Welcome to
Pugwash
The tiny village of Pugwash sits at the mouth of the Pugwash River on Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore. The area is part of Mi’kma’ki, land inhabited by the Mi’kmaq for more than 10,000 years. The Mi’kmaq are the original inhabitants of Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
Since its establishment in the early 1800s, Pugwash has been a hub for shipbuilding, fishing and salt mining. One of the village’s most notable accomplishments has been establishing a global reputation for enabling dialogue and action in the quest for world peace.
In July 1957, the world’s first conference on nuclear disarmament was hosted at the Thinkers Lodge by Pugwash-born industrialist and philanthropist Cyrus Eaton. Meetings were held just down the street at what is now known as The Peace Hall. The event was organised in response to a call made in 1955 by Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in their Russell-Einstein Manifesto for a meeting “to assess the perils to humanity which have arisen as a result of the development of weaponsof mass distruction.”
An international gathering of 22 scientists from 10 nations discussed the danger of nuclear weapons. At the end of their meetings, they issued a statement in which they stated that “We are all convinced that mankind must abolish war or suffer catastrophe; that the dilemma of opposing power groups and the arms race must be broken; and that the establishment of lasting peace will mark the opening of a new and triumphant epoch for the whole of mankind.” The 1957 meeting spawned the birth of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
In 1995, the Pugwash Conferences shared the Nobel Peace Prize with scientist and nuclear disarmament advocate Sir Joseph Rotblat. Sir Joseph had been a member of the top-secret Manhattan Project but resigned when it became clear that Germany, the Allies’ chief adversary, was no longer capable of developing a nuclear bomb. To Sir Joseph, this rendered the need for such a weapon not only obsolete but also catastrophically dangerous. In awarding the prize, the Nobel committee applauded the Pugwash Conference and Sir Joseph “for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms”.
Thinkers Lodge, which continues to provide opportunities for learning and positive action, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 because “it is a lasting symbol and inspiration to the Pugwash movement and more broadly, the movement for nuclear disarmament and world peace; and, it has acted as a place of retreat that has encouraged reflection, discussion and exchange of ideas on a range of social issues”.
The Peace Hall
It’s indeed fitting that the first TEDxPugwash is being held at The Peace Hall. Once the home of the Pugwash Masonic Lodge #13, the Victoria Street building was chosen by the 1957 Pugwash Conference for many of their sessions. One of the tables used by conference participants to discuss nuclear disarmament occupies pride of place on the ground floor. The building has become a welcoming centre for community activity and is regularly rented by various organisations for performances, presentations and meetings.
After the original Masonic Hall was destroyed by fire in 1910, members decided to erect a new lodge. The Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of 1912 note that “the Masonic brethren have erected a substantial brick building, at a cost of $3300; the upper portion which is to be used exclusively for Masonic purposes, the lower portion as a banquet hall or to other such purposes as they may decide.”
In 2016, the Masonic Hall was purchased from the Masonic Lodge by John Caraberis and Bonnie Bond (both of whom are members of the TEDxPugwash Organising Committee). John and Bonnie spent two years restoring the lodge, renaming it The Peace Hall in honour of the historic meetings held there more than 60 years ago.