April 2018
Why youth and feminist activism matters: Insights from anti-nuclear campaigns in practice
In 2017 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to ICAN and a ban treaty was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations. For young people, never before has there been such momentum for a nuclear free world. Excited by this progress and wanting to build further momentum, YWILPF Australia set about collecting insights from youth nuclear abolition organisations. YWILPF Australia wishes to thank those who helped inform and provided feedback on this piece, namely Marzhan Nurzhan from Abolition 2000 Youth Network, Alexandra Arce von Herold and Anna Ikeda from Amplify Youth Network, Franca Brueggen and Kelvin Kibet from IPPNW Students, Kate Alexander from Peace Action New York and Gem Romuld from ICAN Australia. With their permission, below are the full responses from the four organisations who took part, along with a table of strategies and youth organisations. For a shortened summary on feminist and youth activism- you can view a published piece here
1. ABOLITION 2000 YOUTH NETWORK
1. Could you please briefly explain the anti-nuclear campaign you were/are involved with? Abolition 2000 Youth Network is a working group which provides a forum for networking and building cooperation between various youth-led nuclear disarmament initiatives, and with youth working on other related issues or peace and sustainable development. The working group also provides a bridge between youth and other Abolition 2000 actions and initiatives.
2.When did the campaign start and what is/was the main aim/goal of the campaign? The main goal is to educate and engage youth about nuclear disarmament.
3. Why are youth perspectives important in anti-nuclear activism? Youth have the right to live in the world free of nuclear weapons and therefore should be actively involved in building safer future which should provide opportunities for self-realization, security, and a stable environment that does not have nuclear threat. Instead of (global) spending 1.3 trillion dollars on military, young people could be given more funding to cover tuition fees to get education, fight unpaid internships and in general to achieve SDGs. We know about humanitarian consequences of nuclear tests and danger of possessing nuclear weapons therefore we as young people would like to live healthy and maintain this lifestyle. We could bring creativity, innovation and new approaches of involvement.
4. How do you engage young people and what strategies and approaches do you use to raise awareness about your campaign? Social media using our facebook page, organizing youth events for networking and collaboration, experience sharing, promotion of youth participation and role of youth in nuclear disarmament.
5. So far, what are the biggest successes of your campaign? Reach high for a nuclear weapon free world, social media campaign comprising photos of youth from all over the world holding peace sign/object up high following hashtags #ReachHIGH2018, #Sep26dontNukeUs, #abolishnukes, and/or #YouthAgainstNukes
6. So far, what are some of the biggest challenges you have encountered with your campaign? Low involvement of youth, lack of interest in topic of nuclear disarmament
7. What strategies do you use to try and connect the local with the global and engage youth internationally? Inclusive approach, participation in international events – networking, maintaining social media outreach with facebook page that includes youth worldwide, organization of international youth events, the one which is upcoming is international youth conference “Reaching High for a Nuclear-weapon Free World” in Nov, 27-29 in Prague, Czech Republic
8. Do you think youth activism is changing? If not, why? Or, if so, how? In general, I think that youth activism is changing; young people became more aware of their rights and necessity to act and fight. However, there are problems of absence of funding, dedication and commitment, since we as millennials are keen on new things, novelty, fast speed. We can get bored and need more actions.
9. In your experience, what do you think can be done in increase the value and input of younger people? Recognition, inclusion in decision-making, giving opportunity to lead and take initiatives without undermining younger age and lack of experience, skills and knowledge. Making generation connection from senior to younger, interaction and exchange.
10. What advice would you give to other young people wanting to create change through activism? Daring, being creative, resistant, demanding, cooperative, dedicated and committed to the ideas and values.
1. Could you please briefly explain the anti-nuclear campaign you were/are involved with?Amplify is a global network of young people working for nuclear abolition. The Amplify network is growing and is open to everyone who: Is committed to the abolition of nuclear weapons and is in their mid-30s and under. We see the potential for a world without nuclear weapons; we see the potential for security not based on fear but on diplomacy, cooperation and trust. We seek human security and sustainability, which are impossible to achieve fully in the presence of nuclear weapons. The Amplify network is uniting youth from all over the world to create opportunities for future collaborations transcending strategic differences. Our common goal is to amplify and strengthen the call for complete nuclear abolition by taking action, raising our voices and pursuing nuclear abolition in our communities and countries.
