WFC News
On December 5, our Directors, Bradley & Susan visited the Sotoku High School Newspaper Club. Four members of the Sotoku High School Newspaper Club participated in the Korean PAX in the spring of 2024 and the club covered various activities of WFC and published articles in the Sotoku Gakuen Newspaper.
It was very interesting to visit a Japanese high school and hear about its activities from the students in the newspaper club. Incidentally, the students are very interested in the newspaper club at Suntoku High School, and about 10% of the entire school’s students are members of the club. In October, the club won the “Gold Prize” in the National High School Newspaper Contest. Bradley and Susan were surprised to learn that the newspaper club is active every day after school until late, except during test periods. The directors expressed their hope that our new facility will serve as a place where guests from abroad can hear A-bomb testimonies from hibakusha and think about peace.
On November 24, WFC participated in the “Activities Introduction Corner” at the “International Festa 2024” organized by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation at the International Conference Center Hiroshima.
This year, we decided to focus our introduction on the PAX (Peace Ambassadors Exchange Program) between the U.S. and Korea. In addition to the new directors, board members, and members participating in WFC activities, we were joined by PAX participants who visited the U.S. fall in 2023 and Korea in spring 2024. A total of 120 people stopped by the WFC corner. We were able to publicize PAX, WFC’s activities, and the open house scheduled for December 7 to a wide variety of people, from those familiar with WFC to those new to WFC, and from children to the elderly, who stopped by. We hope this will lead to future activities.
The WFC had a visitor from the U.S. on November 15. He is Joel H. Rosenthal, president of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. It was the first overseas visitor for newly arrived directors Bradley and Susan Cox, and we were grateful for the opportunity to introduce him to WFC’s founder, Barbara Reynolds, as well as the history and current activities of the WFC. Mr. Rosenthal was interested in passing on the A-bomb experience, and we explained to him about our efforts in Hiroshima to pass on the A-bomb experience (activities of A-bomb legacy successor, activities by family members of hibakusha to pass on their experiences of the atomic bombings by Hiroshima City, activities of high school students, and WFC’s A-bomb testimonies and activities to pass them on). We would like to thank Mr. Nobuhiro Mitsuoka (Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design) for introducing the WFC to Mr. Rosenthal and for accompanying him to the WFC, and we hope that the WFC will continue to serve as a bridge for visitors from overseas to meet HIbakusha, learn about the reality of the bombing, and engage in dialogue in order to build peace.
Please join us on August 4th from 10 am to noon at the International House to hear from four delegates visiting Hiroshima from America to share their various perspectives on peace. There will be time for Q&A after they share. We hope to see you there!
Contact our office to register.
office@wfchiroshima.org
080-503-3191
Join us for WFC’s “August 6 Hiroshima Memorial Event 2024”!
Date: Tuesday, August 6, 2024, 10:30 am
Fee: Free of charge
Download the flyer for “Memorial Event”>>
Listen to the Hibakusha Testimony of Shizuko Abe san with time for Q&A;discuss peace with groups of younger foreign guests;take part in singing, poetry,and conversation at Barbara’s Monument.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event, so please come and join us.
We look forward to seeing you there!
10:30-12:00
Hibakusha Testimony by Shizuko Abe san at Aster Plaza (4th Floor)
registration here: https://forms.gle/dvFrn1yWVNwTai568
12:30-15:00
International Discussions at Aster Plaza (4th Floor)
17:30-18:30
Sharing @ Barbara Reynold’s Monument at Peace Memorial Park