Peace takes practice.
We can learn it together.
The Sasaki Peace Foundation is a youth-led organisation that helps students make sense of conflict, international relations and diplomacy. Through workshops and learning resources, we give young people space to ask difficult questions, hear perspectives beyond their own and practise the skills that make constructive dialogue possible.
Peacebuilding, practised
In these two-hour sessions, students work through a conflict scenario, consider options such as mediation or a ceasefire, and make the case for a position they may not personally agree with.
International relations, unpacked
Short courses that connect the news to the ideas behind it, including sovereignty, deterrence, international law and the choices governments make.
Dialogue across the table
Students can practise negotiation and facilitation, prepare for Model UN, and take part in dialogue sessions where people with different experiences can listen and speak openly.
Inside a workshop
How a workshop works
Each workshop follows the same four steps. The scenario changes, but students have a familiar structure to help them think, listen and work towards an agreement.
Frame the conflict
Start by asking what each side wants, what it is worried about and why its position makes sense to them. Try to understand before judging.
Take the other side
Students try to make a fair case for a position they may disagree with. The aim is not to change their personal beliefs, but to understand the reasoning behind another view.
Negotiate under pressure
With limited time and incomplete information, students look for an agreement that each side could realistically accept and explain to the people it represents.
Debrief
Afterwards, students reflect on what surprised them, what they still disagree about and what further information they would need. There is room to change your mind — and to explain why you have not.
Our work is designed for secondary students aged 13–18, university students interested in running chapters, and teachers looking for material for politics, history or global studies lessons.
Everything we offer is free. We are non-partisan: we help students examine ideas and make reasoned arguments, rather than telling them what they should think.
Why the name
Sadako’s story, and what her classmates did
Sadako Sasaki was two when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She later developed leukaemia and spent her final months in hospital folding paper cranes. After her death, her classmates worked to create a monument that would remember the children affected by the bombing.
We chose her name because her story brings the human cost of war close, but also because of what her classmates did next. They were young, and they organised, wrote letters and brought people together to remember the children who had died.
You do not have to wait until adulthood to start asking serious questions about the world — or to help make your corner of it more peaceful.
— the idea this foundation was built on
From our founder
I kept noticing how much students cared about the wars and crises they heard about, while often having few chances to explore them beyond the headlines. I wanted to help create that space: somewhere we could ask questions, learn how to disagree well and work through complicated issues together.
Bring a workshop to your school
Chapters are led by students, for students. We provide workshop materials, training and a coordinator for support. Chapter members set aside around two hours a month to bring the sessions to their school or community.
About us
Who we are
The Sasaki Peace Foundation is a youth-led organisation that helps students make sense of conflict, international relations and diplomacy. Through workshops and learning resources, we give young people space to ask difficult questions, hear perspectives beyond their own and practise the skills that make constructive dialogue possible.
We are students too, and we want these conversations to be open to people who might not otherwise have access to them. Our programmes and resources are free.
What we do
Working through real conflicts
Students look closely at a conflict, identify the people and institutions that can influence what happens next, and explore what a workable settlement might involve. Sessions can take place in schools, online or through chapters.
The theory behind the headlines
Our short courses introduce ideas that shape international relations, from sovereignty and alliances to deterrence, international law and the institutions countries work through.
Learning to talk to the other side
We offer practice in negotiation and facilitation, support for Model UN, and dialogue sessions that help students from different communities have thoughtful conversations with one another.
Our story so far
What guides our work
These are the ideas we try to bring into every workshop and resource.
- Start with questions
Give students room to ask how conflicts begin, why they continue and what can make a difference.
- Look beyond one perspective
Explore the interests, concerns and experiences of the people involved before deciding what a solution should look like.
- Learn by doing
Use scenarios, negotiation and discussion to practise the skills that can be hard to learn from reading alone.
- Keep the door open
Make the materials accessible, welcome honest questions and give students ways to take part at their own school or in their community.
A note from the founder
I started the Sasaki Peace Foundation because I wanted students to have more than headlines and opinions when they tried to understand conflict. We deserve chances to ask questions, look at evidence and work through difficult issues with other people.