2. When did the campaign start and what is/was the main aim/goal of the campaign? In August 2015, 30 young people across the world were engaged in the field of nuclear disarmament gathered for The International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition, held in Hiroshima, Japan. Based on the successful completion of the International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition and seeing the needs and desire from the participants to continue working together for our shared goal of nuclear abolition, they decided to launch a youth organization- Amplify during the second United Nations Open-ended Working Group in Geneva. Our main goal is to unite youth from throughout the world to create opportunities for future collaboration and aims to “amplify” and strengthen the call for complete nuclear abolition.
3.Why are youth perspectives important in anti-nuclear activism? There are a record 1.8 billion young people in the world today. We make up 25 per cent of the global population and that figure is growing. Today’s youth have never lived in a nuclear weapons-free world. We have inherited the burden of a heavily armed world where security is defined narrowly to the security of the State and not the security of humanity. The world spends resources to build, renew and maintain nuclear weapons that could be utilized to strengthen education, economic development, and social institutions. Youth are the future leaders of the world. Not only at the political and diplomacy level, but they are and will be citizens who participate in political decisions in their countries. Each person, particularly youth, needs to know why nuclear arsenals across the world pose danger, even if he or she lives in Costa Rica or Tanzania where there is no nuclear bomb. The voices of young people need to be heard in this process. Nuclear weapons affect young people in many ways. The hundreds of billions of dollars spent annually on these catastrophic weapons sucks up money that could be used for positive things, like environmental protection, health care, education, and other urgent human needs. But most importantly, nuclear weapons threaten our future. This generation of youth is ready to stand up and finally ban nuclear weapons.
4. How do you engage young people and what strategies and approaches do you use to raise awareness of the campaign? Amplify supports young people’s involvement, activities and actions for nuclear abolition. The network also aims to help empower young people who are new to this cause by providing information and resources to learn about the issues and to connect with other youth taking action. The first way how we engage youth is to share and sign our Youth Pledge titled: “Generation of Change: A Youth Pledge for Nuclear Abolition”. We have seen success in providing the voice of youth in multilateral discussions on nuclear weapons. For this reason Amplify has submitted working papers to the OEWG and the nuclear weapons ban treaty negotiations, and delivered statements on such occasions. The last summit was organize during the second negotiation of the ban treaty, thereby providing an opportunity for young people to be part of the conference and meet with government delegations and UN officials. In general we have found that bringing young people together creates a momentum. We realized different kinds of actions: Providing an open forum (website and social media) to learn about nuclear disarmament issues; Help to organize an action (conference, speech, social media) and we can give advice and/or support for nuclear disarmament projects from the Amplify Steering Committee and network members; We can help to promote a nuclear abolition action or event on the Amplify website and social media channels (provided that it meets the guidelines of the Amplify network)
5. So far, what are the biggest successes of the campaign? The biggest achievement was to be able to participate at the UN General Assembly of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We advocated for the importance of disarmament education and youth engagement. As mentioned earlier this conference participation was part of our Youth Summit, which, by itself, is also part of this achievement.
6. So far, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered? Funding has been particularly challenging. It´s the limitation on how many people we can include to participate in the youth summits because finding talented youth is not difficult, they are there, willing to participate, from all over the world, but it´s not easy to bring them to events. In addition, everyone is busy with their work and other commitments. As a volunteer network we need to be creative about how to keep them engaged and make the network sustainable. Part of the challenge is that we have to be mindful of keeping the age limit so that the network is truly run by youth.
7. What strategies do you use to try and connect the local with the global and engage youth internationally? By amplifying local youth initiatives, we are bringing them into the international focus. That is what Amplify is about through our platform. We promote local activism, which motivates more local movement and facilitates a broader more international one. Also, through our summits we engage young activists from all over the world and, in return, they continue their activism locally where they live.
8. Do you think youth activism is changing? If not, why? Or, if so, how? It´s changing. Youth has an open mind and hopefulness about activism. Our job is to find this potential and maximize it so it becomes contagious, so to speak, for other young potential activists. We have seen an increase in number of youth participation, which is the reason why we decided to create this platform to amplify their voices.
9. In your experience, what do you think can be done in increase the value and input of younger people? There are misconceptions that youth are not interested in nuclear disarmament but we find it to be the opposite. The limitations are lack of access to discussions and not knowing what to do. This is where we can intervene. Youth are not only the future – they are already leading the way in nuclear abolition campaigns. What youth has to say is extremely important, but nobody will hear them if they don´t have a space to speak. This is why Amplify has advocated for youth engagement in nuclear disarmament discussions.
