Report by Ms. Evelyn Kamissek, The City of Hannover, Germany
From May 22 to 26, 2023, the City of Hannover, Lead City of Mayors for Peace in Germany, hosted the “International Youth Conference for Peace in the Future” on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of our sister city relationship with the City of Hiroshima. The conference invited participants not only from Hannover and Hiroshima, but also from Bangkok (Thailand), Blantyre (Malawi), Bristol (England), Leipzig (Germany), Rouen (France), and Poznań (Poland).
The conference featured diverse programs that included lectures on peace and conflict research, interactive workshops, simulation games and a roundtable discussion at the City Hall. During the discussion, the 30 participants had the opportunity to ask Mayor Belit Onay and council members about the city’s peace initiatives.
With insights and knowledge accumulated through this conference, the youth delegates collaborated on an appeal for peace. At the end of the conference, they publicly presented the appeal titled “Hear our voices for peace” at the Aegidien Church and then handed it over to Deputy Mayor Thomas Hermann. Several notable individuals delivered speeches at the event, including City Superintendent Mr. Rainer Müller-Brandes, Mr. Wolfram Springer from YMCA Hannover and Mr. Kenji Yamamoto from Hiroshima, the author of an atomic bomb survivor’s biography.
The conference was organized by the YMCA Hannover in cooperation with the Cultural Office, the Office for International Affairs/Mayors for Peace German Chapter, and the Youth and Family Department of the City of Hannover, and the German-Japanese partnership associations in Hannover.
IYCPF 2023 (Website of Mayors for Peace German Chapter) (in German):https://www.hannover.de/Leben-in-der-Region-Hannover/Politik/Politische-Gremien/Mayors-for-Peace/Aktivit%C3%A4ten/Internationale-Jugendkonferenz-in-Hannover
Website of Mayors for Peace German Chapter (in German):www.mayorsforpeace.de
Photos: courtesy of the City of Hannovert