The 2022 Lecture Series on Disarmament in Germany voices the importance of citizen participation in disarmament activities

On April 19, 2022, the first lecture of the 2022 Lecture Series on Disarmament was held in Germany under the theme of ‘The Importance of Disarmament and Current World Situation’. Starting with this lecture, four sessions (April 19, May 3, May 17, May 31) were held over 6 weeks with a total attendance of 165 people, including 6 speakers.

Disarmament is closely related to various social issues that are currently taking place, and is one of the important factors in achieving world peace. HWPL Frankfurt Branch volunteers in Germany conducted over 20 interviews with various disarmament experts over the past year. And the experts who were interviewed emphasized the importance of improving the awareness and participation of young people in disarmament activities in Germany. Thus, the lecture series has been planned in response to these needs.

The four main themes of the session were, ‘Importance of disarmament and the current world situation’, ‘Relevance of global issues and armament’, ‘The current state of disarmament in Germany’, and ‘The need for cooperation between the government and youth for disarmament.’ After the lecture, Q&A and discussions were held freely with the citizens in attendance on topics related to the lecture.

Dr. Matin Baraki, a lecturer at the University of Marburg who presented on the topic of relevance of global issues and armament, said during his lecture, “The importance of HWPL’s peace activities is increasing due to the current crisis in Ukraine, and I think it is our role for everyone to participate in disarmament and international activities.”

Citizens who attended the lecture commented, “Before listening to the lecture, I had no idea how much money was spent just maintaining the military and how much environmental pollution was caused by this”, and “I now can understand the role of young people for disarmament, and I hope that there will be many more of these lectures so that more people will know the importance of disarmament.”

HWPL is planning another lecture series on disarmament in the second half of the year to let more citizens recognize the importance of disarmament. With the participation of many citizens, it is hoped that active disarmament and peace activities will continue in Europe and around the world, starting from Germany.