<Preamble>

We, the 30 participants of the 5th Hiroshima Junior International Forum, held on November 29th, December 6th and 13th 2020, collaborated together online from 14 countries to learn about and discuss the abolition of nuclear weapons as well as peace-building.

In 2020, the world has been massively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has not hampered the enthusiasm of us, the younger generation, to learn about the challenges of the world and together discuss what we should do to make the world a better place.

Supported by the strong will of the people of Hiroshima and their desire for action, we, the youth of today, learned about nuclear weapon abolition and peacebuilding, had three wonderful days filled with disarmament learning and mutual understanding. Together, we listened to lectures from both Atomic-bomb survivors, experts on nuclear disarmament and peacebuilding, and then discussed the challenges we face in finding solutions for these two fundamentally critical issues.

We have incorporated the results of our learning and discussions in this Hiroshima Declaration. This Hiroshima Declaration is an action plan for us as participants and also a proposal that we hope to share with like-minded people around the world.

<Nuclear Weapons Abolition>

Toward nuclear weapons abolition, we recognize that global trust and universal awareness/understanding among people all over the world are the most crucial things. 

○General Role

-For this challenge, we suggest to gain cultural insights from countries all over the world as well as emphasizing the importance of understanding towards other people in other countries and cultures.

-For this challenge, we recommend having the nuclear presence awareness spread all around the globe and initiate transparency between countries which possess the responsibility on nuclear weapons.

○Our Role (Young People and Global Citizens)

-For this challenge, we suggest to increase the opportunities for more people to learn about other cultures while spreading awareness about the nuclear arsenal presence.

-For this challenge, we recommend all young people and global citizens to make a mutual relationship to support the growth of global awareness.

○Hiroshima’s Role

-For this challenge, we suggest creating a space that will accommodate more people towards this topic.

-For this challenge, we recommend the implementation of chat groups for the spread of ideas, so students find it easier to express their thoughts. 

< Reconstruction and peacebuilding>

Towards peacebuilding, we recognize that the education gap between developed countries and developing countries and the difference in the quality of life.

○General Role

-For this challenge, we want to eradicate stereotypes and prejudice against people in other countries and those who have a different background.

-For this challenge, we recommend promoting education until at least high school level which includes global education and international matters.

○Our Role (Young People and Global Citizens)

-For this challenge, we suggest to improve on education operation and quality of education all over the world. We also suggest young people to be more involved and educated on global conflict facet.

-For this challenge, we recommend young people and global citizens to act as a bridge between global communities and our friends or relatives.

○Hiroshima’s Role

-For this challenge, we suggest that Hiroshima uses its advantages on relaying our messages and aspirations to a wider audience.

-For this challenge, we recommend Hiroshima on trying to influence other countries to start global peace movement.

<Our Role>　

We, the young people, commit ourselves to three main areas ;

① to make long-lasting mutual relationship to support the growth of global awareness.

② to act as bridges between global communities and our friends or relatives.

③ to be involved more on the global conflict.

<What we expect for Hiroshima>　

We believe that Hiroshima has three main roles

① First, that it can create spaces that welcome and accommodate more people towards this topic.

② Second, it can gain cultural insights from all over the world and help to emphasize the importance of understanding towards other people in other countries.

③ Third, it can use its advantages on relaying our messages and aspirations to bigger ears.

<Closing>

We, the participants of this forum, learned the importance of the ongoing process as we found about the challenges for world peace, the search for the causes of those challenges, and also how to find and develop solutions. We also learned that we can enhance our understanding of the challenges and reach more comprehensive solutions by talking to people from diverse backgrounds with mutual respect.

We know that our responsibilities do not end with the completion of the Hiroshima Declaration. We know we need to put the action plan presented here into practice, and we need to interact with people to share our suggestions. And when interacting with other people, we will make sure we value diversity and respect each other, just as we did in the dialogues that took place between us participants. Through such efforts, we believe that we can make strong ties among people around the world, and achieve results on nuclear abolition, peacebuilding, and other fundamentally vital issues. In this way, we believe that our efforts can lead the world to a better place.

The world we live in is facing many challenges and difficulties. It is time for us to take decisive and concrete actions. As global citizens and future young leaders of the world, we are here to make small changes for bigger changes towards a fully denuclearized, demilitarized, and peaceful world. Recognizing our power and responsibilities, we hereby strongly declare our determination.

December 13, 2020