Report provided by Sean Morris, UK & Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter Secretary
Manchester are delighted to welcome their neighbouring authority Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council into Mayors for Peace as part of a special ceremony on September 26th, the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Oldham Council are also the first UK member of the Pledge to Peace initiative. The ‘Pledge to Peace’ initiative, also called the Brussels Declaration, was established in 2011 at a special conference in the European Parliament. Institutions and organisations are invited to sign the Pledge to help create a “culture of peace” across Europe by carrying out practical actions for peace in their communities. Each signatory is asked to submit a report of these activities to the initiative’s secretariat, the Percorsi Association, by the UN International Day of Peace.
The purpose of the Pledge to Peace is to create a network of people with a shared vision of the value of peace, who have the potential to create, promote and communicate tangible projects and initiatives that can make peace an increasingly present topic at every level in their communities. The Pledge to Peace is a high-profile initiative, with the potential to be a strong driving force. Its members become part of a group of innovators who understand the fundamental value of peace in every aspect of social and personal life, want to make it a primary and visible element of their activities and are therefore active promoters of a truly prosperous society.
As part of its involvement in Pledge to Peace, Oldham will be holding a ‘Peace Week’ with special events on International Peace, establishing a peace section in its library and rededicating its peace garden. The week will culminate in a special ceremony in Oldham Civic Centre on the 26th September where the Mayor of Oldham, Councillor Derek Heffernan, will formally sign the membership form to join Mayors for Peace in the presence of the Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester and other Mayors from Greater Manchester.
>Oldham Council’s singing and joining the Pledge to Peace initiative
More information about the Pledge can be found on the following websites:
>Pledge to Peace – The Bruxelles Declaration
>Associazione Percorsi (in Italian and English)