As we approach the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, APLN will once again join the #CranesForOurFuture campaign to call for a future that is safe from nuclear devastation.

Every year, activists, artists, diplomats, and politicians from around the world join together in August to demand that our leaders forge a path toward a better future–without nuclear weapons–for our loved ones and for future generations. Earlier this year, world leaders met in Hiroshima and reaffirmed their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons. We have an opportunity to show our leaders that we want to see those words matched with action.

Between August 4th and 9th, APLN will join a coalition of institutions in folding paper cranes to show support for the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and to call on world leaders to follow through on their promises for a nuclear-free world. Why paper cranes? The origami peace crane is a symbol of peace around the world, thanks to Sadako Sasaki, a child who survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing but lost her life a decade later due to cancer from radiation exposure. She folded more than a thousand paper cranes in the hope that her wish to live would be granted.

Join us in honoring Sadako and all those who have died or suffered from the production, testing, and use of nuclear weapons. The power to craft a better future is in our hands. Together, we can move closer to, not further from, a world without nuclear weapons.

Between August 4 and 9, during the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, will you fold and share a crane on social media with the hashtag #CranesForOurFuture?

Want to participate but not sure how? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to join the movement:

Step 1. Use any square sheet of paper. You can download APLN’s origami paper templates here.

Step 2. Fold your crane. Not sure how to fold a paper crane? You can find a step-by-step video guide here.

Step 3. Take a photo of your crane. Take a close-up of the crane in good lighting, have someone take a photo of you holding your crane in your palm, or take a photo with friends and family.

Step 4. Write a message about why we must move closer to, not further from, a world without nuclear weapons. It could be as simple as a single word or phrase.

Step 5. Post your picture and your vision for a world without nuclear weapons to social media between August 4 and 9. When posting, remember to connect your post to everyone else’s by using the hashtag #CranesForOurFuture.

To learn more about the movement, go to CranesForOurFuture.org.