The Tehran Peace Museum was honoured to receive both Professor Vappu Taipale and Professor Ilkka Taipale from Finland on Monday January 19th, 2015.  His Excellency, Harri Kamarainen, the Ambassador of Finland to Tehran, accompanied the professors as well as representatives from the Iran-Finland Friendship Association (IFFA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Taipales are both distinguished psychiatrists and have dedicated years of service to Finland as parliamentarians and social activists. Dr. Vappu Taipale is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and her husband, Dr. Ilkaa Taipale is a social psychiatrist closely involved in supporting the homeless, prisoners and the unemployed.
To see the pictures of this event click here.

The second “Peace Counts” workshop was held in Tehran Peace Museum on January 7th. In this workshop in which some of the volunteers of “The Council of Promoting the Culture of Peace for Children” were present, the participants learnt about different definitions of peace and the conflict escalation.
The Council of Promoting the Culture of Peace for Children is consisted of different NGOs including TPM which work to promote the culture of peace with a focus on working for the children.

To see the photos of this event, please click here.

The first “Peace Counts” workshop was held in Tehran Peace Museum on December 22nd. In this workshop in which 12 Iranians and Afghan interns and staff of NICCO were present, the participants learnt about different definitions of peace and the conflict escalation.
NICCO is a Japanese based NGO which presents humanitarian aids to different groups of people.

To see the photos of this event, please click here.

On December 1st this year, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the City of The Hague presented its inaugural annual award to recognize outstanding achievement in advancing the objective of global chemical disarmament. This year’s joint recipients of the award were Dr. Robert Mathews from Australia and the Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN) in recognition of their combined efforts to pioneer the Chemical Weapons Convention.

“Visiting the museum inspires me and everybody to do whatever we can for the war veterans.”

These are the words of renowned Iranian filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami, who visited the Tehran Peace Museum on Tuesday 9 December 2014.

During his two-hour visit, Mr. Kiarostami familiarized himself with the consequences of chemical weapons used against Iranian soldiers and civilians during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).  The celebrated director was overwhelmed by the presence of so many chemical weapons survivors volunteering at the museum and listened to them courageously sharing their experiences.  He commented on the effectiveness of such a unique approach to inform visitors first-hand about the scourge of chemical weapons.

To see the photos of this visit please click here.

On Monday 8th December 2014, the Tehran Peace Museum was honored to welcome Dr. Jan Oberg to give a talk titled “Is a New Cold War Shaping? If Yes, Where Is the World ahead?” before the Museum’s regular open English discussion group’s session. The talk was followed by an informal dialogue and a lively question and answer session. The audiences were a group of interested individuals as well as the Tehran Peace Museum’s members and volunteers. One of the highlights of this session was the presence of Mr. Thore Vestby, the Mayor of Frogn, Norway and the vice-president of Mayors for Peace. 

Mr. Thore Vestby, the mayor of Frogn, Norway and the vice-president of Mayors for Peace, visited Tehran Peace Museum, on December 8th, 2014.  After visiting TPM, in a meeting in which some Iranian mayors and municipality representatives were present, Mr. Vestby said that he is impressed by the work TPM and also the efforts of Mayors for Peace secretariat which is located in TPM. He said that by the help of the Iran Embassy and the Mayor of Oslo, he is trying to build a bilateral cooperation between Iranian and Norwegian Mayors for Peace member cities. Mr. Vestby also stated that he believes some Iranian cities are qualified to be known as “Leading Cities” not only in Iran, but also in the region.

To see the pictures of this event click here.

Title: “Is a New Cold War Shaping? If Yes, Where Is the World ahead?”
Date and Time: Monday 8/12/ 2014, 14:30-15:30 
Venue: Tehran Peace Museum
Dr. Oberg is the director and co-founder of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research in Lund, Sweden. The Foundation is an independent think tank, which has been dedicated for more than 28 years to academic research, as well as practical, on the ground experience with the purpose of promoting Article 1 of the UN Charter that peace shall be created by peaceful means.
To find out more about the work of Dr. Oberg and his colleagues, you can visit the links below: http://www.transnational.org/   PS: The Lecture will be delivered in English.

An International Law specialist/Tehran University lecturer and a PhD student in chemistry, both volunteer members of the Tehran Peace Museum and Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support-SCWVS-, participated in the  19th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention-CWC- in The Hague, 1-5 December 2014.

 TPM/SCWVS representatives who are both survivors of chemical weapons attacks, attended in several technical sessions and side events of this conference and set up an exhibition on peaceful activities of CW victims in the TPM.

Delegations of 140 states parties and 40 NGOs as well as CW victims from Sardasht and Halabja attended the conference in the Hague.

 The CWC was opened for signature in 1993 and entered into force in April 1997. 

The memorial Ceremony of Mr. Ahmad ZangiAbadi was held in Tehran Peace Museum on December 3rd, 2014. Mr Ahmad Zangiabadi, CW victims and volunteer member of Tehran Peace Museum and SCWVS, died of respiratory collapse on Tuesday (18 November 2014) .
In this event, some of his friends who are also suffering from the Mustard gas exposure, recounted their memories with him. Some short clips of him were displayed, as well. At the end, Mr. Zangiabadi's widow thanked all the participants for their presence.

