News and main announcements from European Mayors for Peace #Cities4Peace͏‌ ͏‌

JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2025

NIHON HIDANKYO, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, VISITS SPAIN AND FRANCE

The Japanese delegation headed by Shigemitsu Tanaka, hibakusha of Nagasaki and co-president of the organisation awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, Nihon Hidankyo, visited and participated in different public events around Europe.

In Barcelona, Nihon Hidankyo was received by the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the mayor of Granollers and vicepresident of Mayors for Peace, Alba Barnusell. Afterwards, they were received by the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, and the minister for the European Union and Foreign Affairs, Jaume Duch.

France welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nihon Hidankyo, from the 23rd to the 26th of January. Two gatherings marked the stay of the delegation in France. In Paris, on Thursday, January 23, the CGT (General Confederation of Labour), within the framework and with the support of the “National Collective of Peace Marches,” had the honour of receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winners in the Montreuil labour exchange.

From the 24th to the 26th, the Japanese delegation went to the Bretagne region, visiting cities like Rennes or Saint-Malo. On Sunday, January 26, Nihon Hidankyo launched an appeal in front of the nuclear submarine base of Île Longue in Crozon (Finistère). In this spot in 1995, 20,000 people participated in a march “for the cessation of nuclear tests and for a world without nuclear weapons” in the presence of peace activists from Japan.

HANNOVER’S DEPUTY MAYOR PARTICIPATES IN THE BASEL 2025 INTERGENERATIONAL FORUM ON PEACE, CLIMATE ACTION AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

The Deputy Mayor also reflected hope in the new generations and their commitment to peace and climate justice, which is essential for the future of humanity “it is impressive how the young generation is working on the issue of peace and climate justice for themselves.”

He ended his speech with a warning note, speaking about the “need to remember these stories [Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s testimonies] now, especially in these times, and bring them back into people’s consciousness. These fates drive us in our commitment.”

The Basel 2025 Intergenerational Forum on Peace, Climate Action and Nuclear Disarmament was held in Basel on Wednesday, 22 January. The event builds on the intergenerational forums of past editions, the PACEY Awards, and the 2024 World Future Policy Awards on Peace and Future Generations. This forum addresses topics such as the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons policies and climate change for the generations of today and tomorrow. It emphasises the catastrophic humanitarian, economic, and environmental consequences of current conflicts such as the Gaza/Israel or Ukraine/Russia conflicts.

PARTICIPATION IN THE “PEACE EDUCATION WEBINAR” ORGANISED BY MAYORS FOR PEACE

On February 18, 21-year-old Núria Garcia Prieto represented the City Council of Granollers in the international webinar for young people “Education for Peace,” organised by Mayors for Peace.

This webinar brought together eight young people from six different countries to talk about the peace activities they carry out in their municipalities and the role that young people play in this process. The aim was to offer young people involved in peace a platform to share their experiences and ideas.

The webinar began with a welcome from the Mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, and a few words from the co-president of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organisation that won the last Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Toshiyuki Mimaki. Keiko Nakamura, a professor at Nagasaki University, moderated the webinar.

From the Granollers City Council, Núria spoke about the city’s involvement in peace activities as a municipality and as a vice-president city of Mayors for Peace and highlighted several activities organised by the Network, such as the webinar “Nuclear deterrence: threat or guarantee of our security,” the conference “Local policies of peace and coexistence. What are we talking about?” and the European mobility project in which eight young people from Granollers and the region are participating.

The seminar also addressed the role of young people in the abolition of nuclear weapons, the challenges they face in their peace activities, and the proposal for concrete actions that can be carried out to address these challenges.

To close the seminar, the moderator recalled that young people are the hope and future leaders of this culture of peace movement. These spaces not only serve to share experiences but also to inspire young people to continue fighting for a more peaceful world free of nuclear weapons.

THE EUROPEAN PROJECT “GRANOLLERS, YPRES, AND DUNKIRK: LEADING YOUNG PEOPLE TOWARDS DEMOCRACY” BEGINS

Three member cities of Mayors for Peace Granollers, Ypres and Dunkirk have joined forces in order to bring together 30 young people, aged 18 to 21. Through workshops and international exchanges, the youth will address critical issues such as political polarisation or the rise of fascism in Europe.

On February 22, the first workshop of this European project was held in Granollers, at Can Jonch, the Culture Centre for Peace, with eight young individuals from the city, with diverse academic backgrounds, united by a shared interest in historical memory and European values. The project aims to foster stronger ties between cities dedicated to preserving historical memory and promoting the construction of a culture of peace.

During the project, participants will explore the consequences of the First World War in Ypres, the bombing of Granollers during the Spanish Civil War, and the Second World War in Dunkirk. The first international mobility will take place in Granollers at the end of May, coinciding with the commemoration of the 1938 bombing.

This initiative is part of Mayors for Peace’s ongoing efforts to engage young people in promoting democratic memory and a culture of peace.

AT 89 SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT, THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK MARKS THE PRECARIOUSNESS OF THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION

Each year, the Doomsday Clock warns of the point at which we are before the total and definitive destruction of our planet with technologies created by ourselves.

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock that uses the analogy of the minutes that humanity has left to reach midnight, the time that represents global catastrophe. This clock was created at the beginning of the Cold War by a group of scientists at the University of Chicago.

A Science and Security Board, made up of experts in nuclear technology and climate science, adjusts the hands of the clock at the beginning of the year. These experts follow various data related to the number of nuclear weapons in the world, parts per million of CO₂ in the atmosphere, the acidity of the oceans, and the rise in sea levels. They also value the efforts of leaders and citizens to reduce nuclear dangers and greenhouse gas emissions. With all this information, the Board issues a judgement on the possible consequences if urgent action is not taken.

This year, 2025, the clock marks that we are 89 seconds from midnight, closer than ever. In 2023 and 2024, we were 90 seconds away, in 2020, 100 seconds away, and in 2018, 120 seconds away. This change of hands is due to a set of factors, mainly nuclear trends, new transgressive technologies, climate change, and biological threats.

The danger of nuclear use continues to increase due to the development of new capabilities and the weak strength of the NPT and NPT treaties in the face of countries such as Russia, China, and the United States, which have adopted positions aligned with the nuclear advancement movement. These positions could easily lead to nuclear war.

With advances and proposals to integrate artificial intelligence into weapons of war, questions are being raised about the extent to which machines can make military decisions. As the global information ecosystem becomes more disorganised, it becomes harder to solve the grand challenges facing society. Artificial intelligence (AI) could worsen this situation, further accelerating chaos rather than helping to control it.

2024 was the hottest year on record, with extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, extreme heat, droughts, and fires. Globally, election campaigns showed that climate change was a low priority, especially in countries like the United States.

The movement of the hands to one second less than the year 2024 indicates that, with the world so close to the precipice, any movement, no matter how small, should be seen as a sign of extreme danger and a clear warning that every second increases the possibility of global disaster.

Help us achieve 10,000 member cities! 

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!