Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security 2026

Hiroshima Prefecture and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (“ICAN”), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will hold the Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security 2026 (hereafter referred to as “the Academy”). Through this program, we aim to nurture global leaders who can make concrete contributions towards a more peaceful and secure world.

Message from the organizer

Background and objectives

 In April 2019, Hiroshima Prefecture and ICAN signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration in the field of human resource development for the next generation toward nuclear weapons abolition. Both established an executive committee to launch the Hiroshima-ICAN Academy, a course that aims to nurture global leaders who can make concrete contributions towards a more peaceful and secure world. This year will mark the eighth time the course has been held.

Academy 2025: Report

• Participants: 20 students and young professionals
• Part 1: Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: Four-day in-person program in Hiroshima
• Part 3:Online Reflection

Academy 2024: Report

• Participants: 21 students and young professionals
• Part 1: Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: Four-day in-person program in Hiroshima
• Part 3:Online Reflection

Academy 2023:

• Participants: 29 students and young professionals
• Part 1: Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: Four-day in-person program in Hiroshima
• Part 3:Online Reflection

Academy 2022:

• Participants: 29 students and young professionals
• Part 1: Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: Four-day in-person program in Hiroshima

Academy 2021:

• Participants: 31 students and young professionals
• Part 1:Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: In-person program was scheduled but canceled due to COVID-19. It was replaced by a Special Program that featured online testimonies by Hibakusha and a virtual tour of A-bombed sites and the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima.

Academy 2020:

• Participants: 31 students and young professionals
• Part 1: Online learning and webinars
• Part 2: In-person program was scheduled but canceled due to COVID-19.

Academy 2019:

• Participants: 15 students and young professionals
• Nine-day in-person program

Participants in the last seven years

• Number of participants to date: 176
• Number of on-line learning and Webinar Session's Participants 524 
• Participants’ countries/regions: 46

(Algeria, Argentine, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz Republic,Kazakhstan, Lebanon,  Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco,Nigeria, Nepal, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uzbekistan, Zambia)

 

Program Overview

 The Academy 2026 is planned to be held in three parts: online learning and webinars, an in-person Hiroshima session, and an online reflection session.

 This year’s overall theme : “Bridging divides to advance nuclear disarmament.”

 As our world continues to change rapidly, divides are growing in myriad aspects of society, from the global to the personal. Countries break from longstanding allies, international agreements are discarded, and digital algorithms further tribalism. Borders between states, between "us" and "them," between humanity and technology are being redrawn. These divides are more than apparent in the field of nuclear weapons and global security. And, with 80 years now lying between us and the dawn of the nuclear age, we may feel increasingly distanced from our own nuclear history too. The Hiroshima-ICAN Academy invites you to take a step toward bridging these divides through this year's program, together with inquisitive, conscientious, and defiantly hopeful individuals from around the world.

Dates

• Online learning and webinars:Roughly five to six webinars scheduled between June to July  2026 (exact dates to be announced)
• Hiroshima session:November 3 (Tue) to November 7 (Sat), 2026
• Online reflection session:December 11(Fri), 2026

Eligibility

• Online learning and webinars: There are no age restrictions. Please note that we expect all participants to help maintain an environment in which all members feel free to discuss their ideas regardless of age, experience, or expertise. 
  *It is possible to attend only the online learning and webinars.　
• Hiroshima session and online reflection session: Mainly university or graduate school students and young professionals, aged approximately 25 or younger.                                       

Number of participants:

• Online learning and webinars:　There is no limit to the number of participants. If you pass the document screening, you can participate in the program.

Hiroshima session:

 Approximately 20 people　*Selection will take place after the webinars.

• Approximately half from nuclear weapon states (NWSs) as defined by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons(NPT)*or other nuclear-armed states. 
• Approximately from non-nuclear weapon states (NNWSs), with one participant having a connection to Hiroshima Prefecture.
  * China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Language:

 The program will be conducted in English

Tuition: 

 Free

Hiroshima session costs

• Covered by the organizers (i.e. free): Travel expenses to and from Hiroshima( See below for details), meals, accommodation, and costs associated with fieldwork such as admission fees, etc.
• Covered by participants: Visa fees (if applicable), overseas travel insurance fees, and other personal expenses.

