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Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security 2025

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 2025 (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.

Join us for this opportunity to meet and learn together with inspiring, diverse individuals from around the world!         

2025Hiroshima-ICAN Academy                            

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 sixth time the course has been held.

 

Academy 2024: Report

Academy 2023:

Academy 2022:

Academy 2021:

Academy 2020:

Academy 2019:

Participants in the last six years

(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, Lebanon,  Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, 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 2025 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 : “Building peace in times of change.”

 Today, armed conflict rages in many places around the world — displacing, wounding, and killing the civilians who find themselves in harm’s way as international law, including international humanitarian law, is disregarded. International organizations are failing to fulfill their roles and arms control and disarmament agreements are eroding. Relations between nations are shifting dramatically and tensions continue to rise, punctuated by threats to use nuclear weapons. The Hiroshima-ICAN Academy 2025 will consider the perspectives and actions needed to build international peace and security in today’s world. While learning from the experience of Hiroshima — devastated by the first nuclear strike in war 80 years ago — Academy participants will study the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons and discuss paths toward sustainable peace.

 

Dates

Eligibility

Number of participants:

Hiroshima session:

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

Language:

 The program will be conducted in English

Tuition: 

 Free

Hiroshima session costs

 

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 general rule, participants will purchase their own tickets to and from Hiroshima, and will be reimbursed after the Hiroshima session has ended.

 

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; building peace in times of change (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.

 Schedule of Hirosima-ICAN Academy Webiner Session ※As of May 1
Date Speaker
7/15
  1. Mary Dickson, downwinder, writer, and advocate
  2. Kazuhiko Futagawa, Hibakusya

7/18

  1. Robert Jacobs, author of “Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha”
7/22
  1. Laura Considine, professor specialising in global nuclear politics at the University of Leeds
7/24
  1. Olamide Samuel, network and engagement specialist at the Open Nuclear Network
  2. Daryl Kimball, executive director of Arms Control Association

 

2. Submission of secondary application / essay

 After the online 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.

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.

Program Features and Themes

Video introducing the Hiroshima-ICAN Academy

We have prepared a video introducing the objectives and content of the Hiroshima-ICAN Academy, so please take a look before you apply.

Application requirements

 Applicants shall meet all the following requirements:

  1. Applicants should have a strong interest in issues related to nuclear weapons and global security, and also be keen to work for global peace — for instance as a diplomat, for the UN, or for an international NGO — or otherwise have an idea of how they hope to utilize their learning after the program. Individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
  2. Applicants for the Hiroshima session must be students or young professionals aged 25 or under. However, this does not apply to those who only wish to participate in the online and webinar sessions.
  3. Applicants should make their best effort to participate in all sessions.
  4. In order to participate in the Hiroshima session, you must pass the secondary selection process after the online and webinar sessions. In principle, submission of the secondary application and participation in all webinars are mandatory conditions for selection for the Hiroshima session.
  5. Applicants should be able to discuss nuclear weapons and related topics, including some technical terminology, in English.
  6. Applicants must be considerate and respectful of the diversity of all those involved in the Academy, including nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and opinions.
  7. Applicants should have access to the internet for communication and webinars.
  8.  Ideally, applicants will remain involved in the issues of nuclear weapons and global security after the program, making full use of their knowledge and skills gained, and be able to share their experience utilizing social media, etc.
    *The criteria for participants in the Hiroshima session that we are looking for are as follows.
  • Strong desire to learn about nuclear weapons and security
  • Individual’s vision and potential for the future: We are looking for young people who have a clear idea of what they want to do in the future, such as becoming a diplomat, a UN staff member, or an international NGO staff member, and who have the potential to make a positive change in the world.
  • Diversity and receptiveness to others’ views and opinions

Application method and deadline

 Please apply by filling out the Application Form via Google Forms here.

 Application Deadline: June 1, 2025 (Sun.) Japan Standard Time (UCT+9)

Notes on the application

  • If you do not have a Google account or do not have access to Google services, please download the application form in Microsoft Word format here and submit it via email to chiheiwa@pref.hiroshima.lg.jp.
  • To make any changes to information submitted, please promptly contact the office of the Executive Committee (the organizers) as listed below.
  • The organizers may request that applicants submit an official certificate of English proficiency, if necessary.
  • Personal information will be protected by the organizers and will not be used for any purpose other than the Academy and promotion of relevant events organized by Hiroshima Prefecture and/or ICAN.

Schedule (subject to change)

  • Application Period: May 1 (Thu) through June 1 (Sun), 2025
  • Application deadline: June 1 (Sun), 2025
  • Notice of acceptance: July 1 (Tue), 2025
  • Online learning and webinars: July – August 2025
  • Deadline for submitting assignment: August 17 (Sun), 2025
  • Notification of acceptance/rejection for participation in the Hiroshima session:September 13 (Sat), 2025
  • Hiroshima session: October 14 (Tue) to October 18 (Sat), 2025
  • Online reflection session: November 7 (Fri), 2025

Inquiries

 Executive Committee of Hiroshima-ICAN Academy

 Tel: +81-82-513-2368

 Email: chiheiwa@pref.hiroshima.lg.jp

 Address: 10-52, Motomachi, Naka-ku, HiroshimaCity, 730-8511, Japan

 

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