Toronto City Hall Peace Garden (Nathan Phillips Square), Thursday, August 6, 2026 FROM 6:30–8:30 PM (Community & Craft Tables: 4:30–6:30 PM)

Join the Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition (HNDC) for a free, family-friendly evening of remembrance, reflection, and action as we honour those impacted by the atomic bombings and renew our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

Highlights include:

• Keynote by Cesar Jaramillo, Executive Director of the SANE Policy Institute, on the path to nuclear disarmament in today’s world

• Canadian youth perspectives on nuclear abolition

• Performances by Ganbare Japanese Canadian Youth Choir and renowned flautist Ron Korb

• Messages from the Mayors of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Toronto

• The Story of Sadako’s Peace Cranes presented by Yui Ugai

• A reflective lantern ceremony to close the evening

Before the commemoration, visit the Community & Craft Tables (4:30–6:30 PM) to make peace cranes and lanterns, connect with local peace organizations, and learn more about initiatives for nuclear disarmament. Setsuko Thurlow’s youth memoir, Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Story, will be available for purchase and signing.

*Don’t miss: Canada and the Atom Bomb photo exhibition in the Toronto City Hall Rotunda, August 4–10 (10 AM–4 PM daily, closed Sunday). Featuring 100 photographs documenting Canada’s role in the Manhattan Project, the exhibit is also available online: https://hiroshima.imagearts.torontomu.ca/canada-and-the.../

Nuclear weapons remain the most inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. Together, we remember the past and advocate for a peaceful, nuclear weapons-free future.

For more information, click here.

Change begins when people come together.

We invite people from across Canada to join us for an inspiring virtual gathering to learn about and help shape VOW's 1000 Women+ for Peace initiative.

The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, in partnership with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, is calling on women and gender-diverse people across the country to add their voices to an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister for Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez.

Together, we are urging the Government of Canada to reduce military spending and invest instead in a green, caring, and peaceful future—one that prioritizes climate action, housing, education, health, the Calls to Action of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and the MMWIG Inquiry  WAGE's budget, and the well-being of people over the expansion of warfare.

This is more than a meeting—it's an opportunity to be part of a growing national movement.

During our gathering, we'll:

• Learn more about the 1000 Women+ for Peace campaign and why this moment matters
• Connect with others who share a vision of peace, justice, and care
• Explore practical, meaningful actions we can each take to help amplify 1,000 voices across Canada

History shows that when ordinary people act together, they can influence extraordinary change. Every signature, every conversation, and every new voice helps strengthen our collective message.

Whether you're new to peace activism or have been involved for years, your perspective and participation are valued.

Together, we can send a clear message:

We choose care, not warfare.

Join us and help ensure that 1,000 voices become a powerful call for a Canada that invests in care, justice, and a sustainable future for all.

This is the second year VOW is holding another in the series of the Sparking Change summer workshops at the Hub and Hearth Retreat Center in Orangeville, Ontario. This year’s theme questions whether we can imagine a different future and build a nonviolent economy. We welcome registrations from individuals, VOW members, Science for Peace members, and people from all organizations and communities.

This weekend is possible with the support of Science for Peace as a partner. They will sponsor three youth attendees to join us!

In 2025 the Sparking Change focused on nonviolence in social movements, inviting groups working on climate change and on social defense to share their experiences. 

There have been countless initiatives in Ontario that transition producers and consumers to a green economy. Those social businesses that follow circular and regenerative practices, are effectively moving people towards a nonviolent economy. A key component is moving from being an individual consumer to a community of producers and consumers.

Nonviolent economy is a term that is more commonly used in countries like India to illustrate self-sufficient, self-reliant and sovereign communities that depend on local economic development, and a trajectory that is bottom-up. This also draws from a deep civilizational impulse known as ahimsa or the intention of not bringing injury to other beings (whether animate or inanimate). Such an impulse may be unachievable, but it gives a direction and sets a norm for an economy based on the common good.

Aim of Workshop: To find out how participants are engaged in different activities and initiatives, and to develop innovative strategies for linking these activities together to build a stronger cooperation.

Who Will Be There:: The workshop is made up of 12 – 15 participants sharing their experiences as producers or consumers. In addition, there will be 2 – 3  resource persons sharing some of their work on net zero food production, setting up sustainable communities, alternative health therapies, direct and local markets and so forth. 

Design of the workshop: The design is meant to be as interactive as possible. As there are many trainers in the group, we will encourage maximum participation and engagement. The workshop sessions are interspersed with time in the natural surroundings, and outdoor activities.

Registration Fee: $175 per person. Your registration covers the full weekend experience, including accommodation, meals, workshop learning, and all scheduled activities.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT! Register by clicking the button below!

For questions, please email info@vowpeace.org with the subject line "Sparking Change Workshop."