Hiroshima, August 1st 2011 - As Mayors for Peace announced that 89 new members officially joined the network during July, many new registration-forms continued to reach the Hiroshima headquarters bringing the organization close to its 5,000 goal.
The 89 new members last month are from Argentina (2), Austria (15), Belgium (7), Canada (1), Ethiopia (1), France (1), Germany (4), Italy (13), Japan (33), Korea (1), Nigeria (1), Peru (4), Poland (1), Thailand (2) and USA (3).
Nearly 30 new forms were send in a time-span of 24 hours but did not make it in time for the August 1st updated count of 4,892 members in 151 countries and regions. The new surge of membership comes as a result of the global action to reach the 5,000 membership mark.
The Hiroshima secretariat continues to set down an amazing record growth in Japan, where another 33 Mayors joined the network during July.
In Europe the invitation of the Mayor of Klosterneuburg (Austria) is giving very good results as new registration-forms continue to arrive. In Belgium it is an initiative by the UVCW (Union of Cities and Municipalities from Wallonia) and the City of Bastogne which bring a new surge of members from the southern part of the country. In Italy there is also a strong growth as a result of several initiatives by Lisa Clark, the Italian 2020 Vision Campaigner. Lisa Clark involved the Italian National Coordination of Local Governments for Human Rights and Peace which is urging its members to join Mayors for Peace, while there is also the annual peace bicycle ride taking another route involving different local governments.
In North America the US Conference of Mayors mailed an appeal last Friday July 28th to all its members to join Mayors for Peace before August 6th. The appeal was signed by 14 US Mayors. It is the first time that the USCM makes a direct appeal to all its members in its long history of support towards Mayors for Peace.
In Latin America the 2020 Vision Campaigners Cinthia Heanna in Brazil and Lizett Vasquez in Peru coordinating recruitment efforts with the FNP (Brazilian National Front of Mayors) and the Federación de Municipios Libres de Perú (FEMULP). In Argentina both the Federación Argentina de Municipios (FAM) and IC Argentina are urging Mayors to stand in solidarity with Japan.
In Africa we learned of the sudden and unexpected death at the start of July of Mr. Kafui Attipoe, the 2020 Vision Campaigner in Ghana. Mayors for Peace is very saddened by his sudden death and conveys its condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. In Senegal Mr. Amadou Gomis his cooperation with the AMS (Association of Mayors of Senegal) came to a sudden halt as violent riots erupted throughout the country. During the riots several City Halls were ransacked.
On a positive note, today Mr. Jean Paul Nanfack, Vice Mayor of Fongo-Tongo (Cameroon), mailed us 12 new registration-forms from Africa. These are amongst the members which are not yet accounted for in the August 1st membership update. Other forms which reached the Hiroshima secretariat too late for the latest update came from Austria, Belgium and Italy.
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