FAQ
Q How did the World Conference of Mayors for Peace get started?Q What kind of organization is Mayors for Peace?
Q What is the relationship between Mayors for Peace and the 2020 Vision Campaign?
Q How many cities are affiliated?
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Q How did the World Conference of Mayors for Peace get started?
A In the 2nd Special Session of UN General Assembly on Disarmament held at UN Headquarters in New York on June 24, 1982, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki appealed to city mayors of all nations to find a path to solidarity between the world's cities that reached beyond national borders and worked to abolish nuclear weapons. With this appeal, he set up the Conference of Mayors for Peace.
World Conferences of the organization are held every four years with the first being held in 1985. In 2001, the World Conference decided to make the organization a membership one and officially shortened its name to Mayors for Peace. The most recent World Conference was held in Hiroshima in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing. The next will be in Nagasaki in 2009.
Q What kind of organization is the Conference of Mayors for Peace?
A The Conference of Mayors for Peace connects cities all over the world that approve of the Program to Promote the Solidarity of Cities towards the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. In March 1990, the Conference registered with the NGO Section of the UN Department of Public Information and in May 1991, with the UN Economic and Social Council (as a Category 1 NGO).
Q What is the relationship between Mayors for Peace and the 2020 Vision Campaign?
A The 2020 Vision Campaign is the main vehicle for advancing the agenda of Mayors for Peace. It was initiated on a provisional basis by the Executive Cities at their meeting in Manchester, UK, in October 2003. It was launched under the name 'Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons' in November of that year at the 2nd Citizens Assembly for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons held in Nagasaki, Japan. In August 2005, the World Conference endorsed continuation of the Campaign under the title of the '2020 Vision Campaign'.
At that same World Conference, support was expressed for the establishment of an International Secretariat for the Campaign in Europe and the City of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium offered to host the Secretariat. Campaign work began in May, 2006, and the Secretariat was officially inaugurated by the President of Mayors for Peace in July 2006. As of June 2007 the office is staffed full-time and the basic operation of the Secretariat is now supported by funds solicited from the member cities.
The Campaign Secretariat is responsible for implementation of the 2020 Vision Campaign and, within this ambit, the management of the website. To this end, it works in close cooperation with the Hiroshima Secretariat and the Executive Cities. The International Campaign Manager answers directly to the President of Mayors for Peace.
Q How many cities are affiliated?
A As of March 2nd, 2009 we have welcomed 2,777 cities in 134 countries into our network. This is a sharp increase when you consider that on June 15, 2007 the network consisted of only 1,651 cities in 120 countries.
Almost every day new members register with the Mayors for Peace and updating the website with new affiliated cities can take a few weeks. Thank you for your patience.
