Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course field trip by International Christian University
－International students learn at the atomic bombing sites－
|
The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are working with universities all over the world to establish
and promote the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Course. The purpose of the course is to communicate
to the younger generations the aspiration of peace as an academic and universal discipline, an
aspiration incorporating the fundamental message of the hibakusha (atomic bomb victims and
survivors): "No one else should suffer what we did".
As part of this initiative, a group from International Christian University (ICU), one of the
participating universities, visited the Foundation from November 27 to 29 last year. Selected in
each country by the Rotary Club, whose headquarters are located in America, the twenty
participants were international students from America, France, Argentina, Indonesia, Denmark and
Venezuela majoring in peace research as part of their master's course at ICU. This was the ninth
field trip by the ICU to Hiroshima after their first trip in 2003.
The first day was spent viewing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Memorial Park,
where the students learned about the reality of the damage from the atomic bomb.
On the second day, the students listened to the testimony of an a-bomb survivor, Mr. Keijiro
Matsushima. They then visited the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb
Victims, where they heard recitations of poetry based on the atomic bombing, and also experienced
reciting poetry themselves, thus deepening their understanding of the message of the A-bomb
survivors. In the subsequent session with researchers from the Hiroshima Peace Institute, the
students participated in a discussion on various issues faced by Hiroshima in the post-war period,
including the debate and reality of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, the abolition of nuclear
weapons and civilian use of nuclear power. There was a lively question and answer session, with
participants asking questions from the viewpoint of their respective countries.
On the third day, the students listened to an explanation by this Foundation's Chairman Steven
Leeper about initiatives for the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
Currently (as of April 1, 2012), Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses have been established at
a total of 56 universities (40 in Japan, 16 overseas).
|
|
Commemorative photo with Mr. Matsushima
|
|
|
(Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)
|
|
|
|
