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On-Site Learning Support for Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course
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The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are asking colleges and universities around the world to establish and promote Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses.
The aim of the course is to communicate to the young generation the message of the A-bomb survivors―a legacy common to humankind―as an academically organized and universal discipline, incorporating the survivors' wish for peace.
From March to May 2014, groups of students from Central Connecticut State University and Indianapolis University in the United States, as well as international students from Japan's International Christian University, each conducted on-site study tours in Hiroshima.
Each of the universities offers the Peace Study Course.
The students from the three universities learned about the actual damage from the atomic bombing, through tours of Peace Memorial Park and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and listening to A-bomb testimonies.
They also visited the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, where they listened to a recital of poetry based on the bombing, and tried reciting poetry themselves.
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Central Connecticut State University
For two days over March 19 and 20, a group of 22 students and two teachers from Central Connecticut State University participated in on-site learning as a part of training for new students.
The group listened to the A-bomb testimony of Ms. Seiko Ikeda, among other activities.
International Christian University (ICU)
From April 5 to 8, a group of 12 international students from International Christian University (ICU) participated in on-site learning.
The international students participating were selected from countries all over the world by the Rotary Foundation, with headquarters in America, and were all students who are majoring in peace research for their master's course at ICU.
This time marked the 9th time that ICU students have visited as part of this initiative.
In addition to listening to the A-bomb testimony by Ms. Seiko Ikeda, the students also participated in a discussion with Mr. Komizo, the chairperson of the board of this Foundation, and researchers from the Hiroshima Peace Institute, and spoke frankly about what they can each do to achieve the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
Indianapolis University
From May 10 to 14, a group of 8 students and 2 teachers from Indianapolis University participated in on-site learning as a part of Indianapolis University's Hiroshima Peace Study course which is certified as a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course.
This was the 4th time that students from this university have conducted on-site learning.
The group experienced Japanese culture and learned about peace-related issues.
The group deepened their understanding of the actual damage from the bombing through various activities:
they listened to an A-bomb testimony by Mr. Sadao Yamamoto and a lecture by Ms. Mari Tsuruda, emeritus principal of the Hiroshima YMCA School of Languages, on her experience in an internment camp for people of Japanese descent in America during the World War II.
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Students from America's Central Connecticut State University reciting poetry at the A-bomb poetry recital session
International students from International Christian University offering paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument
A-bomb witnesses and the group from America's Indianapolis University
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They also attended a lecture by Mr. Kazumi Mizumoto, Vice-President of the Hiroshima Peace Institute, and viewed the A-bombed trees at Shukkeien Garden.
As a new initiative, they listened to a commentary by the Hiroshima Castle curator about the war ruins at the Hiroshima Castle grounds, including the Chugoku Military Headquarters, together with six students from Hiroshima University of Economics.
They also spoke with the Hiroshima students and learned about the historical side of Hiroshima, once a military city.
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| (Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division) |
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