I wanted to learn how to read the agreements countries make, understand arguments I did not share and keep a conversation going when people disagreed. Those are skills we can practise, but students do not always get the chance to learn them in school.
We chose the name Sadako Sasaki in part because of her classmates. After her death, they wrote letters, raised support and worked towards a monument for the children killed by the bombing. Their response showed how young people can come together and do something meaningful, even in the face of loss.
The foundation is student-run, and our programmes are free. If you are a student, you are welcome to explore starting a chapter. If you are a teacher, please use the resources that are helpful to your class. And if you see something differently from us, we hope you will tell us. A thoughtful disagreement can be a good place to start.
Sasaki Peace Foundation
What we believe
We believe that thinking critically about global affairs includes understanding a position well enough to explain it fairly, even when you disagree. It takes practice, and students should have more chances to practise it.
We also believe young people can contribute now. Sadako Sasaki’s classmates helped campaign for the Children’s Peace Monument while they were still young teenagers. With guidance and the chance to organise, students can take meaningful steps in their own communities too.
Cost should not be a barrier to taking part. That is why our programmes and materials are free, and why we want them to be useful to students and teachers in different kinds of schools and communities.
How we work
We are non-partisan, including when a topic is difficult or people feel strongly about it. Students work with assigned positions rather than simply defending their own; facilitators make space for the strongest arguments on different sides; and each session ends by separating evidence from interpretation and opinion.
We do not lobby, endorse political candidates or issue organisational positions on current disputes. Our role is to help students examine these questions carefully and reach their own informed conclusions.
Where we're going
We hope to make the work available to more schools and communities, and to build a resource library teachers can use without needing specialist experience. If you would like to bring a chapter to your school or community, we would be glad to hear from you.
The foundation is designed to be run by student volunteers, with a teacher sponsor helping with school arrangements. People contribute their time because they care about making peace education more accessible.
We welcome people interested in helping with lesson materials, workshop facilitation, chapter coordination or translation.
We are named after Sadako Sasaki, who was two when the bomb fell on Hiroshima and twelve when she died of leukaemia. Her story is where most people first meet the human cost of war.
Youth-run and non-partisan, with no affiliation to any government, party or religious body, and no connection to the Sasaki family or the City of Hiroshima.
If you enjoy writing, facilitating conversations or translating, we would love to hear from you. You do not need to arrive as an expert; support and training are part of the process.
Get involved
There are a few ways to get involved: start a chapter, ask us about a workshop for your class, or request resources to use with your own group. Everything is free.
Hiroshima, 1943–1955
Sadako Sasaki’s story
Sadako Sasaki was born in Hiroshima on 7 January 1943. She was two years old, and about a mile from the hypocentre, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city on 6 August 1945. She survived the blast with no visible injuries.
Nine years later she began to show signs of illness. In February 1955 she was diagnosed with leukaemia — one of the radiation-linked cancers that appeared in survivors years after the bombing — and admitted to the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital. She was told she had perhaps a year.
Senbazuru
In Japanese tradition, folding a thousand origami cranes — a senbazuru — is associated with making a wish. While she was in hospital, Sadako folded cranes from whatever paper she could find, including medicine wrappers and paper given to her by others.
Accounts differ on how many cranes Sadako folded, and that uncertainty is worth acknowledging. The version popularised by the 1977 children’s novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes says she folded 644 before her death and that her classmates completed the thousand. Her family and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum say she folded more than a thousand.
She died on 25 October 1955, aged twelve.
Stories can change as they are retold. Sadako’s story offers a useful chance to ask where an account came from, how it became familiar and what other sources can tell us.
One thousand cranes
Each mark represents one crane. The display shows the two accounts described above, rather than claiming there is one settled total.
What her classmates did next
After Sadako died, her classmates at Nobori-cho Junior High School wanted to remember her and the other children who had died because of the bombing. They campaigned for a monument and wrote to schools across Japan for support. Donations arrived from thousands of schools and from overseas.
The Children's Peace Monument was unveiled in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on 5 May 1958 — Children's Day. A bronze girl stands at the top, holding a folded crane above her head. Around it hang glass cases packed with cranes sent from all over the world, still arriving by the million every year.
