Home  Media Press Releases General 2008: 50th anniversary of CND, peace symbol and Aldermaston march
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2008: 50th anniversary of CND, peace symbol and Aldermaston march |
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19 December 2007: For immediate release
The year ahead marks the 50th anniversary of one of the best-known campaigning groups in the UK - the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. CND, which has served as the model for most subsequent social and political movements, pioneered many of the approaches now seen as a natural part of the democratic process.
From the ‘peace symbol’, first used on the Aldermaston march of Easter 1958, to the imagery of protest surrounding Greenham Common, and to the creative expression of dissent now linked to the Iraq War and Trident Replacement, CND has been at the heart of many major cultural developments, being synonymous with radical expression over a number of generations. Contacts and information for various feature articles are available, including content for news stories over the Christmas period.
A series of events and publications will mark the anniversary, from reproduction iconic posters and badges, and a travelling exhibition, to a major pop concert and a book on the history of the CND symbol.
Major events will include:
• Global Summit for a Nuclear Weapon-Free World
Laying the Practical, Technical and Political Groundwork, City Hall, London, February 16-17th
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The Summit, which takes place on the exact anniversary of the launch meeting of CND, will comprise two streams: a group of experts will look at the technical and political/diplomatic issues, while the other will include campaigners and activists from every established nuclear state and beyond, looking at the political, legal and mobilising issues. It will include a reception honouring longstanding CND activists, including many founding members who took part in the original 1958 march to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.
Speakers include:
Ambassador Sergio Duarte, UN High Representative for Disarmament
Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, former UN Under-Secretary General for Disarmament
Ambassador Thomas Graham, Director of the Bipartisan Security Initiative, USA
and experts and activists from Israel, India, Pakistan, Japan, USA, France, Russia and China.
A delegation from Japan will include representatives from Nihon Hidankyo the Atomic Bomb Survivors organisation.
• Aldermaston ‘Surround the Base’ protest
Easter Monday, 24th March at 12 noon. 50th Anniversary of the first march from London to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, near Reading.
A colourful day of protest with thousands of campaigners aiming to form a human cordon around Britain’s nuclear weapons factory. Activists will mark the years of campaigning against the bomb by theming each gate to the base with a decade, from the 50s to the present day, with dress and music. Speakers will address the crowd on a stage that will travel around the base. The emphasis will be on building on past experience and commitment to achieve the aim of nuclear disarmament.
Aldermaston, which is seeing millions of pounds of investment every year in preparation to produce a new nuclear weapon will be subject to a symbolic march by a Japanese delegation of survivors of the Hiroshima bomb. The call will be 'The Bomb Stops Here', to end nuclear weapons production at Aldermaston, and achieve nuclear disarmament.
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Notes to Editors:
- For further information and interviews please contact Ben Soffa, CND's Press & Communications Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
- The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere. www.cnduk.org
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