 

Subsidy for travel expenses to and from Hiroshima

 The organizer will provide financial assistance to cover travel expenses from the nearest airport to your place of residence to Hiroshima for all participants in the Hiroshima session. The amount of financial assistance for travel expenses is determined by the participant's place of residence, and within this limit, the cost of airfare and transportation within Japan required for a round-trip between the place of residence and Hiroshima will be granted.
 
 As a strict rule, participants will purchase their own tickets to and from Hiroshima, and will be reimbursed after the Hiroshima session has ended. We expect participants to attend the Hiroshima session in full, and late arrival/early departure may affect your eligibility to receive the
certificate of completion (except in extenuating circumstances). Please note that the reimbursement process may take up to approximately three months, and that submission of the final essay and questionnaire is a condition for reimbursement.

Schedule and contents of the program

1. Online learning and webinars

 Through both asynchronous, self-paced learning and participating in webinars at set times, participants will learn about five themes: the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons; the social, economic, and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons; nuclear deterrence in today’s world; Bridging divides to advance nuclear disarmament (this year’s theme); and the roles of the UN and civil society.

 During the interactive and engaging webinars, participants will have opportunities to learn both from guest educators, including hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), and each other.

Dates and times: TBD (five to six webinars will be scheduled between July to August 2025)

• Webinar 1: June 16 (Tues) from 09:00~11:00 Japan Standard Time
• Webinar 2: June 19 (Fri) from 08:00–09:30 Japan Standard Time
• Webinar 3: June 23 (Tues) from 20:00~21:30 Japan Standard Time
• Webinar 4: TBD (late June to early July 2026)
• Webinar 5: TBD (late June to early July 2026)

Platform:

• Zoom

Speakers:

• Kazuhiko Futagawa, in-utero A-bomb survivor from Hiroshima
• Mary Dickson, writer, downwinder, and cancer survivor
• Robert Jacobs, historian of nuclear technologies
• Laura Considine, Associate Professor of International Politics at the University of Leeds
• Melissa Parke, ICAN Executive Director
• more TBD

 

2. Submission of secondary application / essay

 After the online learning and webinar sessions, those hoping to participate in the in-person Hiroshima session will be asked to submit a secondary application form, which will include two short essays of roughly 400 words each. We will select participants for the Hiroshima session based on a review of these materials and other factors such as webinar attendance. You will be informed of the secondary application form, including the short essays, after the online and webinar sessions have finished.

 For those who conclude their participation in the Academy with the online and webinar sessions, if you submit an essay and have good attendance of the online and webinar sessions, you will be acknowledged to have completed the online and webinar sessions.

3. Hiroshima session

 During this time of rising global tensions, including threats to use nuclear weapons, it is increasingly important to learn together from Hiroshima and its people. Participants will have the unique opportunity to learn in-person about the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons through activities such as directly hearing hibakusha testimonies and visiting A-bombed sites and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, along with learning about other topics related to nuclear weapons.

• Dates: November 3 (Tue) to November 7 (Sat), 2026
• Place: Hiroshima City

4. Online reflection session

 After participants return home, there will be an online session for them to reflect on what they have learned and share how they will apply it in their respective activities and locations.

• Date: December 11 (Fri), 2026 
• Time: TBD
• Platform: Zoom

Program Features and Themes

• Understand the reality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, and health effects of radiation through testimonies by survivors and their supporters.
• Understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons around the world.
• Learn about current trends and emerging risks related to nuclear weapons and global security, including sustainable security, through exchange with experts.
• Acquire skills and mindsets for contributing in the global arena towards realizing a peaceful, sustainable world.
• Engage with and learn from survivors, UN officials, diplomats, NGO members, and activists.