Whanganui High School International
We are very proud of our Head Prefects, Jake Newton and Lilly Terrey, who represented New Zealand at the 10th Hiroshima Junior International Forum in Japan recently – the only NZ students selected!
Jake and Lilley returned as official Ambassadors of Peace, carrying forward a powerful message of hope and understanding on the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima. ✨🕊️
River City Press Whanganui
High Schoolers attend Hiroshima International Forum
Whanganui High School Head Prefects Jake Newton and Lilly Terrey were selected to represent New Zealand at the 10th Hiroshima Junior International Forum in Japan – the only students from New Zealand to be selected. Understandably, High School is “incredibly proud.”
Hiroshima was largely destroyed by an atomic bomb during World War II, killing an estimated 140,000 people.
The programme objective was “to help nurture the next generation of leaders by inviting foreign and Japanese high school students to discuss global peace, share ideas, deepen mutual understanding, and spread a message of peace around the world.” This forum was particularly significant as it commemorated 80 years since the bombing.
There were 45 Japanese students and 40 students from 24 countries at the forum with many of them already living in Japan. Jake and Lilly told the RCP that “About 10 to 12 students travelled specifically to Japan, including from Italy, Egypt, and Kazakhstan. We had the longest journey.”
It was a generous sponsorship from the Hiroshima Prefectural Government covering international air travel, travel insurance, local transport, tours, accommodation and meals.
As part of their application, Jake and Lilly had to write about their views of peace, nuclear weapons and how they could contribute to the discussions. They also had to detail their personal attributes, which are impressive.
Apart from both being head prefects, Jake is a top rower and is active in the community, helping out at Castlecliff Coast Care. Lilly is very much involved in school dance and drama productions and is also Head of Tutoring, where she finds “other leaders to help students with subjects they are struggling in.”
They admitted to not having much prior knowledge about the bombing of Hiroshima (and a second Japanese city of Nagasaki). Although Lilly had picked up some information from Level 1 history. They were given pre-learning tasks, read articles, and did their own research.
It was not a propaganda exercise. Jake said, “They didn’t really push any agenda, and they didn’t blame the Americans. It was more a case of ‘It happened, we have accepted it, and this is what we have done since.’”
There were several lectures from both Japanese and overseas university lecturers, with the keynote speaker from the UK. However, the most powerful message, they said, “came from a survivor. She was only 11 years old at the time and is now 91. She was at home with her family and remembers her dad carrying out her grandmother into the black rain. Most of her family survived.”
“Remarkably,” they added, “She started learning English when she was 80 and her testimony was all in English.”
As part of the programme, they visited the Peace Memorial Museum, where “we were given goggles to see pictures of before and after the dropping of the atomic bomb. They also went for a tour to the nearby island of Miyajima and the Peace Memorial Park.
They learnt about the spread of nuclear weapons around the world (currently a total of nine countries have them), and in groups were asked what they could do to spread the message of peace. Their recommendations made up the Hiroshima Declaration presented to the Governor of Hiroshima.
These recommendations included “Education in schools. The reality is that very few students know about the bombing and the spread of nuclear weapons.” On their return, Jake and Lilly gave a presentation to a Year 13 assembly, but can’t do much more as seniors are on study leave. They point out “the information is out there, but not easy to access. It needs to be spread out, including on social media.”
All students were given ‘Ambassador of Peace’ certificates.
The two of them developed “some good friendships, especially at nighttime when we could go out exploring together.”
Photo: Jake Newton and Lilly Terrey
6/9/25