Event Commemorating “International Day of Peace” held

October 22, 2013

Having established International Day of Peace, observed each year on September 21, the United Nations has called for suspending hostile activities on this day as a global day of ceasefire and non-violence. In support of this purport, the City of Hiroshima held an event commemorating International Day of Peace, with participants praying at noon for the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace, as well as observing a moment of silence while putting up the Mayors for Peace banner that read “Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons by 2020”and ringing the Peace Bell.

1. Date/time:

Saturday, September 21, 2013, 11:55 – 12:05

2. Venue:

In front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in Peace Memorial Park
(Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City)

3. Participated organizations:

Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations
Hiroshima Consumers’ Cooperative Union
Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School
Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation

4. Contents:

(1)Offering flowers to the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims from representatives of the participants
(2)Prayers by all participants for the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace by observing one minute of silence at noon for the Cenotaph for the A-bomb and by ringing the Peace Bell
(3)While observing one minute of silence, representative participants putting up the Mayors for Peace’s banner that read “Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons by 2020.”
(4)Speech by the Mayor of Hiroshima

5. Others

Mayors for Peace has called for its member cities around the world to commemorate the International Day of Peace, and many cities supported the aim and held an event in each city. The following are some examples of these cities:

[Australia] Cairns,Ipswich, Marion
[Austria] Linz (link in German)
[Brazil] Registro, Rio de Janeiro
[Canada] North Vancouver, Red Deer, Trail
[Croatia] Vukovar (link in Croatian)
[France] , Aubagne, Carrières-sous-Poissy, Fontaine, Malakoff, Villejuif, Vitry-sur-Seine (links in French)
[Germany] Mülheim an der Ruhr
[Ireland] Dublin
[Japan] Akita, Hirakata, Ibaraki-town, Ishigaki, Mishima, Motosu, Nagasaki, Oshika-mura, Takayama (links in Japanese)
[Luxembourg] Luxembourg
[Mexico] Manzanillo
[The Netherlands] Amersfoort
[Russia] Orenburg
[UK] Cambridge, Manchester, Norwich
[USA] Honolulu