General remarks

• In order to create a sustainable International City of Peace and Culture, Hiroshima should simultaneously aim for two goals in peace education: 1）to encourage children in Hiroshima to acquire a culture of peace and become active on the world stage, and 2）to encourage many young people outside of Hiroshima, in Japan and overseas, to experience and learn about a culture of peace in the city of Hiroshima. This is because in order to build world peace, we need to promote a culture of peace, not only in Japan, but throughout the world.
• The above activities to promote a culture of peace in civil society are unique to Hiroshima, so the City of Hiroshima should make its presence felt through these activities. There is great power in continuing to communicate these things.
• The meaning of 'peace' in this case must be taken broadly, including, of course, the absence of war and conflict, but also the denial of all forms of violence. That is, the building of a society in which people can live together peacefully in a spirit of tolerance and find hope for the future. For this reason, sports and the arts are also effective teaching materials that can help people experience peace.
• Considering the importance of mutual recognition of peace through exchange and dialogue between the children of Hiroshima, who have learned about peace culture, and the younger generation in Japan and abroad who have visited Hiroshima, the two goals of peace education in (1) and (2) overlap. It is also important to pay consideration to nurturing a rich sensitivity to respect peace, respect for self and others, and a spirit of compassion, taking into account issues such as bullying.

Detailed comments

• It is important to increase the number of children welcomed to Hiroshima through school excursions and the Hiroshima Peace Study Acceptance Program. The children of Hiroshima must also have the opportunity to communicate peace in these programs, as this becomes peace education for them as well. We should actively encourage the proactive participation of Hiroshima children in the program.
• In order to increase acceptance of school excursions, we should enhance the peace education package offered in Hiroshima while widely publicizing the learning benefits to teachers in charge of school excursions. As items to be incorporated in the future, the use of VR and the enhancement of inter-school exchange would be useful.
• The Youth Volunteer Organizations that play a part in receiving participants should be expanded in cooperation with schools, and the practical English language training required for peace activities should be enhanced. Furthermore, a consistent framework for peace volunteering among young people should be reestablished, including private schools, with the aim of enhancing human resource development beyond school boundaries and age groups.
• In school education in Hiroshima City, with the help of teachers and a budget, and with the cooperation of the local community, the city could promote advanced peace education as Peace Education Research Promotion Schools. It will also be important to improve the training and development of teachers.
• It is necessary to strengthen the system and secure a budget to build a new system in which the Board of Education and the Peace Culture Foundation will work together toward the goal of raising peace awareness among the younger generations.