September 26th, 2020 - by Vanda Proskova and Alyn Ware / WeThePeople & UnfoldZero
ACTION ALERT: September 26, International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Vanda Proskova and Alyn Ware / WeThePeople & UnfoldZero
(September 25, 2020) — We are very excited about the global civil society event for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26.
Please remind you colleagues and networks about the event in case they have not yet registered. We have more than 50 amazing people presenting either live or in video messages, in a range of presentation, workshop and panel sessions. People can join for one session, two or more. Click here for registration.
Note that we are also promoting a nuclear disarmament action for tomorrow; a call on governments to pledge never to launch a nuclear war, to commit to eliminating nuclear weapons by 2045 and to cut nuclear weapons budgets and investments in order to finance COVID-19 recovery, climate protection and the sustainable development goals. We invite you to join this action.
We thank you for again for joining #WeThePeoples2020, and we hope that you are finding the platform useful. Please continue to visit our events calendar to learn about other exciting events.
Yours in peace,#WeThePeoples2020 secretariat
#wethepeoples2020 is a fortnight of events and action from September 21 – October 2, 2020 on theUnited Nations 75th anniversary focusing on peace, disarmament, the climate and COVID-19 recovery.
#wethepeoples2020 is initiated and hosted by the Abolition 2000 Youth Network, Basel Peace Office, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, UNFOLD ZERO and the World Future Council.
Program for A Nuclear Weapon-Free World
Civil Society Global Event on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: September 26, 2020
Online event in two parts: Part 1: Timed to suit people in Asia/Pacific. Click here to register. Part 2: Timed to suit people in the Americas/Europe/Africa. Click here to register. Or watch on Facebook.
Part 1: Asia/Pacific SESSION 1 PRESENTATIONS 7am – 8:30am CET (Central Europe Time) 2pm-3:30pm Tokyo/Seoul time
Moderator • Vanda Proskova Vice-Chair, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security
Presenter
• Mr. Yuriy Kryvonos (United Nations) Director of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (live) • Mr. Karipbek Kuyukov (Kazakhstan) Honorary Ambassador, The ATOM Project (video message)
• Mr. Rob Tuwhare (New Zealand) Poem No Ordinary Sun (live) • Ms Sooyoung Hwang (South Korea) Disarmament Program Manager, Peoples Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (live) • Hon Mi-kyung LEE (Republic of Korea) President of Korea International Cooperation Agency (video message)
• Mr. Kelly Slater (USA) 11 times world surfing champion (video message) • Trailer: The Man who Saved the World Trailer for a special screening on September 28, 2020 of an award winning feature film about the incident on September 26, 1983 when Stanislav Petrov prevented a nuclear false alarm from leading to a holocaust. • John Hallam (Australia) • People for Nuclear Disarmament, The Human Survival Project (live) • Prof. Azza Karam (Netherlands) Secretary-General, Religions for Peace. (video message) • Ms Heela Yoon (Afghanistan) Founder, Afghan Women Welfare and Development Association (video message)
• Mr. Solomon Yeo (Solomon Islands) Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (live) • Youth voices from nuclear tests (Global) Youth messages from nuclear test sites. Introduced by Shereen Nanish & Cris Cruz. Assisted by Atomic Reporters (video compilation) • Hon Ela Gandhi (South Africa) Founder Gandhi Development Trust. Grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi (video message) Action: Prevent nuclear war, eliminate nukes, shift the money to people and the planet UNFOLD ZERO introduces an action call to governments and an online appeal (live)
Music Interlude 8:30am CET (Central Europe Time) 3:30pm Tokyo/Seoul Time • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Makana and the Kwassui Girls Choir, Nagasaki (recorded)
• Two Suns in the Sunset Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) 2020 remake (recorded). With message from Roger Waters. • Mourning Amageddon Makana. Recorded in a Cold War nuclear bomb shelter deep underground in Moscow. • Beds are Burning • Midnight Oil original release, with a message from Peter Garrett, lead singer and songwriter and also former Australian Minister for the Environment.
