Hiroshima mayor wins first peace prize

By Meghan Sired

The first annual Calgary Peace Prize—established by the Consortium for Peace Studies at the University of Calgary—has been awarded to the mayor of Hiroshima, Japan.

Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba has been instrumental in Mayors for Peace, an organization dedicated to eliminating all nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayor Dave Bronconnier signed onto Mayors for Peace a year ago, on behalf of the city of Calgary.

Akiba accepted the $5,000 award at a ceremony at the Calgary Zoo on Nov. 2. “The only role nuclear weapons have is to be demolished,” he says. 

“Dr. Akiba’s work is a great example of the kind of global leadership and commitment needed to end the nuclear threat, and we are honoured that he traveled to Calgary to receive this prize,” said Maureen Wilson, co-chair of the Consortium for Peace Studies (CPS).

The Calgary Peace Prize was established by the CPS this year to highlight Calgary’s contribution to world peace. The prize recognizes outstanding individuals from the global community whose work has made the world a safer and less violent place.

CPS is an organization that builds partnerships with the community in order to advance peace research, education and service.