Trainees (Fellows) in the United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Program, which is run by the United Nations to train disarmament specialists, were welcomed to Hiroshima for three days last year from September 28.
The United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Program is a training program that was established by the United Nations in 1979. Trainees have been coming to Hiroshima every year since 1983, and a total of approximately 770 trainees have visited Hiroshima to date.
This time, 25 young diplomats from 25 countries participated in the program. After arriving in Hiroshima on the 28^th, they attended a welcome reception and met with local participants including atomic bomb witnesses.
On the following day, the group viewed the A-bomb Dome and the Children's Peace Monument, and presented flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. They also visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims. After listening to an explanation of the Mayors for Peace initiative by this Foundation's Chairperson, Steven Leeper, they watched the film "Hiroshima A Mother's Prayer", and listened to the atomic bomb testimony of Mr. Keijiro Matsushima, thus gaining a better understanding of the actual damage caused by the bomb.
Comments from participants: "The program in Hiroshima was an extremely memorable experience. I now understand the devastating damage caused by nuclear weapons," "The visit to Hiroshima was memorable not only in terms of my work but also in terms of my own life," "I renewed my resolve to do everything I can to create a world free of nuclear weapons."