Hiroshima City designates November as the Month for a Culture of Peace every year, and various events are held to promote culture that leads to a shared desire for peace. In 2022, we expanded the scope of our efforts beyond the city to the greater Hiroshima metropolitan area, and held a digital stamp rally in which participants could win local specialties and other prizes by visiting each event. Many people participated in the various events during the period, which provided an opportunity to think about peace again through art, culture, sports, and other activities.
　Here are some of the events organized by our Foundation.

Peace Culture Lecture 〔October 29〕

　As the opening event of the Month for a Culture of Peace, we welcomed actor Misako Konno to give a lecture on a culture of peace. Ms. Konno, who is active as an actor in TV, film, and stage performances, as well as in variety shows, is popular for her unpretentious speaking style and has been active in the field of international cooperation as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador since 1998, visiting Cambodia, Palestine, and other countries in Asia and Africa.
　At the lecture, on the theme of "What I have seen and felt as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador", Ms. Konno spoke about how people are living positively in spite of poverty and difficulties. She also read from "The Stars Are Watching", a memoir by parents who lost their children in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which is a new work of Misako Konno's Reading Theater, which she has led since 2010. The reading was accompanied by an original video directed by Tadashi Ogawa.
　We received feedback from the visitors such as "learning about the current situation in developing countries made me think about true happiness", "I felt that it is important to do what I can do" and "I was moved by the emotional readings and beautiful images." In particular, the reading filled with the emotions of the parents who lost their children in the atomic bombing touched the hearts of many, and the audience was filled with thoughts of peace, providing an opportunity for each participant to reflect on peace in their daily lives.

Citizen's Peace Culture Event 〔November 3〕

　The Citizens' Peace Culture Event: Let's Connect Hiroshima's Thoughts on Culture Day (Japanese national holiday) was held in the Main Conference Room Dahlia of the International Conference Center Hiroshima. Organizations, mainly young people who are engaged in peace activities in Hiroshima, gave presentations on stage and through exhibits to share their daily activities and thoughts on peace.
　At the opening, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said, "I am very pleased that so many citizens have participated in this event, as we hope to firmly establish a 'culture of peace' through artistic and cultural activities such as today's music and theater, and through peace-related exhibitions and presentations."

＜Stage Presentations＞

　In the stage presentations, five groups of mainly young people performed music and choral pieces with a focus on peace, as well as a percussion ensemble concert, a picture-story show set at a former Army Clothing Depot, and a creative peace play. These presentations on the theme of peace drew empathy from many visitors and provided an opportunity to share the importance and preciousness of peace.

＜Exhibit Presentations＞

　In the exhibition hall, seven groups of high school and university students made presentations in a variety of ways, including a hands-on workshop for making copper-panel paper cranes, video and panel displays of their peace initiatives, and messages for peace from a wide range of citizens.

Peace Culture Corner at "Pop Culture Hiroshima 2022" 〔November 5〕

　A Peace Culture Corner where visitors could experience calligraphy and paper crane making was set up at the Pop Culture Hiroshima 2022 event held at Kamiya-cho Chaleo underground mall. This event is a venue for international exchange in youth culture known as "pop culture", including anime, manga, and cosplay.
　High school students from Hiroshima operated the Peace Culture Corner, and many people, including international cosplayers, wrote messages of peace in calligraphy and experienced making paper cranes.
　The messages for peace that were submitted to the Peace Culture Corner were made into a work "Words for Peace" by high school students and displayed with origami cranes near the entrance to the main venue of the International Festival 2022 held on November 20 at the Hiroshima International Conference Center, delivering the message of peace to many visitors.

Let's Talk About Hiroshima-Nagasaki 〔November 12〕

　With the aging of the A-bomb survivors, we believe it is important to pass on the A-bomb experience from generation to generation, so volunteers from various organizations that regularly hold readings of A-bomb memoirs and poetry in Hiroshima gathered together to hold the "Let's Talk About Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Hiroshima Association 2022" to convey the thoughts of the A-bomb survivors. The event was co-hosted by our Foundation.
　At the venue, there were readings of A-bomb testimonies and A-bomb poems, screenings of films produced by junior and senior high school students in the prefecture on the theme of peace, and musical performances.
　Approximately 200 people attended the event, and around 700 people also viewed the event online. Comments from the audience included, "It was good to hear presentations by people of all ages, including high school students" and "It was a valuable opportunity to see various types of presentations and to think about peace again." It was an opportunity for participants to share the thoughts of the A-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to renew their commitment to peace.

Peace Culture Prize Winners Announced

　As one of the initiatives for Month for a Culture of Peace, the Hiroshima City Board of Education awarded the Peace Culture Prize to four entries from among those submitted to the annual Messages from Youth contest. The selected entries expressed a strong desire for peace in daily life.
　The theme of the contest was "Becoming an Adult Means" and participants expressed their ideal image of adulthood and how they should act through essays, cartoons, and illustrations. All of the entries matched with the concept of a culture of peace that will lead to peace in the future. Please see the Foundation's website for more information about the entries.

(Download) Peace Culture Prize award winning works (in Japanese) (PDF)