SESSION 2 Workshops Round 1 8:45am – 9:30am CET (Central Europe Time) 3:45pm – 4:30pm Seoul/Tokyo Time Workshop A: Engaging Legislators • Led by Laurie Ross (New Zealand) and Liz Remmerswaal (New Zealand) Laurie is member of the Peace Foundation. Liz is NZ Coordinator for World Beyond War.
Workshop B: Using the law • Led by Neshan Gunasekera (Sri Lanka) and Matt Robson (New Zealand) Neshan and Matt are board members of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Workshop C: Engaging Youth • Led by Nuriya Azamatova (Kazakhstan) and Michaela Sorensen (Denmark) Nuriya is Coordinator of Kazakhstan Youth Peace Week. Michaela is Executive Member of the UN Youth Association of Denmark.
Workshops Round 2 9:30am – 10:15am CET (Central Europe Time) 4:30pm – 5:15pm Seoul/Tokyo Time
Workshop A: Move the Nuclear Weapons Money • Led by Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic) and Alyn Ware (New Zealand) Vanda and Alyn are coordinators of the Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign Workshop B: Nuclear risk reduction/Hair Trigger App • Led by John Hallam (Australia) and Michaela Sorensen (Denmark) John is Chair of the Abolition 2000 Working Group on Nuclear-Risk Reduction. Michaela is a member of the UN Youth Association of Denmark.
Workshop C: Origami Crane Making • Led by Jennifer Sagon-Taeza (Hawaii, USA) Jennifer is Executive Director of Real Innovative Connections and a member of the Peace Crane Project.
SESSION 3 Panel
10:30am – 12noon CET (Central Europe Time) 5:30pm – 7pm Seoul/Tokyo Time Moderator: • Alyn Ware (New Zealand) Global Coordinator of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
Panelists: • Hon Gareth Evans (Australia) Convenor, Asia-Pacific Leadership Group for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. Former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• Mr. Saber Chowdhury MP (Bangladesh) Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND). Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
• Hon Mani Shankar Aiyar (India) Chair of the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan Group for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. Former parliamentarian, government minister and foreign ministry diplomat.
• Ms Marzhan Nurzhan (Kazakhstan) Convener, Abolition 2000 Youth Network. PNND Coordinator for CIS (former Soviet) Countries. Member CTBTO Youth Group.
Closing comments • Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic) Vice-Chair, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security
Part 2: Americas/Europe/Africa SESSION 1 Presentations 11am-12:30 EDT (Eastern Time US/Canada) 5pm-6:30pm CET (Central Europe Time)
Moderator:
• Ms Kehkashan Basu (UAE/Canada) Youth Ambassador for the World Future Council. Founder and President of Green Hope Foundation. Former UNEP Global Coordinator for Children & Youth. Winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize.
Presenters:
• Hon. Izumi Nakamitsu (United Nations) Under-Secretary-General & High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. (video message)
• Rev. Emma Jordan-Simpson (USA) Executive Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA. (live)
• General Bernard Norlain (France) Vice-President, Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire. Former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force (video message).
• Hon Dr Hedy Fry MP (Canada) Head of Canadian Parliament delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCEPA) and Special Representative of the OSCEPA on Gender Issues (live)
• Trailer: The Man who Saved the World Trailer for a special screening on September 28, 2020 of an award winning feature film about the incident on September 26, 1983 when Stanislav Petrov prevented a nuclear false alarm from leading to a holocaust. Introduced by Michaela Sorensen.