This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.
Inscription at the base of the Children's Peace Monument, HiroshimaTimeline
- 7 January 1943
Sadako Sasaki born in Hiroshima.
- 6 August 1945
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sadako, aged two, survives.
- February 1955
Diagnosed with leukaemia and admitted to hospital. She begins folding cranes.
- 25 October 1955
She dies, aged twelve.
- 1956–57
Her classmates campaign nationwide for a memorial to the child victims.
- 5 May 1958
The Children's Peace Monument is unveiled in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Why we teach it
Sadako's story is not only about grief. It is the clearest example we know of young people deciding that remembering is not enough on its own, and organising to do something about it. Her classmates were thirteen and fourteen years old. They wrote letters, raised money, and got a monument built.
Her classmates’ work is one reason we connect history with practical learning. We look at the people affected by conflict, study the decisions and conditions around it, and practise skills such as negotiation, mediation and diplomacy.
Go to the source
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Survivor testimony, artefacts and the museum's own account of Sadako's life. hpmmuseum.jp
- City of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, the Children's Peace Monument, and how to send cranes. city.hiroshima.lg.jp
- United Nations: disarmament observances Background on nuclear testing, treaties and the arguments still being had. un.org
What we run
Programmes
The programmes below are free and can be adapted for a classroom or an online session. Chapters can run them locally. If there is not a chapter near you, email us to ask about arranging a session with your school.
Peacebuilding 101
Students explore how a conflict begins and changes over time, map the people involved and consider what might make a realistic first step towards resolution.
Crisis room
Students take on roles in a fictional dispute, from government representatives to mediators and the press. As new information arrives, they have to negotiate and decide what agreement might be possible.
Foundations of international relations
An introduction to major approaches to international relations, alongside ideas such as sovereignty, alliances, deterrence, international law and international institutions — explained in accessible language.
Dialogue circles
Practical support for students who want to lead thoughtful conversations at school, including setting ground rules, making space for different voices and closing a discussion constructively.
Model UN clinic
A practical introduction to position papers, points of order, building blocs and preparing speeches, especially for first-time delegates or schools without a dedicated coach.
Ask a practitioner
Online conversations with people working in diplomacy, aid, research or journalism. Students can submit questions beforehand and take a turn chairing the session.
How we stay non-partisan
Some of the issues we discuss are personal and politically sensitive. To keep sessions fair and useful, students work with assigned positions, facilitators present the strongest arguments on different sides, and the debrief distinguishes evidence from judgement.
Teachers receive the session plan in advance, including the sources used and the choices behind the material.
For an in-person session, we ask the school to provide a room, around two hours and a staff member. We provide the materials and session plan. Workshops are designed for 8–35 students; simulations can accommodate up to 60.
Free, for anyone who asks
Resources for students and teachers
Our resource packs are currently shared by email rather than downloaded directly from the site. Send us the year group and the time you have available, and a coordinator can help you find a suitable pack.
For students
- The IR reading ladderThirty texts from accessible to demanding, with a paragraph on what each argues and who disagrees.
- How to read the news on a conflictA checklist for spotting framing, sourcing and omission — worked through on two real articles.
- Model UN starter kitPosition paper template, rules-of-procedure cheat sheet, and twelve opening speeches annotated line by line.
- Argue the other sideTwenty pairs of briefing cards on contested questions, each written by someone who holds that view.
- Essay and research clinicHow to build an argument, cite properly, and find primary sources for a politics or history assignment.
For teachers
- Peacebuilding 101 lesson planFull two-hour plan with slides, timings, handouts and three levels of extension work.
- Crisis simulation packA fictional maritime dispute: role briefs for six parties, an injects timetable, and a facilitator script.
- Dialogue facilitation guideGround rules, seating, opening questions, and what to do when a session goes sideways.
- Debrief question bankSixty questions sorted by what they surface — evidence, emotion, assumption or trade-off.
- Teaching Sadako's storyA three-lesson unit on Hiroshima, memory and source criticism, suitable for ages 12–15.
Free elsewhere on the web
These are free resources from other organisations that we find useful. They are not produced by the foundation, and you can access them directly.
