have nuclear weapons but is not a party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Sakue Shimohira, 77, a resident of Nagasaki who experienced the atomic bombing of the city when she was 10 years old, recounted her experiences. Ms. Shimohira serves as a “Special Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons” of the government.
The forum is part of the disarmament and non-proliferation education being promoted by the Foreign Ministry. The City of Nagasaki offered to host the event.
(Originally published on August 11, 2012)
