What is Oleander Initiative?
The Oleander Initiative is a peace education program for peace educators, community leaders, artists and others who are sowing the seeds of peace in their own communities through their various jobs and activities.
Our hope is that as you stand on the ground of Hiroshima and interact with the people who live here, you will learn the lessons of Hiroshima using your hearts and minds, to feel and ponder about peace, to create innovative approaches to peacebuilding, and to put them into practice in your own communities.
Oleander Initiative / U.S.
On June 8, 2023, the Oleander Initiative hosted a one-day program for six third-year students from Rutland High School in Vermont. This program came to fruition by their teacher, Ron Eysenman’s wish to bring his students to Hiroshima before their graduation. He was a participant in the 2018 UME Oleander program. In the morning, the…
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Oleander Initiative / Middle East
Oleander Initiative Middle East Program The UME Oleander Initiative Peace Education Program for Middle Eastern educators was held from July 26 – August 1, 2023. The program was designed for the nine Middle Eastern and North African educators to learn about Hiroshima’s history, peace culture and peace education. We also held workshops to devise lesson…
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Oleander Initiative / PAX Christi
The peace education program for PAX Christi took place from March 7 to 12, 2024, with 11 Catholic social activists. The program included visits to Nagarekawa Church and the Jesuit Monastery in Nagatsuka, where we learned about the history of the city of Hiroshima from a religious perspective. In cooperation with the Hiroshima Noborimachi Church…
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Oleander Initiative / UK
From June 23 to 27, 2024, we hosted a peace education program for five participants from the UK, who are experts in the field of mental health. While learning about the history and peace culture of Hiroshima city, many words and thoughts were exchanged amongst the participants, including the staff, which led to a deeper…
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Oleander Initiative / Rotary International
In May and October 2024, we conducted the Hiroshima Peace Culture Program with 34 members of Rotary International from Canada, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. During the three-day program, participants attended a lecture on Hiroshima’s culture of peace by Professor Yuko Takahashi, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Memorial…
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Oleander Initiative / Northern Ireland
From February 26 to March 3, 2023, we hosted a peace education program on ‘Art and Memory’ with four participants from Northern Ireland. In the program, Toshiko Tanaka, an enamel artist, shared about her life: from her childhood, the day of the atomic bombing, to her life as an artist and a mother. She also…
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