Friday, August 6, 2021
5:00 – 11:00 PM
Selina Chelsea NYC Hotel, 518 W 27th St, New York
Dear Friends,
This special reception and hybrid event to be held on Friday evening at Selina Chelsea NYC Hotel, from 5-11 pm, will allow attendees to learn more about peace building, disarmament and climate activism, while providing them with an opportunity to have direct involvement in advocacy efforts and engage with fellow advocates and diplomats.
Join us in commemorating the 76th Anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings at the NYC Peace Festival, organized by Reverse The Trend, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and Peace Boat US.
As a committed campaigner for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Peace Boat carries out educational and advocacy voyages for peace and sustainability, and has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Since 2008 we have been organizing the “Global Voyage for a Nuclear-free World: Peace Boat Hibakusha Project,” in which over 170 Hibakusha have travelled to 100 cities in more than 60 countries. We strongly believe it is important to create opportunities for people around the world to listen to the Hibakusha and learn from their testimonies while it is still possible. As a steering group member of the 2017 Nobel Peace Laureate the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Peace Boat continues to play a critical role conveying to the world the inhumanity of nuclear weapons through Hibakusha's own words. Join us to learn more about the movement for a more sustainable future and Peace Boat’s Hibakusha project as we introduce our programs for nuclear disarmament through the viewing of the short film “When I was her Age” and the testimonies of the Hibakusha.
On Friday evening from 5 pm, the opening of the event will include a video message from UNODA will take center stage with a special presentation on the #Youth4Disarmament Program, as well as upcoming events for the Day Against Nuclear Testing.
Participants will additionally have the opportunity to hear the voices of the Hibakusha from Peace Boat, and youth speakers from both Reverse The Trend (Sajani Patel, Jack Moses and Andrew Kim) and Peace Boat US (Christelle Barakat, UN Youth Champion for Disarmament from Lebanon, and Juan Sebastian Olea, “Youth for the SDGs scholar” from Colombia).
Likewise, attendees will learn about how they can join ICAN.
The event will also feature film screenings (Preview of A Vow From Hiroshima), art showcases (Power of Art as Activism and Showcase Paintings from Japan and the Marshall Islands) and a jazz musical performance during the networking reception. Complimentary appetizers will also be served.
Moderators:
Reverse The Trend and Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Youth Activist, Brandon Wingfield and Peace Boat US Director, Emilie McGlone
Why is this event important?
We recognize the power of youth mobilization in social justice movements. We firmly believe that youth must rise up and take action to work towards a nuclear-free future for all. It is high-time for youth activists from both the nuclear disarmament and the climate fields to come together and reduce the risk of nuclear weapons by holding leaders accountable for their actions and proposing new policies.
Youth mobilization is also imperative in order to raise public awareness about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which opened for signature at the United Nations in New York on 20 September 2017 and entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Therefore, we hope that this event will inspire young people to join the movement for a just and fair world.
Co-Sponsors:
This event is co-sponsored by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Zero Hour NYC, Climate Cardinals, Marshallese Educational Initiative, Manhattan Project for a Nuclear Free-World, NuclearBan.US, Peace Action New York State, Selina Chelsea NYC Hotel, and The Prospect Hill Foundation.
COVID Guidelines:
Please note that guests will still be required to follow COVID-19 guidelines for safety purposes. Masks are requested to be worn at all times while inside the venue. All attendees will be asked to show photo ID, as well as proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test result.
Twisted wreckage left in the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bombingBeyond Nuclear has joined with more than 120 organizations, and thousands of individuals, calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to observe a respectful moment of silence on August 6 at 8:15am Japan time, to mark 76 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Combined with Nagasaki three days later, the two atomic bombings killed more than 226,000 people, and inflicted lifelong suffering, including from radiation damage, on countless thousands of Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors). The IOC has rejected the call, but its initiator, former Hiroshima Mayor, Tadatoshi Akiba, has not given up hope, despite the late hour. Please see our Nuclear Weapons website section for listings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorations in the U.S. and worldwide.
August 6, 2021