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It's vital that we demonstrate to our leaders that there's strong popular support for the abolition of nuclear weapons. One way to do this is to write letters to them. Below are some tips that will help you to become an effective letter writer and campaigner.

Steps

1. Determine who you want to write to: You could write to your president or prime minister, an opposition figure, your mayor or your local member of parliament. It might also be worthwhile contacting non-elected officials, such as church leaders or academics.
2. Find out about your leaders: It's important that you know as much as possible about the leaders before drafting your letters. Have they ever said anything publicly about nuclear weapons? Based on their affiliation to a particular political party or organization, is it possible to predict some of their views?
3. Work out what you want from them: You should have a particular request. Make sure that this can be realistically fulfilled by the leader you are writing to: e.g. don't ask a local mayor to sign a treaty. Also, make sure your requests haven't already been fulfilled: e.g. don't ask South Africa to dismantle its nuclear weapons—it has already done this!
4. Draft your letter: Your points should be clear, logical and well expressed. Don't make the letter long if it doesn't need to be, and be polite even if you strongly disagree with your leader's views and actions. Opposite is a sample letter which you could tailor to your needs.
5. Send your letter: You could send the letter in hard form or by email. Make sure it's correctly addressed and, if it's in hard form, be sure to sign it. Then await a reply. Leaders receive a large volume of correspondence, so you should be prepared to wait several months for a reply!

Sample letter

[Your address]

[The leader's address]

[Date]

Dear [Title and name]

I write to you because I am deeply concerned about the threat that nuclear weapons pose to our health, global security and human survival.

I fear that, unless we muster the political will to abolish these weapons of terror, they will be used again—intentionally or by accident—and the effect will be catastrophic.

Most countries do not want nuclear weapons because they threaten rather than enhance national security. They also divert funds from education, health care and infrastructure.

No other weapons have the capacity to destroy the entire planet in a matter of hours. A single nuclear weapon could flatten a city, or devastate a whole nation, instantly.

I am part of a new global grassroots movement called the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. We are calling on all governments to agree to a nuclear weapons convention-a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons.

The overwhelming majority of countries want such a ban. We have already outlawed landmines, chemical weapons and biological weapons. I believe it is now time to ban the worst weapons of all.

I urge you to do everything in your power to support the campaign.

Yours sincerely

[Your signature]

[Your name]

Variation

1. Write a group letter or open letter: To make your letter more powerful, you could invite your friends, family and teachers to sign it (making it a "group letter"). You might also like to publish it on a blog for the world to see (making it an "open letter").

Addresses

These are the postal addresses for the presidents or prime ministers of each of the nine countries with nuclear weapons. But you should also write to leaders of countries that don't have nuclear weapons: they too have an important role to play in the movement.

United States

President of the United States of America, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20500, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Russia

President of the Russian Federation, 4, Staraya Square, Moscow, 103132, RUSSIAN FEDERATION

China

President of the People's Republic of China, Guojia Zhuxi, State Council General Office, Yongneixijie, Beijingshi, 100017, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

France

President of France, Quai D'Rosai 37, 75007 Paris, FRANCE

United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA, UNITED KINGDOM

Israel

Prime Minister of Israel, 3 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Jerusalem 91919, ISRAEL

India

Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 011, INDIA

Pakistan

President, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN

North Korea

President of DPRK, PO Box 44, Jung Song-dong, Central District, Pyongyang, NORTH KOREA