the\ue002Executive\ue002Con\ue003erence\ue002o\ue003\ue002Mayors\ue002\ue003or\ue002Peace\ue002agreed\ue002to\ue002set\ue002up\ue002
a\ue002new\ue002international\ue002campaign\ue002association\ue002to\ue002ban\ue002nuclear\ue002weap-
ons\ue002by\ue0022020.\ue002The\ue002Executive\ue002Con\ue003erence\ue002held\ue002in\ue002the\ue002historic\ue002Palazzo\ue002
Vecchio,\ue002vowed\ue002to\ue002provide\ue002global\ue002leadership\ue002in\ue002preparing\ue002\ue003or\ue002the\ue002
Disarmament\ue002Decade\ue002called\ue002\ue003or\ue002by\ue002the\ue002UN\ue002General\ue002Assembly.

Aaron Tovish, Annie Barbier,
Filip Deheegher, Jackie
Cabasso, Jaira Valenzuela,
Martial Vermes, Pierre
Marechal, Pol D\u2019Huyvetter &
Steve Leeper

Jessica Morrison (Austrilia),
Lana Romanchikova
(Belarus), Debbie Grisdale

Novomestska (Czech
Republic), Caecilie Buhman
(Denmark), Barbro Sundback
(Finland), Lisa Clark
(Italy), Hans van Iterson
(Netherlands), Kate Dewes
(New Zealand), Styne
R\u00f8dmyr (Norway), Bakary
Seydi (Senegal), Ra\ue000ael de la
Rubia (Spain), Aslihan Tumer

commemoration at
cemetery victims gas attack
where an estimated 5,000
civilians died. March 2008.
Photo: Pol D\u2019Huyvetter

City Hall, Grote Markt 34, 8900 Ypres, BELGIUM Phone: +32-57-38 89 57 \u2022 Fax: +32-57-23 92 76 E-mail: 2020visioncampaign@ieper.be

Please \ue000nd here the \ue000rst Annual Report \ue001or the Mayors \ue001or Peace 2020 Vision
Campaign. This report will show you that we have a solid \ue001oundation to
pursue our Preparation \ue001or the Decisive Decade \ue001or Nuclear Disarmament,
2010-2020. In terms o\ue001 our engagement in the current \ue000ve-year review cycle o\ue001
the Nuclear Non-proli\ue001eration Treaty, we are \ue001ully two years ahead o\ue001 where we
were at this stage in the last review cycle. And we have signi\ue000cantly broadened
and deepened our work with mayoral associations worldwide, not least with
United Cities and Local Governments.

Last year has been a very important year with many changes \ue001or Mayors \ue001or
Peace. Not only have we seen an highly signi\ue000cant growth o\ue001 our member-
ship during our 25th anniversary year but also a major trans\ue001ormation as the
Executive Con\ue001erence agreed to establish a special international campaign
association to set the structural conditions \ue001or achieving our main goal.

We have been impressed by hundreds o\ue001 individuals in city halls and organiza-
tions who have spared no e\ue001\ue001orts in 2007 to develop this Emergency Campaign
in all parts o\ue001 the world. In this report, you will \ue000nd some very encouraging
and inspiring reports. We are sorry i\ue001 it could not cover all the positive devel-
opments and projects which took place in all continents.

Last year, we have also witnessed the \ue000rst tender shoots o\ue001 \ue001und-raising with a success\ue001ul Belgian pilot project proving that the solidarity o\ue001 cities is genuine and not just a word enshrined in our \ue001ounding declaration. We wish to thank our Belgian \ue001riends \ue001or their path-breaking e\ue001\ue001orts which will be an example and encouragement \ue001or all o\ue001 us.

In 2008, we are committed to see our entire membership o\ue001 now well over
2,000 cities match the annual contributions o\ue001 the 2 Cities o\ue001 Hiroshima and
Nagasaki who have \ue001ooted the bill \ue001or the Campaign \ue001or the past 4 years, and
\ue001or the organization since its conception. We all agree that it would be shock-
ing i\ue001 over 2,000 cities could not match the contributions o\ue001 the 2 Japanese
cities which su\ue001\ue001ered destruction by atomic bombs.

Here, we wish to call on everyone who reads these lines to do everything in
his/her capacity to encourage city councils to approve a the resolution to start
making voluntary \ue000nancial contributions towards our emergency campaign.
We all know that we urgently need \ue001unds to make our campaign success\ue001ul.

We also wish to call on your support to bring Mayors \ue001or Peace to the people. Today, un\ue001ortunately most people have never heard about us and our impor- tant campaign. We can make a di\ue001\ue001erence by opening the existing communica- tions channels o\ue001 the cities to our commitment to ban these illegal weapons o\ue001 terror \ue001rom the \ue001ace o\ue001 the world.

Finally, we wish to remember the loss o\ue001 an important \ue001riend and ally who
spared neither time nor money to help us \ue001orward. Last year, the Mayor o\ue001
Nagasaki, Mr. Iccho Itoh was brutally assassinated. Let\u2019s honor and remember
him by making sure that his dream \ue001or a nuclear \ue001ree world will not remain a
dream. Let\u2019s work together and put non-proli\ue001eration and nuclear disarmament
again on top o\ue001 the political agenda. Together we can do this.