American & Russian high school students to join Japanese students in Hiroshima for the Nuclear Disarmament Conference from April 2-4, 2015
Conference for High School Students
“Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Photo Credit: Chinobu Takami
Students and teachers gather from:
- 7 high schools from across the United States
- 2 Russian high schools in closed nuclear cities*
- 5 Japanese schools in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kanagawa, and Tokyo
Sponsors & Participants
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) is cosponsoring the conference as part of its annual Critical Issues Forum (CIF), in partnership with Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School and the Hiroshima for Global Peace Plan Joint Project Executive Committee (Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima City).
*The Soviet Union produced nuclear weapons and their essential components in “closed” nuclear cities during the Cold War. The inhabitants in these cities are directly and uniquely connected with nuclear issues.
This Year’s Theme
Nuclear Disarmament: Humanitarian Approach
Students are scheduled to deliver presentations on this year’s topic, “Nuclear Disarmament: Humanitarian Approach.” At the public symposium, a student from each country will discuss the important roles of youth education toward achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. The first two days of the conference will take place at the Hiroshima Jogakuin, one of the CIF schools. On the last day of the conference, a public symposium titled, “A World Without Nuclear Weapons: The Role of Youth Education,” will be held at the Hiroshima International Conference Center with panel discussions among selected CIF students and leading scholars in the field of nuclear disarmament. Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, who is originally from Hiroshima, is scheduled to give short welcome remarks at the symposium. The Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Hidehiko Yuzaki, is scheduled to join the event as well. A representative from the US Embassy in Tokyo also plans to attend the conference to observe the students’ presentations and discuss US-Japan friendship and cross-cultural communication.
During the conference week, students will also visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and hear a testimonial from an atomic bomb survivor.
About the 2015 Critical Issues Forum
The April 2-4 CIF conference is the culmination of a semester-long program for high school students that is designed to develop critical thinking skills and to engage students and teachers in issues related to international peace and security.
This year’s CIF program is funded by the United States-Japan Foundation. Visit the CIF website and view the short Critical Issues Forum video.
CIF Program Contact
To learn more about the annual Critical Issues Forum (CIF), please contact:
Masako Toki
[email protected]
+1-831-647-3580
2014 CIF Conference for High School Students held in Monterey, CA
