HOPE80 Celebrated at Osaka World Expo on UN Peace Day
- lawrencelefcort
- Sep 22
- 3 min read
On September 21, 2025, the Osaka World Expo welcomed the HOPE80 delegation in honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace. The Expo has already drawn more than 20 million visitors and is on pace to reach its target of 28 million by mid-October.
The delegation was honoured with a special invitation to the United Nations Pavilion by Mr. Maher Nasser, Assistant Secretary-General and Commissioner General of the UN at Expo 2025. They were also given guided visits to the Japanese, Austrian, and Italian pavilions.
The International Day of Peace commemorates the founding ideals of the United Nations: to promote peace, end conflict, and foster global cooperation. That vision was echoed by the HOPE80 delegation during their panel discussion at the Expo’s “Shining Hat” Hall, which seats 1,900 people and hosts key Expo 2025 events.
“You decide who you want to be and who you want to become,” said Jennifer Teege, granddaughter of Nazi commander Amon Göth and best-selling author. “We cannot control the conflicts raging around the world right today. What we can control is our inner state. When we strive for and attain inner peace, it will manifest in the external world.”
“Hope is an action,” said Magali Brosh, second generation holocaust survivor, Israeli peace activist, and HOPE80 delegate. “The biggest obstacles and enemies are within; we need to confront and overcome them. Let’s find and share joy together.”
Just one week after a historic meeting between the grandson of U.S. President Harry Truman and the great-grandson of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the Osaka Expo carried forward HOPE80’s message: From Hiroshima to Hope. From Hiroshima to Hope.
The HOPE80 Peace Pilgrimage is a global journey marking eighty years since the end of World War II that unites grandchildren and great-grandchildren of former enemies to walk side by side in peace.
“History didn’t happen eighty years ago,” said Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and fellow HOPE80 descendant. “It happened when Mr. Truman Daniel and Mr. Tojo came together in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Individually, none of us is important—we are accidents of birth. But the actions we choose to take are important. That is the meaning of legacy.”
Legacy as Responsibility
The delegation spoke of legacy not as inheritance but as responsibility.
“Each one of us in the HOPE80 delegation has chosen to stand for what we believe in and take responsibility for carrying that message,” said Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of U.S. President Harry Truman.
Mr. Gandhi added: “My great grandfather said ‘Nature has enough to provide for everyone’s need, but cannot fulfill even one person’s greed.’ We must all light the Flame of Hope in our hearts, respect each other’s differences, and learn how to live in harmony with one another.”
At the close of the panel, Mr. Gandhi invited the audience to add their own prayers and wishes to the Flame of Hope, which burned on stage throughout the event.
The sacred fire carries the prayers of over 675,000 people, including His Holiness Pope Frances, and Pope Leo, who publicly blessed the HOPE80 delegation in June, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The flame now burns eternally in Lumbini, and soon in Bethlehem, with a long-term vision to bring it to Mecca.
The Flame of Hope was conceived in 2014 by Japanese healer and visionary Ryokyu Endo, after a transformative encounter with a young Palestinian boy who had lost both legs in a bombing. Overcome with grief, Ryokyu prayed that no child should ever suffer like that again. From this prayer, the Flame of Hope was born.
The Flame of Hope now contains embers from:
The Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial Flame
The Eternal Flame of Jesus in Jerusalem
The Sacred Kiezu-no-hi Flame in Japan (burning for 1,200+ years)
The Peace Flame from Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini
The Eternal Flame of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Eternal Flame of Mahatma Gandhi
And 10 other historic and sacred eternal flames
This peace journey Hope80 has brought together and will continue to unify the souls of nations and people. And it was so much fun. Thank you to all participants and organizers for the hard work which you did with so much humour and joy.