The award has been jointly conferred on Dr Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima and Tomihisa Taue of Nagasaki by the government of Nepal in recognition of their significant contributions to peace and non-violence.[break]
According to Moda Raj Dotel, Secretary at Ministry of Culture, the mayors will be accompanied by two survivors of the 1945 atomic explosions that devastated the two most populous cities back then.
The award felicitation ceremony will be held on Tuesday to mark Buddha Jayanti in Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav will confer the award that comprises of a gold medal, a certificate and a cash prize of US $50,000 ($25,000 each).
A cabinet meeting held on January 13 decided to confer the award jointly on the two mayors upon the recommendation of Gautam Buddha International Peace Award Management and Selection Committee. The five-member Selection Committee is chaired by former UN Assistant Secretary General Kul Chandra Gautam.
The mayors of the two cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that were completely destroyed by atom bombs during the World War II, have been spearheading the "Mayors for Peace" movement involving more than 4,000 municipalities in the world, including two-third of all Japanese municipalities. They have been ardent advocates of nuclear non-proliferation, reduction of military expenditure and disarmament.
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