Quotes from Oslo

"These weapons are not a necessary evil; they are the ultimate evil. Our light now is the ban treaty. To all in this hall and all listening around the world, I repeat those words that I heard called to me in the ruins of Hiroshima: 'Don't give up! Keep pushing! See the light? Crawl towards it.' "

- Setsuko Thurlow, atomic bomb survivor, giving a speech at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. She had campaigned with this year's winner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an NGO which worked towards the landmark UN treaty banning nuclear arms.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/nhknewsline/quotesoftheday/2017121101/

"The Nobel Prize is an idea that, in times like these, helps us to think beyond our dividing walls, that reminds us of what we must struggle for together, as human beings. It's the sort of idea mothers will tell their small children, as they always have, all around the world, to inspire them and to give themselves hope. Am I happy to receive this honour? Yes, I am."

- Kazuo Ishiguro, Nobel Laureate in Literature. The Japanese-born British author was presented with his award at a ceremony in Sweden.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/nhknewsline/quotesoftheday/2017120802/

"Many of my fellow survivors who were working internationally for the abolishment of nuclear weapons have passed away. I will be carrying on their legacy when I attend the ceremony."

-Terumi Tanaka of Nihon Hidankyo, a group representing hibakusha, survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two representatives have been invited by ICAN to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on Sunday.