THE STORY BEHIND VOICES

Voices was founded in 2008 by eight individuals long active for disarmament: Former US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, Former US Secretary of State George Shultz, The Right Reverend William E. Swing, Monica Willard, Jonathan Granoff, US Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr, Sidney Drell, and US Ambassador James Goodby. They met once a month for years to discuss this issue from their individual perspectives. Every meeting began with a prayer called the Nuclear Prayer; and later they decided to share this prayer with the world by making a video of it. 

 

At the Parliament of the World Religions Conference in 2018, Bishop Swing shared the Nuclear Prayer in a session on nuclear disarmament and invited anyone interested in joining Voices to meet in a small meeting room right after the session. To his surprise 80 people showed up. It was at this point that Voices became a larger community and has continued to grow. 

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In 2020, in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings, four interfaith/intercultural organizations – Voices, the Parliament of the World Religions, Religions for Peace, United Religions Initiative and Charter for Compassion  -- came together to issue a joint statement; The Hiroshima/Nagasaki Accord. This group also sponsored and produced a powerful film; The Bomb: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow which features former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, and former US Secretary of State George Shultz sharing their personal statements and reflections on the historic Summit Meeting at Reykjavik, Iceland. The film also includes numerous world figures who have played a major part over many decades in the cause of nuclear disarmament.  

As an intergenerational community, young members of Voices are full participants and leaders in our initiative. They are working to build relationships with other youth groups working in nuclear disarmament, climate change, and peace building. This group promotes and hosts Facebook live/Zoom events, most of which are moderated by Kehkashan Basu, our Young Voices Team Lead, the winner of the Voices Youth Award (2020), and President-Founder of Green Hope Foundation. Young Voices Member Haneen Khalid hosted a Fireside Chat series which can be found on our YouTube Channel HERE.

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Voices Members have:

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• helped to develop nuclear disarmament curriculum geared for several age groups from children of all ages to adults;

• spoken about nuclear abolition at the United Nations;

• written a widely read and compelling Op Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal;

• written books;

• given lectures; 

• met with Pope Francis;

• made presentations around the world;

• organized gatherings of Evangelical leaders and American Roman Catholic bishops; 

• taught on college campuses; and

• co-produced The Bomb: Past, Present and Future a moving and historic film to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. You can view the full-length film HERE.