Kumamoto celebrates the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Minamata Convention

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

The Minamata Convention on Mercury was adopted at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries (DipCon) on 10 October 2013 in Kumamoto, Japan, with a ceremonial opening of DipCon held in Minamata on 9 October 2013.

mercury-free-fairTo celebrate the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention, and to promote environmental awareness of the citizens for achieving a ‘Mercury-free society’, a Mercury-free Fair was held in Kumamoto, Japan on 18 November 2018. The event, organized by the Kumamoto Prefecture and supported by the Ministry of Environment, Kumamoto City and Minamata City, attracted approximately 4,000 visitors. The fair encompassed stage presentations as well as exhibition.

The stage presentations included messages from Miss Mayu Zenitani, a 2nd year student in Shinwa High School in Kumamoto who had drawn a picture for a tumbler distributed to the DipCon delegates 5 years ago. The Ministry of the Environment has launched a “Tumbler Search”, to link the young artists who painted a picture for a tumbler and the DipCon participant who received the tumbler with the picture.

mercury-free-fairA photo exhibition by Ms. Tamaki Ozaki, a diving photographer, showed the rich sea life in the once heavily polluted Minamata Bay. At a ‘Touching Pool’ and aquariums, participants could see and touch the marine creatures of the sea of Minamata. The exhibition included a sample display of mercury-added products, and an awareness raising video was screened using a mercury-free screen projector.

This day-long event on the eve of the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury reaffirmed people’s commitment to our shared mission to protect human health and the environment from the risks associated with mercury.

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