Can you imagine a world without nuclear conflict? University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) students who are members of the school’s Soka Education Research Centre on Global Citizenship (SERC-GC) explored the topic of nuclear disarmament and peace, presenting their research on the topic at the Youth Nuclear Peace Summit in Winnipeg this November.
Community Social Services (CSS) Chair Dr. Paul Sherman, who is the director of SERC-GC, was a keynote speaker at the conference, having spoken about SERC-GC’s Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project in partnership with Kansai Soka High School in Osaka, Japan, where students built an understanding of global issues related to nuclear disarmament, environmental sustainability, and human rights. Dr. Sherman’s six SERC-GC research assistants (RAs) presented their research projects alongside him.
"This was something I genuinely believe in and care about,” fourth-year Psychology student Deborah Gonzalez Bello, a SERC-GC RA said. “It was nice to be able to share our research and try to push that goal of peace education further.” Peace education is about teaching ethics, how to prevent conflicts, conflict de-escalation, and living in harmony.
The RAs were divided into two groups, each conducting their own research that was presented during the conference.
One group presented about addressing nuclear disarmament and peace education in Ontario schools’ curriculums – which the RAs discovered was lacking, and looked at how it can be incorporated.
The other group created a video about implementing peace education in Ontario schools, referencing the late Japanese Soka thought leader Daisaku Ikeda’s ideas on global citizenship and his vision of peace. The research looked at how to foster empathy in young people, reviewing which schools in the province offered peace education (in all levels of education, including post-secondary). This included a survey of U of GH students, inquiring about what they do and don’t know about nuclear disarmament.
“I feel quite proud of the work that they've done, and that they've enhanced their research, collaboration, and presentation skills,” Dr. Sherman said. He added that SERC-GC provides U of GH students (who are all undergraduates) with a unique opportunity to participate in research because, typically, universities reserve this level of teamwork in a research lab for graduate students.
Furthermore, Gonzalez Bello said presenting this research came “from the bottom of her heart” because peace education is a topic she connects with due to her Cuban heritage and the tumultuous political climate in Cuba.
"[In Winnipeg], I spoke about my cultural background, being Cuban, and how it really influenced my understanding of human rights in my life with not having rights back home,” she said. “I have a lot of gratitude being here in Canada because there is a lot I could never do in Cuba.”
Third-year Community Social Services student and RA Linniah Williams said that in her view, the topic of peace and nuclear disarmament is a timely one due to current ongoing conflicts around the world.
"Having that much power in someone's hands, I think that’s where the most terror comes from. You can't control other people's actions, and they have the power to annihilate a population,” she said. “Nuclear peace to me is having the right to go anywhere without the fear of your life being stripped away.”
That theme of human rights was prevalent as soon as the group’s plane landed in Winnipeg. Ahead of the summit, the group attended Gala 2024: Raising Our Voices at the Canadian Centre for Human Rights (in fact, they had to get dressed in their formalwear at the airport to immediately head over). Being at the gala excited fourth-year Community Social Services student and RA Nathania Ebegbare because it meant networking with people who were “passionate about the same thing” and discussing nuclear peace in detail. And at the gala, Williams was thrilled to meet Marilou McPhedran, an independent Senator in Canadian Parliament, whom she deeply admires for her work with women’s rights and empowerment.
Not only did the SERC-GC RAs network with gala and summit speakers and attendees in Winnipeg, but they also met two Japanese students in person for the first time who they’ve worked with remotely for their Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project, in partnership with Kansai Soka High School. The high school students, Hideo and Hiroko, presented at the summit, attending with their English teacher, Kaz Iguchi. They also visited U of GH in Toronto after the summit, where they received a tour and participated in two CSS classes.
Seeing the Kansai Soka High School students present at the Youth Nuclear Peace Summit was significant for Williams. She said they presented in English after only learning the language for a few months. But what Williams found incredibly moving was seeing them share their insights on nuclear disarmament and peace because their home country, Japan, experienced the horrors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
“The Kansai Soka students did public speaking for the first time. They got a standing ovation – and they've never seen a standing ovation before!” she said.
The dialogue on nuclear peace continued after the SERC-GC group returned from Winnipeg. SERC-GC hosted its seventh-annual special lecture, featuring Dr. Ira Helfand, about the highly important and timely topic, “The Growing Danger Of Nuclear War And What We Can Do To Prevent It.” Dr. Helfand is the co-founder and Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), past President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), and a member of the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Dr. Helfand's compelling virtual lecture drew an audience of 123 participants from 17 different countries around the world.
If you’re curious to learn more about peace education and nuclear disarmament, and engage in meaningful conversations about these topics, join the Discord server created by the SERC-GC RAs.