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Hi Friend --
I'm writing to you from Mexico City, where I spent an incredible
weekend with artists, campaigners and some of the world's most
talented musicians at the Axe Ceremonia
Festival, spreading the word about why and how we can rid
the world of nuclear weapons. I still can’t believe this
happened and it's hard to put in words just how powerful it was
to stand up in front of thousands of young people and explain to them
why they should be adding their voice to the global #nuclearban
movement.
So here's a video instead:
Why was ICAN at Axe Ceremonia anyway?
1- Because if we're going to push back against
nuclear weapons, we need to reach and engage everyone, and
young people in particular. While my generation and those
below us may not have grown up with nuclear weapons as a clear threat,
the past year has shown just how great this risk still is, and many
are keen to take action but unsure where to start.
2- Because
our friend Pedro Reyes, with whom we are working on Artists against the
Bomb, helped get us a spot on stage in front of a
crowd of thousands of young attendees as well as behind the scenes
with the performers, and those opportunities are worth taking with two
hands.
3- And because Mexico holds a special place in ICAN's
heart: Mexico led Latin America to become the first nuclear-weapons
free zone, it has been a key country in the process to achieve the UN
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and now continues to
help build on that success. In fact, Mexico will be the
President of the second Meeting of States Parties of the TPNW later
this year. And of course, now it will also hold a place in my
heart for this incredible opportunity.
Over the coming weeks, we'll be introducing the young people we
reached at the festival to our movement and the issue: what nuclear
weapons do, how the TPNW works to eliminate them, and what they can do
to get involved. I know just how powerful youth can be when they rally
behind an issue. (Fun fact, while in Mexico, I also called in to
the #NuclearBan Youth Getaway taking place in
Porto this weekend, where some of the incredible young activists in
our network met up to plan ways to take action in their different home
countries.) So I can't wait to see what the Ceremonia crowd
will do.
Will you help our video reach even more people by
watching and sharing it? We want to show
the world that everyone can take a stand against nuclear weapons, no
matter where you are, or what music you love.
Thank you,
Venessa Hanson
Social Media
Officer
ICAN
It’s time to end nuclear
weapons.
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