• August 29: International Day Against Nuclear Tests.
• September 21: International Day for Peace
• September 26: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Action on these dates could be very influential.

Leaders of most governments from around the world will be gathering at the United Nations in September for the UN General Assembly, in preparation for resolutions to be adopted in October.

One of these resolutions will set the dates, venue and agenda for the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, which aims to prevent a nuclear holocaust and advance the global prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.

Government leaders will also be invited to sign the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will open for signature in New York on September 20.

Here are four actions you can take on these days to support global nuclear disarmament

1. Sign the ATOM Project petition for a nuclear-weapon-free world

The petition has been launched by the ATOM Project, an international campaign to create awareness about the human and environmental devastation caused by nuclear weapons and the imperative to eliminate them. The campaign is led by people impacted by nuclear tests, including Karipbek Kuyukov, a second generation victim of Soviet nuclear tests in Kazakhstan.

2. Call on your government to support a nuclear-weapon-free world at the United Nations

Contact your Prime Minister/President calling on them to support a nuclear-weapon-free world when they attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.

They can do this by signing the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons (‘Ban Treaty’), and by announcing that they will personally attend the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament and support the adoption of nuclear-risk reduction and disarmament measures at the conference (even if they are not ready or able to sign the ban treaty).

Click here for a sample letter and list of government contacts.

3. Social media action: Reach HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world

Reach HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world aims to raise awareness about the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, and to push governments to adopt significant nuclear disarmament measures at the conference.

• Take a photo of yourself, or you and other young people, on a high place or reaching high, or lifting a peace sign/object up high;
• Post your photo on social media with the hastags #ReachHIGH2018, #Sep26dontNukeUs, #abolishnukes, #PeaceOneDay and/or #YouthAgainstNukes.

Here are samples of peace signs you could hold up high:

4. Organise a movie screening

Public movie screenings are a great way to educate and engage people in this important issue. There are two very good movies which are directly related to the nuclear abolition days and which are available for special screenings:

• Where the Wind Blew.
  A 72-minute documentary produced by Spring Films which tells the stories of peoples in Kazakhstan and the United States who continue to suffer from the trans-generational impact of nuclear tests, conducted by the Cold War super powers more than two decades ago. The film follows the stories of a poet, a painter and a musician who have used the redemptive power of art to overcome their nuclear inheritance.Click here for the trailer. Contact UNFOLD ZERO or Spring Films for screening information.
• The Man who saved the World
  A 110-minute docu-drama which recreates the incident on Sep 26, 1983 when Stanislav Petrov disobeyed military protocol and probably prevented a nuclear holocaust. He says that he is not a hero: ‘I was just in the right place at the right time.’ Watch this movie and you decide! Starring Stanislav Petrov (the man himself), Kevin Costner, Sergey Shnyrynov, Matt Damon, Natalia Vdovina & Robert de Niro.Click here for the trailer. Contact UNFOLD ZERO or Light Cone Pictures for screening information.

Yours sincerely

Marzhan and Alyn
On behalf of the UNFOLD ZERO team