Responsibility for a peaceful future – Student seminar in Hiroshima

The venue of the meeting holds particular significance, as Viadrina student Tasja Philipp reports: “I was particularly impressed that global issues for the future, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable economic development, were being discussed in Hiroshima of all places. Hardly any other place allows you to experience the importance of peace, global responsibility and shaping our future together so vividly.”

During the seminar, participants took part in workshops on this year’s overarching theme, ‘UN SDGs and sustainable economic development’. Prof. Dr Albrecht Söllner from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Viadrina also contributed to part of the programme. He led a workshop entitled ‘From Globalisation to the Global Flower: Regional Pathways to Sustainable Development’.

Intercultural negotiation skills in a simulated UN General Assembly session

Another highlight of the programme was a simulation exercise in which a session of the UN General Assembly on the topic of “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” was simulated. “The students learnt to discuss and negotiate; they examined the different positions on the issues and practised strategic and negotiation tactics. Last but not least, the students improved their intercultural competence in the process”, said Prof. Dr Carmen Thiele, summarising the benefits of this unique format.

For student Tom Sauer from Viadrina, the seminar confirmed that “key contemporary challenges, such as sustainable development, must be considered from an international and interdisciplinary perspective and are, at the same time, closely linked to world peace”. In addition to examining sustainability from the perspective of different disciplines, he found the exchange with students and lecturers from all over the world particularly engaging.

Particular depth provided by accounts from survivors of the atomic bombings

An important part of the student seminar is the supporting programme, which, as every year, was dedicated to commemorating the victims of the atomic bombing carried out by the USA in August 1945. The students took part in the official peace ceremony on 6 August and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. They were particularly moved by their encounters with survivors of the atomic bombing, known as hibakusha. “These accounts brought home the urgency of global nuclear disarmament,” said Tom Sauer. Tasja Philipp said of the meeting with survivor Keiko Ogura: “Her story gave the discussions a very special depth and showed me how closely global issues are linked to personal fates. In Hiroshima, in particular, I realised just how important it is to learn from the past and to take joint responsibility for a peaceful and sustainable future.”

She regards the experience gained in intercultural collaboration and negotiation as a valuable asset that she brings to her personal and academic life, as well as “the realisation that good solutions often emerge where different perspectives come together”.

Translated by Deepl and edited