10. What advice would you give to other young people wanting to create change through activism? Never give up. Find more people that think like you and begin to use your imagination and creativity to educate others through different means. Never hesitate to ask for help and don´t forget to publish and document everything you do. Remember there are organizations out there that will want to help you out, just like Amplify. Stay tuned because there may be congresses, meetings, campaigns, summits, academies forming out there that may require your help by participating in them.
3. INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR (IPPNW) STUDENTS
1. Could you please briefly explain the anti-nuclear campaign you were/are involved with? The IPPNW has done many surveys and analysis on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons. It was then put together in several reports, reachable and understandable for everyone. Our organisation has founded ICAN in 2007 and passed on all of the knowledge to the campaigners. The international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons managed to push the humanitarian arguments forward, which lead to the nuclear ban treaty. Other activities of the IPPNW are for example the Hibakusha exhibition, which was shown in many places all over the world. The exhibition is about the victims of the nuclear chain: the people affected by uranium mining, the impacts of the nuclear power plants and the military use of nuclear weapons also during the testing. The exhibition consists of 50 posters (they can be ordered and sent out to you here). We as students in the IPPNW also do many things on our own. For example we educate ourselves about war and nuclear weapons, using the e-learning program “medical peace work”. Furthermore we organised talks and lectures at our university in order to share our knowledge. This is just a brief outline of what we do. You can find more activities on the IPPNW and ICAN Websites.
2.When did the campaign start and what is/was the main aim/goal of the campaign? The IPPNW was founded in 1980 by a Russian and a American doctor and its main aim was to abolish nuclear weapons. By now the organisation is international and has extended its work to many other fields in peace work. In some countries the name was therefore changed to “physicians in social responsibility”.
3. Why are youth perspectives important in anti-nuclear activism? We think that the young generation is very important in nuclear activism, because the worldwide efforts in nuclear disarmament have somehow stopped and it is our responsibility to push and bring new arguments and perspective into the debate, by challenging the principle of deterrence as a peace-maintaining system and pushing the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons into the discussion. Therefore we must emphasise the impacts of nuclear weapons on our future. We can change the perspective and the public debate on nuclear weapons, by challenging the principle of deterrence as a peace-maintaining system and pushing the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons . And furthermore, we are the generation whose future is actually threatened by the rising nuclear tensions. This is a talking point for us because we know the threat is right at the core of our survival and that of our generations.
4. How do you engage young people and what strategies and approaches do you use to raise awareness about your campaign? We made the experience that the e-learning program “medical peace work” is very useful in order to engage young people in our work. I think it is very important to offer a possibility to young people to learn new skills and expand their knowledge. We do this by offering workshops and summer schools. Furthermore it is very important to work continuously, in order to keep members in the movement. On a local level our students groups meet normally meet once a week or twice a month. On international level we offer regional and international conferences. Every two years, before the world conference there is a bike tour, through the hosting country, where international students get to know the country and get the chance to speak to peace activists in this particular area. Also we offer exchange programs, between the different local students groups. To raise awareness we do many activities in public, for example: we organise talks and discussion open for the public, we show and present the hibakusha exhibition, we do press statements together with other students organisation such as the IFMSA.
5. So far, what are the biggest successes of your campaign? I think the biggest success of the IPPNW is ICAN and the nuclear ban treaty, which was just recently appreciated by the Nobel Peace Prize.
6. So far, what are some of the biggest challenges you have encountered with your campaign? Firstly, in terms of publicity we still think we could do better given how important and urgent our cause is. Secondly, local impact vs International presence is a challenge for us. As a Federation, we aim to have strong global presence but this is often at the expense of strong local impact in the member countries. Thirdly, our cause always faces backlash with the governments and political interests in some countries making it not safe to do the campaign in some countries or requiring very diplomatic yet frustrating ways to engage the governments.
7. What strategies do you use to try and connect the local with the global and engage youth internationally? At the moment, we usually have Regional meetings for our subregions annually and a Congress every two to three years. This is a platform for students and youth to share experiences from their own countries. Social media is becoming a regular tool for us, including how you managed to reach us,. Facebook and Twitter are becoming indispensable tools to engage with both our members and interested participants. Website and Email Lists are another way we use. On the website we share tools on doing local action and also how our International Federation is working on. The email list serves both communication and engagement of members. Topics are majorly issues affecting the whole Federation. We have international projects such as Target X (a simple project of raising awareness on effect of nuclear weapons by drawing attention to locals to an X sign drawn to simulate if a nuclear bomb was dropped there). Students do this periodically and thus engage in the overall mission in their own localities. We partner with international organizations representing youth such as IFMSA to reach out to youth on other causes with our message and support each other in our mutual areas.
