(NEW YORK, November 16) The World March for Peace and Nonviolence, the first 6-continent, 93-day march, invites New Yorkers of every culture and background to join with supporters from more than 100 countries to participate in its inaugural event in the US: a historic march over the Brooklyn Bridge taking place on Monday, November 30, the first day the World March international march team arrives in North America from Africa. Prior to its US arrival, the international team’s world itinerary includes marching through 40 countries in sixty days, a journey that began on October 2 in New Zealand and will end on January 2, 2010 in Punta de Vacas Argentina. Its mission: calling for the end of war, nuclear proliferation and all forms of violence.

Participants for the November 30 march over the Brooklyn Bridge will gather at 1:00 pm at Borough Hall, Brooklyn. There will be a press conference on the steps of City Hall at 3:00 pm at which the march will receive a proclamation by City Council.
The official welcome of the international team of marchers will be celebrated with a multimedia program of inspirational talks and performances under the theme of “Beyond Violence” at 7 p.m. at Riverside Church (490 Riverside Drive, NYC). The event is open to the public and free of charge.

“Imagine the diverse communities of New York coming together for this unprecedented day-long event showing our mutual support for peace and nonviolence,” says Nicole Myers, an organizer with the organization Convergence of Cultures and sponsor of the event. “New York is a microcosm of the world and all participants are encouraged to wear special attire and native dress to represent the many cultures and to express our diversity yet send a single message: ‘End the wars and the violence.’ We all want peace,” she adds.
The World March was initiated by World Without Wars, an organization launched by the Humanist Movement.  Convergence of Cultures, a sponsor of the March, is an affiliated group dedicated to promoting dialogue between cultures.

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ABOUT THE WORLD MARCH

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence is both a 6-continent march undertaken by an international team of 25 marchers plus a 93-day schedule of corresponding events taking place in towns and cities around the world. The march's aim is to create consciousness about peace and disarmament, and to cultivate a global culture of nonviolence. It is endorsed by some of the world’s most prominent leaders, newsmakers and artists, including eleven presidents, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and other Nobel Prize laureates, Noam Chomsky, Penelope Cruz, Viggo Mortensen, Martin Sheen and Lou Reed, among many others (there is a complete list on the web site www.theworldmarch.org).

The march kicked off on Oct. 2 in Wellington New Zealand with the international march team. In the ensuing 93 days, they will crisscross the globe carrying the Hiroshima Flame, rallying with more than 1 million supporters in 100 countries and meeting with heads-of-state, parliamentarians, religious leaders, Nobel Peace Laureates and peace and cultural organizations. They will arrive in the US from Africa on November 30 and start their march in the Americas from New York City. On December 1 they will depart for Washington, DC, San Francisco, Red Bluff, and Los Angeles before moving south to Mexico. The march will end on Jan. 2, 2010 in Argentina.

The World March was officially launched at the Symposium of the World Center for Humanist Studies in Punta de Vacas, Argentina, on November 15, 2008. It was initiated by World Without Wars, an affiliated organization of the Humanist Movement that is internationally active in the fields of peace and disarmament. The march has five proposals:

•    abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide
•    immediate withdrawal of invading troops from occupied territories 
•    progressive and proportional reduction of conventional weapons 
•    signing of non-aggression treaties between countries 
•    renunciation by governments of the use of war as a means to resolve conflicts 

Photo gallery: http://worldmarch.smugmug.com/People/WorldMarchPeaceNonviolence
Please note: All pictures available free of charge with mandatory photo credit for both the photographer and Pressenza.com

For more information:
www.worldmarchusa.net (United States) • www.theworldmarch.org (international site)

Press Inquiries: Nicole Myers, US Press Coordinator for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.
E-mail to: press@worldmarchusa.net

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