9 August 2022
Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation|www.leiden-nagasaki.nl
Students Ib and Gijs attended the Nagasaki Youth Peace Forum in Japan and met with Mayor Tomihisa Taue. In 2020 the Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation together with the cities of Leiden and Nagasaki organized an art contest featuring a trip to Japan for the winners. Due to COVID-19, the trip to Japan and the Nagasaki Youth Peace Forum were both postponed. This summer however, they both took place.
Art Contest and trip to Japan
To commemorate 75 years since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki (9 August 1945), the Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation, together with the cities of Leiden and Nagasaki, held an art contest with the theme: ‘What if this happened to you?’. What if an atomic bomb fell on your city, changing your life – what message would you send to the world? Gijs van der Meij and Ib Brussee won this contest and represented the city of Leiden at the Nagasaki Youth Peace Forum and the annual memorial ceremony. They paid a visit today to the Mayor of Nagasaki, Tomihisa Taue to present their winning art works. Gijs (18) explained that in his work ‘A girl running through a devastated city’, the city of Leiden and his sister played central roles. Ib (18) added that in her work depicting a devastated city, the 2 hands that feature prominently against a background of a rising sun are symbols for both hope and desperation.
Mayor Taue thanked both students and complimented them on their works, promising to give their artworks ‘pride of place’ in Nagasaki. A Representative of the Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation (SLVN) accompanied the winners and coordinated the journey, for which all costs were borne by the city of Nagasaki. Since 24 November 2017, Leiden and Nagasaki enjoy an official sister city relationship.
Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation (SLVN)
The aim of the Leiden Friends of Nagasaki Foundation is to foster and promote the sister city relations between Leiden and Nagasaki. The foundation aims to stimulate corporate contact between the two regions and to further expand the existing ties with regard to culture, music, medicine, and education.
Leiden/Nagasaki August 9 2022
