Connecting a local school and Hiroshima through video-conferencing

February 19, 2016 [Cervia, Italy]

On February 19th, the City of Cervia organized a special video-conference event between the local primary school, M. Buonarroti-Montaletto di Cervia, and the Mayors for Peace Secretariat in Hiroshima.

This event was planned as a follow up to a ceremony in October last year in which the second generation of an A-bombed ginkgo tree was planted in the park next to the school as a symbol of peace.

On Cervia’s side were twenty students in the 5th grade from M. Buonarroti, Mayor Luca Coffari, and some city officials as well as teachers and volunteers. Mayor Coffari opened the event by thanking the Secretariat for this opportunity and saying that the City of Cervia intends to work together with Hiroshima and the nearly 7,000 members of Mayors for Peace to raise issues related to nuclear disarmament and peace. Mr. Kazuhiro Shiro, Under-Secretary General of Mayors for Peace, represented the Hiroshima Secretariat and answered questions from the students related to the ginkgo tree. Mr. Shiro expressed his hope for the students to learn the importance of peace through taking care of the tree. The students sang a song and recited a poem about peace to show their appreciation.

After the event, Mayor Coffari expressed his wish to get other local schools in Cervia involved in similar peace initiatives.

This event was also filmed by Teleromagna, a local regional TV station and later aired as part of a program for youth named “Amico è” (“Friend is…”).

The City of Cervia offers its special thanks to Mrs. Antonina Cenci for her help as an interpreter during this event.

Mayor Coffari and students of M. Buonarroti-Montaletto di Cervia
(Photos courtesy of the City of Cervia)