Over the course of his humanist work, Chris has helped organize local, city-wide, and regional humanist forums, including the North American New Humanist Forum in November, 2007 (http://www.newhumanistforum.org/). He participated actively in projects aiming to humanize health care and education. He has also organized demonstrations calling for worldwide nuclear disarmament, and helped lead human support campaigns for humanist projects in Bangladesh and Mozambique.
Chris proudly marched with other New Humanists against the invasion of Iraq before it was launched, and in March 2007 & 2008 helped to organize Living Signs of Peace and Non-violence in New York City, protesting the occupation. His other recent activities include several radio interviews, and various actions against a planned US radar base in the Czech Republic (part of the so-called missile defense shield). In April, 2008, Chris joined Jan Tamas, Chair of the Czech Humanist Party and leader of a strong movement against the base, in meetings with Noam Chomsky and Dennis Kucinich.
Last year, Chris was invited to address the 1st International Symposium of the World Center of Humanist Studies, held in Punta de Vacas, Argentina. He presented a talk entitled “A Brief Summary of The Statement of the Humanist Movement” to a distinguished audience including Rodrigo Carazo, former president of Costa Rica and founder of the University for Peace, and Bolivian Senator Gaston Cornejo. During that same weekend, he joined in the launching of the 1st ever World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which he will be actively promoting between now and its conclusion in January, 2010.
Chris is an actor by profession and lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
ABOUT The World March for Peace and Nonviolence
The World March will begin in New Zealand on October 2, 2009, the anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, declared the “International Day of Nonviolence” by the United Nations. It will conclude in the Andes Mountains (Punta de Vacas, Aconcagua, Argentina) on January 2, 2010. The March will last 90 days, three long months of travel. It will pass through all climates and seasons, from the hot summer of the tropics and the deserts, to the winter of Siberia. The American and Asian stages will be the longest, both almost a month. A permanent base of a hundred people of different nationalities will complete the journey. The World March has been endorsed by celebrities and leaders from all lands in every field of endeavor including President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, Nobel Peace Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter Rigobertu Menchu Tum, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and many others.
The March was initiated by “World Without Wars,” – an international organization launched by the Humanist Movement – that has been working for 15 years in the fields of pacifism and non-violence.
The possible channels of participation are multiple and diverse, including virtual participation in the March through Internet.
This is a march by and for the people, with hopes of reaching most of the world’s population. For this reason we are asking all media to spread the word about this journey around the world for Peace and Non-violence.
To achieve: the worldwide eradication of nuclear weapons; the immediate withdrawal of invading troops from occupied territories; the progressive and proportional reduction of conventional weapons; the signing of non-aggression treaties among nations and the renunciation by governments of war as a way to resolve conflicts.
To expose the many other forms of violence (economic, racial, sexual, religious…) that are currently hidden or disguised by their perpetrators; and to provide a way for all who suffer such violence to be heard.
Please visit:
http://www.TheWorldMarch.org
http://www.WorldMarchUSA.net
http://chriswells.humanism.org
Chris is the North American Spokesperson for New Humanism, also known as Universal Humanism. He has been active in the Humanist Movement, the concrete and organized expression of New Humanism, for the past 18 years. Like all New Humanists, Chris is a volunteer.