To see the photos of this event, please click here.
You can read a short article on his life, on TPM's Oral History's page or on the website of United Nations in Iran with the UN resident coordinator's introduction.
UN Website Link.

On Wednesday 19 November 2014, “Peace Counts” exhibition’s opening ceremony held in Tehran Peace Museum. Several national and international guests attended the event including the  representatives of UN agencies, embassies, ministries and NGOs; during the program, Ambassador Hasan Ghashghavi, deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, H.E. Michael von Ungern-Sternberg, the ambassador of Germany, Mr. Uli Jager, the director of Peace Education and Global Learning Department of Berghof Foundation and Ms. Anne Romund, Peace Counts Project Manager delivered speeches.

To see photos of the ceremony click here.

Mr Ahmad Zangiabadi, CW victims and volunteer member of Tehran Peace Museum and SCWVS, Died of respiratory collapse on Tuesday (18 November 2014) morning in a hospital in Tehran.

He was seriously injured during a Mustard gas attack in 1985 and for the past 30 years he suffered from severe exposure related illnesses including very severe lung problem.

In the past few months, he was able to breath only using respiratory support machine.

Tehran Peace museum will host "Peace Counts" poster exhibition from 19th of November for 1 month. The museum would be closed from 15th to 18th of November for preparations and tour guiding practices.

This poster exhibition includes 25 stories of successful peace Builders from around the world and is a part of international "Peace Counts" tour by Berghof Foundation. "Peace Counts" has been recognized by UNESCO as a contribution to the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence." 

On Saturday 1 November 2014, a group of Chemical Weapons Victims, Peace Activists, physicians and volunteer members of SCWVS (Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support) and Tehran Peace Museum, thanked Dr. Matthias Jochheim -German physician who was visiting Iran on vacation with the company of her daughter- in Tehran Peace Museum.

In this program representatives from Tehran Peace Museum, SCWVS, Iranian affiliate of IPPNW (International Physicians to Prevention of Nuclear War), volunteers and CW victims appreciated Dr. Jochheim’s help to provide necessary medications for CW victims; with the dedication of a note of appreciation and a plaque by TPM and CW victims.

To read the short autobiography of Dr. Matthias Jochheim, please click here.

To see the pictures of this event click here.

​The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons by C. J. CHIVERS was published in New York Times on October 14th, 2014.
Finding aging chemical weapons which were abandoned for years, exposure of U.S soldiers to these weapons, the medical care for these soldiers and the terrorist groups control on these weapons are discussed in this article.
To read this article, please click here.

On 22-23 September, the OPCW held an innovative conference at their headquarters in The Hague titled OPCW Education and Outreach Event: Education for Peace – New Pathways for Securing Chemical Disarmament.  

The Tehran Peace Museum, represented by Elizabeth Lewis, delivered a presentation on two of the Tehran Peace Museum’s latest oral history projects.

This year, we commemorate the International Day of Peace while millions of people around the world are suffering from war and violence and its aftermath.
This does not mean that our efforts for peace are in vain and that peace is not achievable, it is indeed achievable and today more than ever we need to promote a culture of peace.
That is why we are gathered here in the Peace Museum on the International Day of Peace, to recall that we all belong to each other, regardless of political boundaries that separate nations from each other.
As the 13th century Iranian poet Saadi said: we are all from one essence.
Let’s think about similarities instead of differences, love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of revenge, dialogue instead of confrontation and peace instead of violence.
Let’s give peace a chance!

On Sunday 21 September, an observance for the International Peace Day was held in Tehran Peace Museum.

Many NGO representatives, activists, young people, artists, war survivors as well as representatives of International organizations attended the ceremony.

The Ceremony started by reading the message of Tehran Peace Museum by a war victim and the director of the Tehran Peace Museum, Mr. MohamadReza Taghipour.

 During the program, Mr. Ban Ki moon's message was read by UNIC’s National Information Officer, Mr. Mohamad Rajaei Moghadam; and then speech by Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, the director and representative of UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran, delivered. Other speakers of this program were Mr. Seyed Mohamad Khatami, former president, and the UN resident coordinator in Iran, Mr. Gary Lewis.

One minute silence to commemorate the victims of war, and dedicating flowers to the participants were other parts of the program. Visiting the museum and the exhibitions there were side events of this program. To see photos of the ceremony click here.

21 September 2014

Today is the International Day of Peace.

Each year, on this day, the United Nations calls for a global ceasefire.  

We ask combatants to put down their arms so all can breathe the air of peace.

Armed conflict causes untold grief to families, communities and entire countries.

Too many are suffering today at the brutal hands of warmongers and terrorists.

Let us stand with them in solidarity.

Peace and security are essential foundations for social progress and sustainable development.

on the occasion of International Day of Peace (21 September 2014)

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

The International Day of Peace reflects the innermost aspiration of all peoples to live together, free and equal in dignity and rights. The theme of 2014 is the “right of peoples to peace”, selected to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace by the United Nations.
The right to peace is of the utmost importance in view of the violence that is currently tearing the world apart. To build peace, we must understand the new realities of war today, and the way in which both human lives and identities are under attack in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, in violence that aims to strike at the cultural and religious values of peoples.