Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) recently congratulated Manon Iwata for receiving the Congressional Award Gold Medal and “making CA28 (the 28th Congressional District) proud.”
Manon and her twin sister Kanon founded their own nonprofit, Teens 4 Disarmament & Nonproliferation, in Los Angeles in 2022.
“Thank you for your commitment to educating others and building a more peaceful future,” said Chu. “I look forward to your next achievement.”
Manon said that her goal is “educating the community, specifically youth and teens, about nuclear disarmament, what are nuclear weapons, and how they affect our world socially, politically, and environmentally today.”
She traveled to Hiroshima to talk to other teens about disarmament. “In Hiroshima, there’s a lot of great resources and information, especially a lot of youth who are part of this big topic. So I really wanted to go wanted to go there to discuss about this important, critical issue as well as inform myself more about this topic.”
Manon added, “It was really great for me to be able to start this organization because it allowed me to give back to my community in many different ways. It taught me a lot about how important it is, especially in our society today, because information allows us to make our own opinions, allows us to view all perspectives and really empathize with one another.
“So for me, starting this nonprofit organization was all about bringing peace and education forward to the next step.”
Asked about her future plans, Manon said, “I think as I continue I really want to focus more on my nonprofit organization, really pushing it forward to see how I can reach more teens globally across the world.
“I know I’ve reached Hiroshima, but I would love to tackle more areas around our world to really inform youth about this topic since I think it’s not really educated as much in … many high schools. I really want to make sure that this topic is out there.”
Since they were young, Manon and Kanon have heard many heartrending stories from hibakusha (survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). “As future leaders, we must all take action now,” they wrote on their website, www.teens4disarmament.org. “According to United Nations, nuclear weapons are a … existential threat to the world alongside the climate change. Nuclear weapons’ immense threat, however, does not receive the same level of necessary attention.
“Our main goal is to raise awareness and involve the future generation regarding the risks nuclear weapons pose to the entire planet. With the mission and passion to educate the youth about disarmament and nonproliferation, Teens 4 Disarmament was born. Teens 4 Disarmament will change the world, one step at a time.”
The organization has chapters at Westridge School in Pasadena, Soka Tokyo High School, Hiroshima Jogakuin High School, and Kansai Soka High School as well as Ukraine.