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Remembering Hiroshima: Re-cap of the International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition, August 28-30

2 September 2015

Thirty youth from 23 countries gathered at the International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition in Hiroshima to learn about, share ideas and make plans to increase youth engagement in the nuclear disarmament movement.

The Summit, held August 28 to 30, was hosted by Soka Gokkai International and co-organised by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Mines Action Canada, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and us, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

 

Learning together

The summit began with a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and surrounding Peace Memorial Park, close to the hypocentre of where the atomic bomb hit at 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945. Each participant could visit the museum at their own pace and let the exhibition sink in. Afterwards, we paused at the cenotaph to remember, to reflect and offer flowers to those lives that were taken too soon.

In the afternoon, participants met with Ms. Toshiko Tanaka, a survivor of the Hiroshima nuclear attack on 6 August 1945 and well-known enamel artist. She survived the attack at 2.3 km from the hypocentre. Though she only recently started to tell her story, she shared her experiences with a very captive audience.

A conversation with the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr. Kazumi Matsui, followed. He offered a brief introduction and afterwards participants discussed the special role of the city of Hiroshima and ways to engage decision makers in order to advance nuclear abolition.

 

And from each other

The following day focused on peer-to-peer training sessions, to review the previous day, and agree on actions for the future. Workshops were held on how to best reach out to younger people, uniting the movement and how gender matters for nuclear disarmament. In the afternoon, in a joint brainstorming session resulted in concrete commitments by participants for the coming year.

 

Expanding the circle

The two days of intensive work prepared the group to host a public forum on 30 August 2015 for 250 young people from across Japan. During its opening session, dignitaries such as the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth addressed the forum and its participants all stressing the important role of youth for advancing nuclear abolition. Following the opening session, Naomi Tagawa, (on a Hibaku Piano: a piano that survived the nuclear attack) performed and “Hiroshima Lost – A Labor of Love”, a film by filmmaker and Hibakusha, Mr. Masaki Tanabe, premiered. The film demonstrated the daily life in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, before and after the bomb was dropped.

To inspire attendees for the afternoon brainstorming session, young activists from Japan, Kenya, Romania, Thailand, and the United States presented their successful youth campaigning to the audience. The following action planning session encouraged forum attendees to use their newly acquired knowledge, about the horrific impacts of nuclear weapons, to actively pursue nuclear disarmament.

 

Hiroshima - 17 of 17

 

“It is time to take action.”

The International Youth Summit concluded with the presentation of a youth pledge entitled Generation of Change: A Youth Pledge for Nuclear Abolition. The pledge is open for signature now!

Signatories pledge to: “encourage others to join the nuclear abolition movement and establish a strong unity among all nuclear abolition campaigners; [and] call upon every State to start negotiations on an international treaty for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons” among other actions.

 

The pledge with the opportunity to sign on is available online at: www.internationalyouthsummit.org/pledge/

Want to see for yourself?

Have a look at Facebook for some pictures and impressions from Hiroshima!

 

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Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.