• Mr. Antony Owen (UK) Poet and Patron of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (live)
• Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Music video written by Pato Banton and The Rt. Reverend William E. Swing, United Religions Initiative
• Right Hon Jeremy Corbyn (UK) Vice-President, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Former Leader UK Labour Party (live)
• Hon Ela Gandhi (South Africa) Founder Gandhi Development Trust. (video message)
• Ms Kathleen Burkinshaw (Japan/USA) Author of The Last Cherry Blossom. Daughter of a survivor of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb. (live)
• Mr. Roland Blach (Germany) German Peace Society. (video message)
• Ms Jackie Cabasso (USA) Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation. Co-founder, Abolition 2000. North America Coordinator for Mayors for Peace (live)
• Councillor David Blackburn (UK) Chair, Nuclear Free Local Authorities. Executive Member Mayors for Peace Europe. (video message)
• Prof. Azza Karam (Netherlands) Secretary-General, Religions for Peace. (video message)
• Mr. Bill Kidd MSP (Scotland) Convener of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Nuclear Disarmament (video message) Action: Prevent nuclear war, eliminate nukes, shift the money to people and the planet UNFOLD ZERO introduces an action call to governments and an online appeal (live)
Music Interlude 12:30pm EDT (Eastern Time USA/Canada) 6:30pm CET (Central Europe Time) • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Makana and the Kwassui Girls Choir, Nagasaki (recorded)
• Two Suns in the Sunset Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) 2020 remake (recorded). With message from Roger Waters. • Mourning Armageddon Makana. Recorded in a Cold War nuclear bomb shelter deep underground in Moscow. • Beds are Burning • Midnight Oil original release, with a message from Peter Garrett, lead singer and songwriter and also former Australian Minister for the Environment.
SESSION 2 Workshops Round 1 12:45pm-1:30pm EDT Eastern Time USA/Canada 6:45pm – 7:30pm CET (Central Europe Time)
Workshop A: Origami crane making • Led by Sue Mantle DiCicco (USA) Founder of the Peace Crane Project.
Workshop B: Engaging Youth • Led by Eric Mbotiji (Cameroon) and Michaela Sorensen (Denmark) Eric and Michaela are leaders in the United Nations Youth Network (UNYNET)
Workshop C: Using the law to advance the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons • Led by Ariana Smith, John Burroughs, Danielle Samler and Andrew Lichterman (USA) Ariana, John, Danielle and Andrew are leading members of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy (USA)
Workshop D: Replacing deterrence with détente, diplomacy and common security • Led by Wolfgang Biermann (Germany), Ute Finckh-Krämer (Germany) and Christine Muttonen (Austria) Wolfgang is founder of Detente Now and former advisor to Egon Bahr. Ute is PNND Council Member and former Member of the Bundestag. Christine is PNND Co-President and Former President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
Workshops Round 2 1:30pm – 2:15pm EDT Eastern Time USA/Canada 7:30pm – 8:15pm CET (Central Europe Time)
Workshop A: Engaging faith-based communities •Led by Jonathan Granoff (USA) and Monica Willard (USA) Jonathan is President of Global Security Institute and Ambassador for Peace, Security and Nuclear Disarmament of the Parliament of the Worlds Religions. Monica is Representative to the United Nations for the United Religions Initiative (URI)
Workshop B: Nuclear risk reduction/Hair Trigger App • Led by Marc Finaud (France/Switzerland) and Michaela Sorensen (Denmark) Marc is Senior Advisor and Head of Arms Proliferation at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Michaela is a leader in the United Nations Youth Association of Denmark.
Workshop C: Move the Nuclear Weapons Money • Led by Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic) and Alyn Ware (New Zealand). Vanda and Alyn are coordinators of the Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign
SESSION 3 Panel 2:30pm – 4pm EDT Eastern Time USA/Canada 8:30pm – 10pm CET (Central Europe Time)
Moderator: • Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic) Vice-Chair, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security
Panelists: • Hon Maria Espinosa (Ecuador) Member of the World Future Council. President of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (2018-2019). Former Foreign Minister of Ecuador. Former Ecuador Ambassador to the UN.
• Hon Douglas Roche (Canada) Former Senator, Member of Parliament and Canadian Disarmament Ambassador.
• Ms Yasmeen Silva (USA) Partnerships Director, Beyond the Bomb Mr. Fabian Hamilton MP (UK) Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament
Closing comments: •Alyn Ware (New Zealand) Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament www.facebook.com/WeThePeoples2020
