Santa Catalina students join international conference on nuclear disarmament in Japan

Earlier this month, Santa Catalina seniors Shaden Beltran Ibarra and Laura Colosky, along with global issues teacher Masha Serttunc participated in an international event designed to discuss nuclear disarmament. It's the Critical Issues Forum, organized by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

The forum took place in Hiroshima, Japan, this year. They were joined by groups from six other U.S. schools, two Russian schools, and five Japanese schools.

The forum is the culmination of a semester-long program aimed at developing critical thinking skills and engaging high school students and teachers around issues related to international peace and security. All participants presented their findings on a humanitarian approach to nuclear disarmament and took part in a Q&A session with their peers and teachers. This year's conference coincided with the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and include a public forum at the Hiroshima International Conference Center. Shaden Beltran Ibarra was the M.C. for the public forum on April 4. The event was televised in Japan, with the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs in attendance.

Sounds like it was an exciting event, one the girls enjoyed and learned a lot from. Exciting things are happening in Monterey County schools!