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.