Next Steps in the Mayors for Peace Campaign

October 14, 2005
1Future Activities

Because the NPT Review Conference produced no concrete results leading toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, Mayors for Peace is required to move to Step 4 of its Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons. Here we will set forth our proposal for a set of activities that will press for a nuclear weapons convention concluded by 2010 and the total elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020.

(1)To generate a global groundswell of demand for the abolition of nuclear weapons, we will declare August 6 this year until August 9 next year to be a Year of Inheritance, Awakening, and Commitment. What follows is a brief description of major events and projects proposed for this year accompanied by a rough budget estimate. For more information on these items, please refer to the handout entitled 2020 Vision, Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons.

Events Estimated budget
①Local actions to mark UN Day, Disarmament Week $2,000
  Oct. 24 is UN Day, followed by Disarmament Week. We will call on cities around the world to mark these periods with local public events for education and outreach.  
② World Urban Forum/ World Peace Forum in Vancouver $12,000
  Mayors for Peace should have a major presence at the World Urban Forum and World Peace Forum in Vancouver, June  
③ICJ Opinion 10th Anniversary/Month of Action $16,000
  To commemorate the 10 anniversary of the Internation Court of Justice advisory opinion, we will work with NGOs and The Hague to hold a major peace rally, which will include displaying the Wall to Protect International Law. We will also call on member cities to hold symposiums to educate the public about the ICJ opinion. * participating cities will pay their own travel
Initiatives  
①The Jump-Start Disarmament project $13,000
  Prior to and during the UN First Committee meeting in October this year, we intend to lobby hard for a special committee to begin concrete negotiations toward a nuclear-weapon-free world. Our campaign manager will be in New York in Oct-Nov for this purpose.  
②Ask the People Project $3,000
  We will work with media organizations to encourage public opinion polls in nuclear-weapon and nuclear-capable countries to demonstrate that abolitionists are the global majority.  
③Mega-port, Mega-impact Project $3,000
  Rand Corporation has produced a study revealing the devastating global economic impact of a terrorist nuclear attack on Long Beach, California, one of the world’s two dozen mega-ports. We will encourage complementary studies in Europe and East Asia, and publicize the conclusions.  
④ Participation in Int’l, Regional and Local Conferences $2,000
  This year, we have been invited to the International Local Authorities Peace Conference to be held Sep. 25-28 in Nevsehir, Turkey. Our campaign manager will attend and hold a workshop and exhibition.  
⑤Advisory Committee, Developing Ties and Outreach $45,000
  To reinforce our ability to communicate with members and allies, we will create an advisory committee of key members, NGO representatives, and other experts will be assembled to help guide the campaign and hire 1) an experienced, talented web designer to work at least part time and 2) a full time database and communications manager.  
⑥ Educational projects $13,000
  To help communicate the spirit of Hiroshima to future generations, we will ask member cities to help promote our A-bomb Account Reading project and our campaign to get Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses established in universities around the world. We will be producing and distributing materials for these projects.  
⑦ Fundraising projects $50,000
  To approach foundations for grants, we will hire a professional grant writer. In addition, we will work with key members or national chapters of Mayors for Peace to implement joint fundraising projects.  
⑧ Strengthening secretariat and overseas office functions $383,000
  In addition to normal secretariat operations, we have hired an international campaign manager, a US representative, and a UN representative to improve communication and lobbying capacity at the UN. Secretariat personnel will also be increased to manage the increasing workload.  
Total $542,000

(2) Midterm Planning

Projecting this budget for the four campaign years until the next General Conference, we anticipate the following basic expenses, to be expanded as opportunities and funds allow.

Events Estimated budget
August 2006 to August 2007
①General activities of the 2020 Vision Campaign $160,000
  We assume at least a slight increase in expenses for lobbying at the UN and implementing other events and projects.  
② Mayors for Peace Executive Meeting $3,000
  We will need to hold our 7th Executive Meeting to plan for the 7th General Conference and other activities pressing for a nuclear weapons convention by 2010. *participants pay own travel
③ Management of Secretariat and International Offices $383,000
  We assume the reinforced secretariat and international operations will remain at least at the level of the previous year.  
Subtotal $546,000
August 2007 to August 2008
①General activities of the 2020 Vision Campaign $180,000
  We assume at least a slight increase in expenses for lobbying at the UN and implementing other events and projects.  
②Management of Secretariat and International Offices $383,000
  We assume the reinforced secretariat and international operations will remain at least at the level of the previous year.  
Subtotal $563,000
August 2008 to August 2009
① General activities of the 2020 Vision Campaign $200,000
  We assume at least a slight increase in expenses for lobbying at the UN and implementing other events and projects.  
② 7th General Conference of Mayors for Peace $500,000
  The 7th General Conference will be held in Nagasaki and will deliberate the campaign and other activities of Mayors for Peace for the next four years.  
③Management of Secretariat and International Offices $383,000
  We assume the reinforced secretariat and international operations will remain at least at the level of the previous year.  
Subtotal $1,830,000
3 year total $2,132,200
2 Organizational Development

Mayors for Peace will identify leading cities or NGOs that can act as national secretariats and encourage them to develop national chapters or networks, hold national meetings of members cities, and implement other activities relevant to the situation in their respective countries. Initially, we will seek to form networks in all countries with 10 or more Mayors for Peace members (18 countries). We will work with the leaders of the national chapters to help them raise funds for their own activities and for the international campaign. The models for this stage of development are France, England, Germany, Belgium and Norway.

3 Strengthening our financial base

At this point, all expenses for operating the secretariat, holding Executive and General Conferences, and all travel expenses for the president (mayor of Hiroshima) and vice president (mayor of Nagasaki) are paid by the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The current General Conference, for example, will cost $500,000. Furthermore, the Mayoral Delegation to the NPT Conference last May cost Hiroshima and Nagasaki $50,000, which was supplemented by an American peace organization Global Peacemakers Association (GPA) and the assistance of many volunteers. To ensure that GPA and others will not have to bear an excessive burden in the future, and to conduct the Emergency Campaign as described above, we will work as follows to obtain supplementary sources of funds. Failure to raise sufficient funds would force a cutback in or elimination of the events and projects described above.

① Solicit contributions from member cities, NGOs , companies and individuals

Planning well in advance for major activities like the Mayoral Delegation to the NPT Review Conference, we will seek assistance from member cities, NGOs, companies and individuals. We intend to establish a fundraising partner in each country and work with them in an organized way to implement joint fundraising activities. For example, in the US, Global Peacemakers Association, an organization led by the Mayors for Peace US Representative, is leading the fundraising effort.

Projected revenue for the coming campaign year

Category Amount
Contributions from members $100,000
Grants from foundations $30,000
Contributions from NGOs, companies and individuals $50,000
Total fundraising target 2005-2006 $180,000

[Model project]

In the US, GPA is sponsoring a landmark anti-nuclear fundraising rock concert. All of the proceeds from this event will come to the Mayors for Peace Campaign. If this concert proves successful, we will use some of the proceeds to sponsor similar events in major cities around the world.

②Increasing participant share of General Conference expenses

At this Conference, each participating city is asked to pay ¥10,000 per person (¥25,000 for Japanese cities). For the next conference, we intend to increase this fee to lighten the burden on the host city.