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ON THIS DAY: Nobel Peace Prize present to Aboriginal Elder Yami Lester



On 10 December 2017 (Human Rights Day) the Nobel Peace Prize was presented to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Darebin City Council is honoured to recognise Dimity Hawkins and Dave Sweeney, the Preston-based co-founders of ICAN, on the extraordinary achievement of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. ICAN was recognised for its work “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons” and its “ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”.


Artist Hayden Dewar has been commissioned to create a mural that captures the spirit of the great ambition to rid the world of nuclear weapons and includes a depiction of the late Yami Lester, Aboriginal Elder, anti nuclear and Aboriginal Rights advocate with kind permission from the Lester family. ICAN representatives as well as the Nobel Peace Medal will be in attendance. Darebin City Council acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners and custodians of this land and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.



Council also acknowledges the family of Yami Lester from the Yankunytjatjara people and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.


Mayor Cr Susan Rennie
Mayor Cr Susan Rennie

Today we Commemorate Dimity Hawkins and Dave Sweeney’s role in the Nobel Peace Prize 2017 at the launch of the ICAN mural. Speeches and Smoking Ceremony were held outside Preston Library 266 Gower Street, Preston





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