| | APRIL-JUNE 2023 NEWSLETTER |
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| | | Invitation for the Children’s Art Competition “Peaceful Towns” 2023 |
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| | | In order to expand peace education efforts in its over 8,200 member cities in 166 countries and regions around the world, Mayors for Peace holds a children’s art competition on the theme of Peace "What Peace Means to Me", for children from 6 to 15 years old in all these cities. We look forward to receiving applications from many member cities until 31th October 2023, 5 p.m. (Japanese standard time) |
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| | | | IV Forum of Cities and Territories of Peace | |
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| | On June 27th and 28th was held in Bogotá (Colombia) the 4th version of the Cities and Territories of Peace Forum, a scenario for dialogue and collaborative work, in which Mayors for Peace participated representing the 8,265 city members of the network. . Over 400 assistants meet in a space for dialogue among local governments, international organisations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to advance on the culture of peace and social justice. The Bogota Forum focused on building sustainable peace in order to build trust between citizens and institutions and combat all forms of violence. Local and regional governments committed to raising awareness of the values of justice and mutual respect, sharing experiences from contexts where they have achieved success in building peaceful cities, promoting citizen participation, involving different social actors and fostering cohesion in a peace strategy that promotes good peace practises and initiatives.
The final declaration of the Forum reiterated that Peace is not only the absence of war, but the absence of any kind of violence and concluded that the role of the municipalities is vital to stopping violence against all structural inequalities.
The 5th World Forum of Cities and Territories of Peace will be held in 2024 in Montevideo (Uruguay).
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| | | | Forty-five organizations from Spain unite to raise public awareness of the TPNW | |
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| | On the 23rd of May, within the event of "Education for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament", the new Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament (Alianza por el Desarme Nuclear) made its official introduction. The Alliance is formed by 45 organisations and social civil entities from Spain that have come together with the aim to persuading the Spanish government to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Catalan Chapter of Mayor for Peace is a member of the Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament. The Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament supports the campaign Cities of Peace (Ciutats de Pau) organized by the Mayors for Peace network and FundiPau, which asks municipalities to manifest their concern and demand responsible and safe progress towards the prohibition of nuclear weapons. More on Alianza por el Desarme Nuclear: https://desarmenuclear.org/ |
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| | | UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities Issues Letter to UK Prime Minister Report by Mr. Richard Outram, UK & Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter Secretary |
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| | In UK/Ireland, on May 15, the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities issued a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom. The secretariat of UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities is hosted by Manchester, Mayors for Peace Vice President City. "In any future conflict involving even the limited use of nuclear weapons, tens or hundreds of millions of people would die; in a total nuclear exchange, we face the possibility of the extinction of all life on Earth. As nuclear weapons are intended to be used as ‘city killers’, almost all of those who perish would be innocent civilians living in those cities and many would be the residents of the British cities and towns that we as elected members represent. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities believe that neither cities nor civilians are legitimate military targets, either for conventional or nuclear weapons." |
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| | | | Co-sponsoring Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit |
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| | Prior to the G7 Hiroshima Summit, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which administrates the Mayors for Peace Secretariat, co-sponsored and organized with ICAN and the Center for Peace, Hiroshima University, the “Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit” from April 25 to 27. Marc Grau from the City of Granollers (Spain), who participated in the Youth Summit wrote the following article for Mayors for Peace Secretariat: "Four years ago, I had the chance to join the Hiroshima and Peace Summer Program through a scholarship from Mayors for Peace. Then, I learned about international relations, the culture of peace and the role of global cities in promoting nuclear disarmament. This year, I was selected to participate in the Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit organized by ICAN and hosted by Hiroshima University with the support of Mayors for Peace. The Summit was a unique experience to connect with global youth representatives who were also interested in global affairs and nuclear disarmament. During the sessions, I had the chance to meet with hibakusha and learn about their commitment to peace as well as visit the Peace Memorial Park. Those were unique experiences that enriched the learnings from the Summit. Finally, I also met with Ms. Yoko Miyamoto and other members of the Mayors for Peace Secretariat to discuss my experience in the Summit and learned about the global work of the organization. I look forward now to bringing those experiences back to my city, Granollers, to share with the local community the role of youth in international affairs and peace." (Marc Grau, Participant, Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit) |
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| | | | The UK/Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter launched its petition drive at a recent meeting of the Stockport for Peace Group Report by Mr. Richard Outram, UK and Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter Secretary |
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| | The Mayor of Stockport, Councillor David Wilson, was the guest of honour at the group’s Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 25 March, and the keynote speaker was UK/Ireland Chapter Secretary Richard Outram, who spoke of the history and work of Mayors for Peace and his recent visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A lively discussion ensued about the ways in which Stockport could become more actively involved with the work of Mayors for Peace, including engaging young people in peace education and making school links with Japan. Stockport for Peace can also now begin collecting signatures on the petition on its street stalls. Stockport has also recently applied to receive seeds from atomic bomb survivor trees (hibaku trees). The event concluded with participants signing the petition, led by the Mayor of Stockport who signed in a personal capacity. |
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| | | | Mayors for Peace France raises awareness of nuclear disarmament in cooperation with Maison du Japon Report by Ms. Loréna Schlicht, AFCDRP–Mayors for Peace France |
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| | IAFCDRP–MfP France organized two events to raise awareness of nuclear disarmament among Japanese and international students in Paris, in cooperation with Maison du Japon, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. On February 25, in a one-day seminar at Maison du Japon, Loréna Schlicht and Miho Shima Cibot gave a presentation on the Mayors for Peace network, the history of nuclear weapons and issues posed by them, and the history of peace movements, which was followed by a discussion with the students. On March 22, AFCDRP–MfP and Maison du Japon screened Prophecy, the documentary on the atomic bombings directed by Susumu Hani, and held a photo exhibition on the consequences of nuclear weapons for one week in the lounge of Maison du Japon. These events, made possible by the invitation from Director of Maison du Japon, Professor Maki Nishiumi of Chuo University, Japan, are part of the efforts of AFCDRP–Mayors for Peace France to develop new projects in partnership with associations of Japanese residents in France aiming at raising awareness of the realities of nuclear weapons and the importance of peace. |
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| | | Evora holds the 1st Youth Meeting of the Portuguese Member Cities of Mayors for Peace Report by Ms. Paula Helena Santos, Municipality of Évora, Portugal |
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| | The Municipality of Évora, Lead City of the Mayors for Peace Portuguese Chapter, in collaboration with Évora_27 and European Capital of Culture Team, organised a Youth Meeting of the Portuguese Member Cities of Mayors for Peace on March 28, with the goal of promoting the culture of peace among young people with a focus on values of tolerance, sustainability and cooperation. The workshop “Cobblestone Path” is a first step in involving youths in a major thematic conference, “What about Peace?,” to be held in 2025 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings as part of the conference programme of Évora 2027, European Capital of Culture. |
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| | | | Help us achieve 10,000 member cities! | |
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| | Mayors for Peace aims to achieve 10,000 member cities to foster international public support for the realization of a world without nuclear weapons. Invite other cities in your country, as well as your sister cities and any other cities with which you have relations to join Mayors for Peace. You can download a letter of request and document pack below. The document pack is available in 11 different languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (BZ), Portuguese (EU), Russian, and Spanish. Your continued cooperation is highly appreciated! |
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| | | © 2023 European Chapter of Mayors for Peace | |
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