On October 19 and 20, the 10th General Conference of Mayors for Peace, with 8213 member cities, was held in Hiroshima. Riko Suenaga, a 4th-year IGS student, gave a presentation on behalf of Youth Peace Volunteers on their activities and roles in the case presentation section of the Conference, “Session 3: The Role of Young People as Successors of the Will of the Hibakusha.”

[Hiroshima Youth Peace Volunteers (YVP)]
YPV is a program sponsored by the City of Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. High school and university students, leaders for the next generation, learn about the importance of peace and work as volunteer guides foreign visitors to Peace Memorial Park to convey the reality of the atomic bombing and messages of peace in English. About 10 people from IGS will participate in the program.

Here are Riko Suenaga’s comments:
   I have learned a lot about the A-bomb and peace in Hiroshima through my three years of activities. The strong desire of the Hibakusha to "never allow anyone to experience the pain caused by the atomic bombing again" has left a particularly strong impression on me. As 77 years have passed since the end of the war and the Hibakusha are aging, I believe that it is our role as students in Hiroshima to pass on to the next generation what the Hibakusha experienced and their feelings about the A-bomb and peace through our activities.
   Since Hiroshima Youth Peace Volunteers has a short history and the duration of our activities was limited due to the coronavirus. I believe that we still need more experience as guides and a continuation of our activities. I hope that younger IGS members will join the YPV and that the activities of the YPV will continue to convey the reality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the desire for peace to people overseas. If you want to improve your English and contribute to tourism and peace activities in Hiroshima, I hope you will take up this challenge and join YPV.