- World101Short explainers on how the international system works, built for classroom use.Council on Foreign Relations
- UN Model United NationsOfficial guidance, rules of procedure and preparation material for delegates and advisers.United Nations
- The Choices ProgramCurriculum units that ask students to weigh competing policy options on historical decisions.Brown University
- War and international humanitarian lawWhat the laws of armed conflict actually say, from the organisation that helped write them.ICRC
- UN PeacekeepingCurrent missions, mandates and data — useful for grounding a simulation in something real.United Nations
- Facing History and OurselvesLessons on genocide, memory and civic choice, with strong discussion scaffolding.Facing History
- War and peace in dataLong-run datasets and charts on conflict, deaths and military spending, free to reuse.Our World in Data
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial MuseumTestimony and archive material on the bombing and its aftermath.hpmmuseum.jp
We link to these resources because they may be useful, not because we endorse every view they contain. Please review material before using it with a class.
Student-led chapters
Start a chapter where you are
A chapter is a small group of students who bring peace education activities to their school or community. You do not need to be an expert or have a large budget to begin. Start with a few interested people and time for one session a month.
How it works
Apply
Fill in the form below to tell us a little about yourself and your idea. We aim to reply within a week.
Talk it through
A short call with a coordinator to talk about your school or community and decide what you would like to try first.
Get trained
Two online training sessions to help you facilitate a workshop and respond when people in the room disagree.
Run your first workshop
You can have a coordinator join the session for support. The workshop pack gives you a clear plan to follow, so you do not have to work everything out on the spot.
Keep going
Keep meeting during term, try a new pack each term and share ideas with other chapter leads about what worked and what you would change.
Chapter leads are asked to run about one workshop each month during term, send a short update afterwards and follow the foundation’s non-partisan approach.
Chapter leads receive workshop packs and slides, facilitator training, a coordinator to contact and a letter explaining the programme for their school. A reference may be available to chapter leads who complete a full year.
Students aged 14 and over can apply from anywhere. If you are under 18, please include a teacher or guardian as a contact. There is no application or membership fee.
A year in a chapter
What the first twelve months look like
- Month 1
Set up
Submit your application, speak with a coordinator and complete the two training sessions.
- Months 2–3
First workshop
Run Peacebuilding 101 with students at your school or in your community. A coordinator can join for support if you would find that helpful.
- Months 4–8
Find your rhythm
Aim for one session a month. You might run a simulation, host a dialogue circle or organise a Model UN clinic.
- Months 9–12
Pass it on
Help new students prepare to lead, and share what you learned with other chapters so they can build on your experience.
Chapter application
When you submit this form, the site prepares an email for you to send. Your answers are not stored on this page. If your mail app does not open, you can copy the text and send it yourself.
Send the email to sasakipeacefoundation@gmail.com using the subject line provided.
If starting a chapter does not feel right for you at the moment, you can still ask about joining a session, request a resource pack or ask a teacher to contact us about a workshop.
Questions
Before you apply
Do I need a teacher to run a chapter?
If you are under 18, we ask you to name a teacher or guardian as a contact so the school or community knows about the activity. They do not need to lead the chapter themselves.
What if nobody at my school is interested?
You can begin with three or four friends. Keep the first session manageable — even one workshop for a class is a useful place to start.
Do I need to know a lot about international relations?
No. The packs give you a structure to follow, and the training covers the basics of facilitation. You can keep learning as you go; you do not need to arrive as an expert.
How much time does it take?
Plan for around two hours a month during term for a workshop and a short update afterwards. The initial set-up will take a little more time.
Can we run sessions online?
Yes. Workshops can be run in person or online, and chapters can use a mix of both.
Does it cost anything?
No. Chapter materials, training and support are free, and there is no membership fee.
Say hello
Contact us
Our inbox is monitored by students. We aim to reply within a week, though during busy school periods it may take a little longer.
Ask us about a workshop, course or resource pack. It helps if you include the year group, number of students and time available.
Interested in starting a chapter, joining an existing activity or helping facilitate a session? The chapter form is a good place to start.
For collaboration ideas, speaker offers or interview requests, email the same address and use “Partnership” or “Press” in the subject line.