Daily Updates – Sunday, September 3, 2006 – Afternoon Session

The afternoon and concluding session of the conference featured speeches from Honorable Yunsook Lee, the former South Korean Minister of Public Affairs, Mitsuko Horiuchi, former regional director of the Asian Pacific International Labor Organization, Charity MacDonald, daughter of the latest Navajo leader in the United States, and 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

The Honorable Yunsook Lee’s keynote address focused on rooting peace in the minds of people. She said that establishing stability and asserted, education is the key to sustaining peace. She detailed her experiences growing up in Korea and her address focused on building a society to enhance tolerance and peace.

Read Full Article

Daily Updates – Sunday, September 3, 2006 – Morning Session

The final day of the conference was highlighted with a youth forum, featuring students from New York, Washington and Hiroshima, and a testimony by Hibakusha (a survivor of the atomic bomb).

Lehman College students and alumni, Michelle Augustine, Frank Kritton, Jennifer Herrera and Monique McPherson, joined Japanese students to address the audience in a youth forum entitled “Building a Peaceful Tomorrow.” In the forum, presentations from various Japanese groups displayed images of the devastation left by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all students participating in the panel discussed some of the challenges they will be facing in the process of educating next generations into a culture of peace.

Read Full Article >>

Daily Updates: Saturday, September 02, 2006 – Afternoon Session

For the afternoon session, more than 100 students gathered at the Hiroshima International Convention Center, along with other participants of the conference, to hear 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate Jody William’s message of peace.

Japanese students asked questions in regards to education of peace and discussed the politics and processes of spreading peace across the world. They also discussed the differences of youth consciousness in Hiroshima versus other parts of Japan and the world.

Read Full Article >>

Daily Updates – Saturday, September 2, 2006 – Morning Session

The morning session of day three of the conference, was dedicated for scholars and peace activists to present and participate in a panel discussion on education. Lehman’s President Ricardo Fernández and Vice President of University Relations and Communications at the University of the District of Columbia. Dr. Bobby Austin were part of this panel.

Read Full Article >>

Daily Updates: Friday, September 01, 2006 — Afternoon Session

During the afternoon session, attendees were not only introduced to Tatsuo Tanaka, founder of Lehman College at CUNY Hiroshima (1989-1995). But they were also inspired by 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and addressed by Dr. Vijaya Melnick, the First Vice President of IHAN, Dr. Suad Al-Dasuqi, board member for the Jordan Association for Family Planning, and Mikko Otani, an attorney-at-law in Japan who specializes in the area of international human rights, among others.

Read Full Article >> 

Daily Updates: Friday, Sept. 1, 2006 — Morning Session

Holding on to colorful ribbons and hopes for peace, dozens of Building a Just and Sustainable Peace Conference participants gathered to march and make their way to the Hiroshima Art Museum for a full day of speeches and panel discussions. Two Nobel Peace Laureates, Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams, as well as Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury were the highlights of the day.

Read full article >> 

Conference Opening Ceremony

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Hiroshima, Japan - The opening ceremony for the global conference “Building a Sustainable Peace” took place at the Hiroshima Art Museum earlier today. Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, Lehman’s President Ricardo R. Fernández and Sorosh Roshan, President of the International Health Awareness Network, welcomed dozens of attendees and participants coming from around the globe for the three-day conference.

The Honorable Mr. Akiba said he was very happy to have been invited to be part of this conference two years ago, but he didn’t expect the conference to become as big as it did. “This all-star cast conference alone honors Hiroshima so highly,” he said.

In addition, Mr. Akiba recognized Lehman’s ties to Hiroshima. “This is Lehman College’s second home,” he said.

Read Full Article >>

Keynote Speakers

The roster of keynote speakers includes two Nobel Peace Laureates —Shirin Ebadi of Iran and Jody Williams of the United States—as well as U.N. Under-Secretary -General Anwarul K. Chowdhury of Bangladesh, Mitsuko Horiuchi of Japan, who is the former regional director for Asia Pacific of the International Labor Organization, and former Minister of Political Affairs Yunsook Lee of South Korea.

• Read Entire Article >>

Welcome to the official blog site for the ‘Building a Just and Sustainable Peace’ conference in Hiroshima, Japan, co-sponsored by Lehman College

Three 2006 Lehman College graduates and one current student have been selected to attend a global conference in Hiroshima, Japan from August 31 to September 3 entitled “Building a Just and Sustainable Peace.” Lehman College has joined with a coalition of international institutions and organizations to sponsor this conference, which seeks to galvanize support for improving education, health, the environment and social equity as a prelude to peace.

• Read Entire Article >>