Tuesday, August 6 2024
https://www.billionacts.org/campaign/nuclear-prayer-day-2024
The 3rd Annual Nuclear Prayer Day is August 6. As part of our prayer and meditation on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons is co-sponsoring a Zoom event with 30 organizations at 12:00pm Eastern Time. Inspiring presenters will speak to the urgent danger of nuclear weapons, outline specific steps we can take in response, and invite us all to reconnect with the deep levels of hope and faith that will sustain us as we work for a world free of nuclear weapons. In addition to the conversation-style discussion, there will be a chance for dialogue among all participants. The conversation will be moderated by Anna Ikeda of Soka Gakkai International (SGI). Voices’ Annual Youth Award will be presented during this event. Please mark your calendar and join us in our Zoom Room!
MODERATOR
Anna Ikeda is a Representative to the UN for Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and the program coordinator for disarmament for the SGI Office for UN Affairs, where her work focuses on nuclear abolition and autonomy in weapons systems. She is a campaigner for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Stop Killer Robots, where SGI serves as an international member. She is a member of the Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, a cooperation circle of the United Religions Initiative.
Audrey Kitagawa is a cum laude, Blackstonian Pre-Law Honor Society graduate of the University of Southern California. She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Boston College Law School. She practiced law in Honolulu, Hawaii, and at the time of her retirement, was a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney, the highest rating for professional and ethical excellence.
She is the President and Founder of the International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation, President of the Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family, Chair of the Anti-Racism Initiative, Chair of the Gender Equality Working Group, and a member of the Advisory Council of the G20 Interfaith Forum. She is a UN Representative for the United Religions Initiative, a Trustee for the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, and a member of the Advisory Council for the Global Security Institute.
Benetick Kabua Maddison is the Executive Director of the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI), a nonprofit based in Springdale, Arkansas, where the highest concentration of Marshallese resides in the continental United States. Born in the Marshall Islands, Maddison migrated to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with his family at the age of six. His work at MEI includes leading efforts to raise awareness of the biological, ecological, and cultural consequences of the nuclear testing legacy on his homelands, as well as the impact of climate change. Benetick has spoken at conferences and events in the US and internationally, including addressing the United Nations General Assembly several times. He is dedicated to promoting universal justice and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Daniel (Danny) Hall is the Director of Public Affairs for Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA) and is based in Washington, DC. In 2014, he helped organize the one-day conference “Making a Difference: Faith Communities and the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons” at the United States Institute of Peace. In 2017, he co-organized the one-day conference “Toward a Fundamental Change in Nuclear Weapons Policy” at the United States Capitol Visitor Center. In March 2021, he co-organized a virtual policy briefing and workshop series titled “Eliminating Nuclear Weapons Before They Eliminate Us: Opportunities Under the Biden Administration to Take Action.” He was a citizen lobbyist at the 2017 UN preparatory meetings for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. His publications include book chapters in Religion and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013, and Forbidden: Receiving Pope Francis’ Condemnation of Nuclear Weapons, Georgetown University Press, 2022, as well as opinion pieces in Inkstick and Common Dreams. He serves on the steering committee of Back from the Brink. His areas of expertise and interest include federal nuclear disarmament and victim assistance advocacy, and faith community engagement in these areas.
Haneen Khalid is a PhD student in Security Studies at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Previously, she was an Obama Foundation Scholar at the University of Chicago, studying International Development and Policy. She is interested in the intersection of climate and security, particularly in the field of arms control. She has been a Board Fellow at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and currently sits on the Board of International Student Young Pugwash in addition to her research commitments.
Ira Helfand, MD, is a member of the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, and Past President of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), the founding partner of ICAN and itself the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. He is also co-Founder and Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, IPPNW’s US affiliate, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Back from the Brink campaign. In 2023, he received the Gandhi King Ikeda Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. He has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, the British Medical Journal, and the World Medical Journal on the medical consequences of nuclear war and has lectured about nuclear war in Russia, China, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and across Europe and North America. He spoke at the 2013 and 2014 International Conferences on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and chaired the session on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons at the UN Open-Ended Working Group in 2016 that led to the negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons the following year.
Venessa Hanson is a passionate communications advisor dedicated to using new media and social media to help solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. With years of experience in the sector as the social media officer of ICAN, she has been involved in creating educational content and managing social media campaigns to raise awareness about nuclear weapons non-proliferation, their consequences, and the urgency for their elimination. The impact of her work is highlighted by its inclusion in the latest Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy, a prestigious publication that recognizes the intersection of digital communication and diplomacy. Beyond her activism and public speaking, she is also an artist whose work on the connections between nuclear disarmament and social justice and equity was featured in the inaugural publication Artists Against the Bomb and exhibited at the Judd Foundation in New York. Born in Ghana, Venessa holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with French from the University of Buckingham.
Vera Anderson, known as veraforlove, is a musician, spoken word artist, and mental health advocate based in NYC and Las Vegas, NV. She uses art for connectivity and empowerment in her community to create positive change. Vera is an activist and organizer within the Peace Movement and is a coordinator with Nevada Desert Experience, an interfaith organization dedicated to abolishing the production of modern weaponry and nuclear weapons. She also serves on the board of Pace e Bene, an organization providing nonviolent education on social and environmental issues.
The Right Reverend William E. Swing served as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, headquartered in San Francisco, for twenty-seven years. Prior to this, he served as a parish priest in Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. He was a pioneer in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and homelessness in San Francisco. In the past decade, he founded the United Religions Initiative. He is the author of several books, the recipient of many honorary doctoral degrees, and served for over two decades on the Board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research. In 2008, Bishop Swing co-founded “Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” and currently serves as the convener of this URI Corporation Circle.
Register your participation in Nuclear Prayer Day as a Billion Acts of Peace action through our Nuclear Prayer Day campaign at https://www.billionacts.org/campaign/nuclear-prayer-day-2024
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