Report from Tehran Peace Museum, Iran
On December 8th, Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway and Vice President of Mayors for Peace, visited Tehran Peace Museum (TPM). During the visit, members of the Mayors for Peace Committee, located in the TPM, reported the activities of the Iranian office of Mayors for Peace such as measures to increase the number of Iranian member cities, the peace activities of current member cities and TPM’s future awareness programs for member cities, such as holding workshops and exhibitions.
Then, in a meeting in which some Iranian mayors and municipality representatives were present, Mayor Vestby said that he is impressed by the work of TPM and the efforts of the Iranian office of Mayors for Peace.
He also stated that, just like the “Peace and Smile “ project of the TPM, he, too, believes in the power of smiling and its role in obtaining inner peace. Mayor Vestby then introduced the “Bike for Peace” project in Norway. He said that with the help of the Iran Embassy and the Mayor of Oslo, he is trying to build bilateral cooperation between Iranian and Norwegian Mayors for Peace member cities.
Mr. Mozaffari, Vice-President of the Communication and International Affairs Center of Tehran Municipality, welcomed Mayor Vestby and expressed the municipality’s wish to continue to support relations between Tehran and Norwegian cities. He also stated that Mayors for Peace and its member cities should be more sensitive to the ongoing violence and critical situation in the Middle East. Mr. Mozzafari continued, stating that the Iranian people are a very peaceful nation and they have proven so by their history.
After Mr. Mozaffari’s comments, the Mayor and the head of the city council of Qatab and also the representatives of Karaj Municipality, (both Qatab and Karaj are new members of Mayors for Peace) introduced their cities and expressed a desire for more peace activities for their citizens.
During the meeting, Mayor Vestby also stated that he believes some Iranian cities are qualified to become “lead cities” not only in Iran, but also in the region. “I would share this idea with my friends in Mayors for Peace when I go back”, he concluded.
At the end of the meeting, the Mayor of Qatab and the representative of Karaj municipality received their membership certificates from the vice president of Mayors for Peace. Mayor Vestby also read a letter of appreciation on behalf of the Mayors for Peace President to Mr. Reza’i, the Iranian coordinator of Mayors for Peace.
After the meeting, Mayor Vestby and other participants visited the Peace Counts exhibition in the TPM. In the same afternoon, he also attended a lecture by Professor Jan Oberg from the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research on “New Cold War”.
Iran is the 3rd country in the Mayors for Peace ranking in terms of the number of member cities as of December 1, 2014. 470 Iranian cities joined Mayors for Peace by December 2014.
The representative of Karaj (left) and the Mayor of Qatab (right) receiving the Mayors for Peace Membership Certificates
(Photo credit: Tehran Peace Museum)
Mayor Vestby, Vice President of Mayors for Peace passed a letter of appreciation on behalf of the Mayors for Peace President to Mr. Reza’i, the Iranian coordinator of Mayors for Peace
(Photo credit: Tehran Peace Museum)
Together with the participants of the meeting and staff of the Tehran Peace Museum
(Photo credit: Tehran Peace Museum)