8. Do you think youth activism is changing? If not, why? Or, if so, how? Yes, we think youth activism is changing primarily in how youth no longer want to be identified as just youth or another voice that ‘can ‘ contribute. Youth now want to be at the table where discussions and decisions are made, and to have an equal voice and vote in doing so. An example is our Federation where we (International Students Representatives) are part of the IPPNW Executive Council with voting rights. We think this is the direction youth should go and also guided by United Nations Resolution 2250 that calls for Youth Inclusion in all agenda.
9. In your experience, what do you think can be done in increase the value and input of younger people? Based on current instruments such as UN Resolution 2250, we can call for inclusion into discussions and decisions at all levels. This document was unanimously voted upon and is thus a strong one. Youth should strive to use their creativity and energy to make up for perceived lack of experience. Youth engagement on social media is far more vigorous and creative than older people are. We can use this to our advantage. We can be creative in our activities and projects both to reach an alternative crowd and also to raise the point that we are indispensable. IPPNW Students hold Bike Tours against nuclear weapons. This maybe difficult for older people but as youth we pull this off and reach many people who would otherwise not attend conferences or meetings.
10. What advice would you give to other young people wanting to create change through activism? We would like to advise young people out there that VISION is the most important clause for anyone hoping for real change. Defining, clarifying and effectively strategizing based on that vision is key before starting out. With the adequacy of time and energy, it is possible to anything and everything and in the end achieve nothing. However with a Clear Vision, you are bound to change the world. And furthermore, we are the generation which might never see our future with the ever rising nuclear tensions. This is a talking point for us because we know the threat is right at the core of our survival and that of our generations
4. PEACE ACTION NEW YORK STATE (PANYS)
1. Could you please briefly explain the anti-nuclear campaign you were/are involved with? We are involved in the AGREE coalition to shut down Indian Point nuclear power plant in NY State, and we are a part of international coalitions working for the abolition of nuclear weapons, opposing the modernization plans for the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and opposing the threat of use of force in general, and in particular against North Korea because of the possibility of nuclear war. We also support the Iran Nuclear Deal, and support the UN ban treaty on nuclear weapons.
2. When did the campaign start and what is/was the main aim/goal of the campaign? See above. Unsure of start dates of each campaign.
3. Why are youth perspectives important in anti-nuclear activism? Youth perspectives are important in anti-nuclear activism because the youngest generation has the most to lose from endless militarism and the development, testing, threat of use and use of these weapons of unparalleled loss. It is also important for young people to be a part of this conversation because we do not want to lose the generational memory of the Hibakusha, who survived the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of indigenous communities in the Marshall Islands who suffered under the testing of U.S. nuclear arms.
4. How do you engage young people and what strategies and approaches do you use to raise awareness about your campaign? We support 21 Peace Action campus chapters on university campuses across New York state by connecting them to information and legislation on key foreign policy topics, and giving them the tools to pressure their Elected Officials. The campaigns include both educational and advocacy resources. This model of student organizing has expanded to Massachusetts, New Jersey, Chicago and Maine.
5. So far, what are the biggest successes of your campaign? Senator Gillibrand supported the Iran Nuclear Deal, a key victory that helped the controversial deal to pass. In addition, Senator Schumer’s opposition to the deal was met with a lot of actions from our community calling him out for abandoning diplomacy, and we heard from D.C. that the amount of pressure Schumer faced after opposing the deal meant that less Democrats came out publicly opposing the deal, which helped shape the national conversation about the legislation. We were also very proud to bring several student organizers to the negotiating conference for the UN treaty to ban the bomb.
6. So far, what are some of the biggest challenges you have encountered with your campaign? People feel they have to be experts on U.S. foreign policy to be advocates for peace or a foreign policy that is different from what is being heralded by the Department of Defense. Nuclear policy in particular is so riddled with defense rhetoric, that sometimes the caliber of human loss just isn’t a part of the conversation at all. That must change.
7. What strategies do you use to try and connect the local with the global and engage youth internationally? We are a member of Abolition 2000 and work with international youth groups working on nuclear disarmament globally.
8. Do you think youth activism is changing? If not, why? Or, if so, how? I think youth activism is getting better at getting off-campus.
9. In your experience, what do you think can be done in increase the value and input of younger people? Point One: Speak Simply- Students in the U.S. are actively discouraged from learning about peace and political issues. Teachers risk being fired if they talk about politics, even if that politics is our own history of militarism, racism and xenophobia. These conversations are not happening in our schools, which is why I will appeal to you to speak to your children and family in your home. And, do not wait until the next generation is 18 to tell them that their voice in politics matters, because that is the number one mistake that we’re making as a society. By the time they are 18, students are supposed to know what college they are going to, and to do that, they’re supposed to know what career they’ll have for the rest of their life. That whole idea is absolutely laughable to anyone over the age of 25. But, how can they choose politics or activism, if it’s not a part of their life before they are 18? So speak simply, but never tell someone who is young, who you disagree with, that you disagree with them because they don’t understand the issue. I don’t know what poll every Democrat read that said “if you tell people they are not showing up to the polls, they will start showing up”. That poll is wrong. If you tell people they are not showing up, you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where you are enabling and allowing students to check out of the political process because they’ve been told they don’t have a voice in that process. Those same students are in the streets with so many movements, acknowledging that the system is broken. But if they bring those conversations back into their homes, speaking with their family members and elders, they are so often told they are idealistic or naïve. By their loved ones. By the people who are supposed to boost their voices, not drown them out or mute them. I also believe the system is broken. For example, this week, the US Senate voted to allow an arms deal to Saudi Arabia to move forward, despite knowing that those arms are being used in Yemen against a population where 17 million people are at the risk of famine, and where there is now a cholera outbreak. And, the UN has said repeatedly that the armed conflict is the cause of the famine and cholera outbreak. Calling a system broken that is choosing, and has chosen over and over and over again, to bomb populations that have no healthcare, no food, is not only right and just and fair, it is informed and necessary. And that is all you need to know to support the young activists out there who are saying that the system is broken. They are not uninformed. They are not naïve. They are not too young to know. They know exactly, and they are able to call that out with the power of moral truth. Because some things just are simple. War is wrong. Nuclear weapons are wrong. And, quite frankly, I think it is naïve after 16 years in Afghanistan to assume that war can work. That is what is naïve.
Point Two: Treat Us As Humans- I know I’ve been in a lot of rooms where there has been age tokenization. Where, because you are young, you are asked to speak on behalf of all young people, and I know that I as a white woman have probably experienced much less of this than others, and that needs to be addressed. Every young person comes to these movements from different backgrounds. We all came to this room not because we are young, but because of experiences in our lives that matter and, to get us to come back into rooms like these, it must be acknowledged that: yes, we have lived less life as a matter of years than many others. But, what we have lived is all that we have. It is everything that matters most to us, and these experiences cannot be pushed aside or minimized. Our experiences, although not equal in years, are equals. But, the minimization of the experiences of young activists is something that my student organizers and I experience to this day, but it is also something to that I only recently realized I have also done to my own student organizers. I didn’t realize it until we had our own student conference. There was an exercise by Amnesty International, where students were asked about the moment of their political awakening. And my students, about 100 students from across New York, created a timeline of when they became politically aware, and why. Some of my student organizers have parents who were refugees. A few have parents who have been deported. A few have been stopped on playgrounds because they are black, and they said as much in their notes. Others have had really good teachers who went out of their way to educate their students about social justice and privilege and war. Knowing those experiences is important. You have to know that who you are talking to is more than an age. Which brings me to my third point.
Point Three: Representation Matters- I think it was Maya Angelou who said, “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” That same sentiment can be said of organizations, because that is how students are approaching you. If they don’t see that young people are involved, if they don’t see that women are involved, if they don’t see that people of different faith, sexual, racial and ideological backgrounds are a part of your movement, they don’t see an organization that has made space for them or that has ever spoken to their issues. And that is on us, not on them. So the question here, is how can we ask people to show up for us who we are not showing up for?
Point Four: Ask Us Questions- This is tough, and this is the point that drives the connections between our movements. We have to know each other. Actually. Because, earlier this week, I was talking to Ms. Kawazoe, a Hibakusha. She described to me, and to Peace Action students attending the UN conference, the gust of wind that was created when the nuclear bomb went off. I had heard that same expression the night before, from a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was in high school in Lebanon during the 2006 war. These experiences are universal, and the people most affected by wars and armed violence walk among us. But, we will never know who they are until we start breaking down whatever ridiculous social rule it was that said we can’t talk politics or religion.
Last Point: Provide Structure, But Get Out Of The Way- Make it as easy as possible for students to get involved, because they do want to be involved. I have heard more calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons from my students this past year than I have even from our closest allies. And that is a change absolutely caused by the lunacy of this administration. But if you don’t have a way to plug in those people who show interest now, in this moment, with whatever background they have, and whatever knowledge is missing, whatever tools they have and whatever community they come from, what are you doing? We have to provide structure, be it postcards to our Representatives, or fact sheets, or petitions, or leadership roles, or volunteer positions, or conferences like this one, or meetings with our Representatives, or organizing roles, or opportunities to meet other student and community peace activists. Provide that structure, but get the heck out of the way. Because students know where they are going. For us in the United States, most current students have never known an economy that is not crippled by war. Today, my students and I are talking about U.S. proposals to spend 1.2 trillion dollars on nuclear weapons modernization. And when we talk about connecting the movements, let’s talk about that with our money. Because, with 1.2 trillion we could fully fund the U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Deal. 400 times. Or, with 1.2 trillion, we could fund the Paris Climate Deal once, fund the gap in addressing the global refugee crisis, we could stop collecting interest on student loan payments, we could double federal spending on education and provide every household in the US with solar electricity for a year, create four million clean energy jobs and provide 15 million university students with four year, full-ride scholarships to public universities. This is what students want. This is what they are in the streets demanding. And we need to be there with them.
10. What advice would you give to other young people wanting to create change through activism? The space for you in any movement is there, but you have to claim it, and never let it go!
Table 1: Youth Activist Strategies
| Strategy | Example/s |
| Letter Writing | In 1980 five young women in Vermont started the ‘Children’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’ which resulted in thousands of letters by young children being sent to the White House in 1981-82 |
| Sharing Experiences | In the 1990s a New York school teacher named Robert Croonquist started the ‘Hibakusha Stories Project’ where Hiroshima survivors share their experiences with high school students in America. |
| Paper Crane Making | Every year thousands of children and young people from around the world make origami paper planes that are placed at the ‘Children’s Peace Monument’ in Hiroshima in memory of the thousands of children killed. |
| Online Webinars | Student representatives from ‘Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) have in the past held national webinars that can be replicated, only necessitate only a speaker, powerpoint, and conference call line |
| Visual Installations | IPPNW, PSR have held ‘Target X’ installations in over 40 major cities around the globe where medical students wore their white coats and laid out a large red X’s representing missile target to raise awareness and provoke interest about nuclear weapons |
| Student University Groups | Students at the University of California created a coalition called ‘UC Nuclearfree’ and ran a campaign to demilitarize their campus and created a class called “UC and the Bomb”. UC students held a hunger strike to raise attention to the UC’s involvement in weapon production and their work over the years won them a student oversight committee |
| International Summits/ Conferences | 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament will provide a unique opportunity to inform, educate and engage youth in nuclear disarmament. “International youth conference: Reaching high for a nuclear-weapon free world” (2017 in Prague, Czech Republic) ‘International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition’ (2015 in Hiroshima). The ‘Think Outside the Bomb’ network has a conference every year. |
| Abolition 2000 Youth Network | An open forum and platform for youth from peace, disarmament and sustainable development organisations to network, build cooperation and organise joint actions |
| Petitions/ Pledges | Amplify run a ‘Youth Pledge’ campaign called “Generation of Change: A Youth Pledge for Nuclear Abolition”. Signing the petition against nuclear weapons at the ATOM project website. |
| Social Media Campaign & provide social media guidelines | Abolition 2000 ran a campaign called ‘Reach HIGH for a nuclear weapon-free world.’ It involved inviting young people to take a photo on a high place, reaching high, or lifting up a peace sign and post on social media using the hashtag #Youth4Peace, #YouthDay, #ReachHIGH and/or #YouthAgainst Nukes. Send a video message to countries’ leaders, calling on them to participate in 2018 UN High Level Conference and to adopt concrete nuclear disarmament measures at the conference. Ask mayors, parliamentarians and religious leaders to endorse the joint statement ‘A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World; Our Common Good’, organized by Religions for Peace, PNND and Mayors for Peace, and which is being used to build global support for UN initiatives such as the ban treaty and the UNHLC (see Abolition 2000). |
| International Youth Day event | On ‘International Youth Day’ in August 2017 it ran a campaign calling on youth to call on their governments to support a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis, for their government to commit to attending the 2018 UN High Level Conference and for them to pledge to do everything in their power at the conference to abolish nuclear weapons, and to sign a petition and support legislation restricting the authority of the US President to launch nuclear war without consulting Congress |
| Working/Issue Papers | Amplify has submitted working papers to the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Nuclear Disarmament regarding nuclear weapons ban treaty negotiations, and delivered statements on such occasions. |
| Hold a Movie Night | ‘Where the Wind Blew’ at universities or in local cinemas with the help of local peace and disarmament organizations |
| Create an online subject | ‘Medical Peace Work’ created by IPPNW. See http://www.ippnw.org/peace-through-health.html |
| Organise a Peace March | Prepare informal flyers and take-home materials, but don’t overwhelm people with an amount of information that they cannot digest, engage with the media, pre and post campaigns (see Fuller 2009). |
| Host a Debate | See example Educational examples here: http://www.banthebomb.org/education/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/1-the-nuclear-weapons-debate-011113-cover.pdf |
| Youth Appeal | Released as a result of ‘International Youth Conference: Reaching High for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World’ by Abolition 2000 Youth Network with the purpose of calling on world leaders to participate at the highest level in the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, and to use the occasion to sign the ban treaty (if they have not already done so) as well as supporting interim measures to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons being used. http://www.abolition2000.org/en/reaching-high-for-a-nuclear-weapon-free-world-conference/ |
| Conduct a Survey | In 2013, youth members of Soka Gakkai International Buddhist Group conducted an international survey which found that 91% of youth consider nuclear weapons inhumane and 80.6% believe that there should be a comprehensive treaty ban. They presented their findings at the UN office in Geneva during the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. See http://www.sgi.org/in-focus/press-releases/international-survey-sgi-youth-nuclear-weapons.html |
| Sources: | Abolition 2000. (2017). ‘Youth plan actions for nuclear abolition day and the 2018 UN High Level Conference’, July 10 2017. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://www.abolition2000.org/en/news/2017/07/10/youth-plan-actions-for-nuclear-abolition-day-and-the-2018-un-high-level-conference/
ATOM. (n.d). What is the Atom Project. Accessed September 27, 2017. http://www.theatomproject.org/en/about/what-is-the-atom-project/ Beser, A. (2015). How paper cranes became a symbol of healing in Japan. National Georgraphic, August 28. https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2015/08/28/how-paper-cranes-become-a-symbol-of-healing-in-japan/ CCND (n.d). Children’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 1980-1983. Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Accessed from https://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/DG176-200/dg190ccnd.htm Fuller, T. (2009). Student Activism and Organizing on Nuclear Weapons. IPPNW. Accessed September 27, 2017. https://peaceandhealthblog.com/2009/10/24/student-activism-and-organizing-on-nuclear-weapons/ Global Zero. (n.d). Youth activists from around the world meet in Hiroshima to Pledge Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. Accessed September 27, 2017. https://www.globalzero.org/press-media/news/youth-activists-around-world-meet-hiroshima-pledge-abolition-nuclear-weapons Hibakusha Stories. (2017). Hibakusha Stories: Working together for a nuclear-free world. http://hibakushastories.org/mission/ ICAN Partners. (2017). ‘Partner Organizations’. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://www.icanw.org/campaign/partner-organizations/#australia Soka Gakkai International. (2013). International Survey by SGI Youth shows 91% consider nuclear weapons inhumane. http://www.sgi.org/in-focus/press-releases/international-survey-sgi-youth-nuclear-weapons.html UZ (Unfold Zero). (2017). ‘UN Youth Day: Reach HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world’, August 11 2017. http://www.unfoldzero.org/reach-high-for-a-nuclear-weapon-free-world/ |
Please Note: This is no way intended to be an exhaustive list, rather those that we have found and were suggested. It is a work in progress and if you know of any others, please feel free to let us know via email (ywilpfaustralia@gmail.com).
Table 2: List of Organisations/ Groups that include a youth focus
Please Note: This is no way intended to be an exhaustive list, rather those that were suggested. It is a work in progress and if you know of any others, please feel free to let us know via email (ywilpfaustralia@gmail.com).
YWILPF Australia 