On November 5th, four students from Yokohama city visited the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations to pay a courtesy call to Ambassador Kazuo Kodama, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mission of Japan. The students were the award winners of this year’s Yokohama International Speech Contest and had been appointed to be the Peace Messengers from Yokohama City.

        The students described the speeches they made at the contest to Ambassador Kodama. They said that the important message which they wanted to convey at the contest was for people to think sincerely about what one can do for those children who are suffering from wars, poverty, and natural disasters, and find a way to provide help actively.

        Ambassador Kodama responded to these Peace Messengers by giving a brief overview of the United Nations, the main UN agendas such as “Peace and Security”, “Development” and “Women’s Rights”. Adding to these important agendas, the Ambassador advised the students of the importance of respecting human rights, giving more attention to the international community and obtaining the skills of negotiation.