Zero Nuclear Weapons
Public Forum
November 13 and 14, 2009
Toronto, Canada
Mayors for Peace
A history-making membership drive needs you to join us in saying:
“Cities Are Not Targets!”
United States Conference of Mayors, Annual Conference Resolution, June 2006
United Cities and Local Governments, World Congress Declaration, November 2007
Cities around the world are saying: “NO! We reject absolutely the right of any nation for any reason whatsoever to threaten us with incineration and our planet with nuclear winter. We are home to women, children, the elderly and other noncombatants traditionally protected under international law. We are no longer willing to be held hostage to inhumane and indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction. We demand liberation from the nuclear threat.”
Leading the movement to protect municipal populations from the scourge of war is Mayors for Peace, a dynamic international network of cities founded in 1982 to promote local-government solidarity against war and the nuclear threat. Our primary focus since November 2003 is the 2020 Vision Campaign, a determined effort to outlaw nuclear weapons and eliminate every one of them by 2020. Today, momentum is building. Cities can make it happen!
Cities can make themselves heard at the international level only through unity and cooperation. One way Mayors for Peace is demonstrating that unity is through its rapid growth. In 2003, membership stood at 550 cities. In October 2009, it reached 3200. Now, we are embarked on the most ambitious city recruitment drive in history! In six months, from November 2009 through April 2010, we intend to bring 1800 new cities into the Mayors for Peace network. When our membership tops the 5000 mark, our mayors will directly represent over one billion people who cannot be ignored.
Please help us protect you!
Invite your mayor to join Mayors for Peace!
For the tools you need go to:
http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/mayorsforpeace_document_pack.pdf
In our experience, invitations are most effective when they come with a personal touch. If everyone who learns of this membership drive takes personal responsibility for reaching out to one mayor, we will reach our goal. At the webpage above, you will find an invitation from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, the President of Mayors for Peace, and a Registration Form. Get these to every mayor you possibly can. Then, follow-up by contacting the mayor’s office. Request a meeting. Most mayors are happy to join if you can just get them to slow down for a minute and think about it.
Let others know so they can pitch in.
The success of this drive depends on thousands of concerned citizens approaching their mayors. Please pass on this message. If you are a member of a civil society organization, encourage that organization to formally take part in this historic effort. If the mayor of your city or a neighboring city is already a member of Mayors for Peace, offer to help her/him reach out to fellow mayors. Cross-party recruitment letters signed by several mayors have proven to be very effective in some countries. You can find an updated list of member cities at: www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/membercity/map.html .
To find out more about Mayors for Peace, the 2020 Vision Campaign, and this recruitment drive.
Go to: www.2020visioncampaign.org
Again, you can get a recruiting package at:
http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/mayorsforpeace_document_pack.pdf
And please sign the petition at:
