“People have the power…” words from Issac S Thomas, URI Global Council Trustee, at the Multiconvergence of Global Networks gathering.
Issac S Thomas joined URI at the age of 13, in Kerala, India. Initially part of the South India Sri Lanka region, he was one of the first young leaders training program (YLP) candidates and later became the Youth Ambassador for the region. He founded Global Youth Movement (GYM) CC in 2017 and joined the Multiregion. At the age of 25, he now serves URI as a Global Council Trustee for URI Multiregion.
Recently, Issac was invited to speak at a program of the Multiconvergence of Global Networks (MRG), where he shared his work with two URI Cooperation Circles ‘Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons’ and ‘1 Billion Youth for Peace’.
The Multiconvergence of Global Networks (MRG) is an Articulation of Citizens' Networks, that came together since June 2020 when eight global networks of citizens, including the URI, met with the aim of deepening ties, strengthening the agendas of each of the networks, for a world of solidarity, humane, balanced, ecological and democratic.
On August 6th, 2022, a meeting was arranged as an opportunity to talk and exchange experiences and support on the theme “Planetary Citizenship Issues: Water and Peace”. For this conversation, MRG invited Maíra Fernandes de Melo representing the Ágora network of Inhabitants of the Earth (AHT), who shared the beautiful experience of the '100 Thousand Young People for Water Project' and then Issac S Thomas, who presented about the performance of the URI Cooperation Circle “Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” and on the '1 billion Youth for Peace' project.
Speaking about the work of URI Cooperation Circle, “Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons,” Issac shared:
“Through education, reflection and action, we engage citizens and decision makers to become aware of the threat [of nuclear weapons], to draw strength from humanity's deep resources of faith and community, and to act with courage as agents of positive change.”
Issac went on to say….
“People have the power to make a change and to rid the world of this threat. Change begins by becoming informed through education, widening public conversation and generating pressure through conversations. Young people, faith leaders & educators have a particularly crucial role to play in starting and leading these conversations. People created this ultimate threat to life, and people, acting together, can end it. If not now, then when?”
Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons CC is a community of diplomats, scientists, scholars, educators, religious leaders, and grassroots activists committed and focused on bringing a religious and spiritual concern to the work being done to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons.
“Many people don’t realize how serious the nuclear threat has become, so we educate ourselves and others about the nuclear threat. Many people feel helpless about something that seems beyond their control, so we work to build a new and urgent public conversation about nuclear weapons. Many people don’t know what they can actually do, so we spotlight specific efforts and actions they can take to make a difference.”
“Our generation faces a serious responsibility because the march of modern technology has made ever more deadly the weapons of war. We are most keenly aware of that, in the case of nuclear weapons, because of their terrifying destructive power, which the past generation has witnessed and which none of us can ever forget. The world cannot cancel the knowledge of how to make them. However, we can ensure that present nuclear weapons are deactivated, and no more testing or manufacturing is done in the future.”
Issac then went on to share about the 1 Billion Youth for Peace Campaign ( https://1billionyouthforpeace.com/ ) - a CC and project from South India which encourages young people to take a pledge and a commitment to peace and a world free of nuclear weapons.
You are invited to learn more about both of these incredible organizations through the URI network!
Learn more:
1 Billion Youth for Peace: https://1billionyouthforpeace.com/
Voices CC: https://www.voices-uri.org/
We invite you to watch Isaac's full speech here (at 42 minutes in)
