Report from Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Gran Canaria
Commemorative events for the International Day of Peace were held on September 21 in Grand Canaria beginning in the morning with a lecture by Professor Antonio Elorza, Emeritus Professor of Complutense University of Madrid. Students listened to Professor Elorza’s talk about genocide in war and bombed cities around the world.
Mr. Iñaqui Gorroño, Vice Mayor of Gernika, and Mr. Josep Mayoral, Mayor of Granollers, took turns to talk to the students about their cities’ initiatives to promote peace and to involve young people in peace culture.
Then Professor Eugenia Villareal from ICAN (2017 Nobel Peace Laureate) gave a speech about nuclear weapons abolition, and Professor Dan Smith from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute concluded the meeting with a lecture about the Institute’s research on the impact of climate change, which affects peace preservation. Each segment was followed by a lively discussion between the speaker and the students. In the evening, the same lectures were held again for the wider public. A message from the President of Mayors for Peace, the Mayor of Hiroshima, was also read out during both of the events.
The whole day finished at Las Palmas Santa Ana Cathedral, where the audience enjoyed listening to classical and religious music performed by an organist and a mezzo soprano singer.
(Photos courtesy of Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country, Gran Canaria (RSEAPGC))