This Global Guide to Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education is the result of several months of research on the state of disarmament and non-proliferation education worldwide.  Roughly half of the entries are summaries of submissions to the UN Experts Group in response to its spring 2001 request for brief reports on the work that individuals and institutes were conducting on disarmament and non-proliferation education.  Kathleen Sullivan of Educators for Social Responsibility led the effort to summarize the UN submissions. The remaining entries were prepared primarily by the staff of the Program on Global Security and Disarmament (PGSD) at the University of Maryland, College Park, led by Christopher Fettweis.  We found these additional institutions and individuals by using several methods, including months of internet research, a targeted email campaign overseas, and networking with other professionals in the NGO and academic communities.  PGSD staff nearly doubled the number of initial submissions through our research and networking, with a very small budget.

The Guide reflects the results of our first round of research.  We believe that it represents only a portion of what is actually being accomplished in disarmament and non-proliferation education.  We plan to continue updating and expanding this guide in the coming months in order to craft a truly comprehensive appraisal of global activity in this field. We welcome your assistance in this task.  Please send us comments and suggestions for others we should contact.

It was particularly difficult to identify groups and individuals working in disarmament and non-proliferation education in the global south, because their web presence is significantly smaller than their colleagues in the north.  In the next phase of developing this guide, we intend to focus significant attention on identifying and reaching out to educators and activists in the global south. 

We will need additional resources to accomplish these objectives. One future strategy for expanding this network of concerned individuals and institutions is to use a regional approach, finding people familiar with local conditions and political systems who are interested in helping to increase awareness of the guide and our continuing work. PGSD staff members have been successful in constructing international networks on other security issues using this method. Core participants in targeted countries can help identify other individuals and institutions that would be appropriate participants. With additional funding, we could use additional tactics, such as targeted mailings and phone campaigns, to reach those without regular computer access.

Over time, we believe that we can help establish a “virtuous circle” through wide distribution of this guide. By increasing awareness of international work on disarmament and non-proliferation education, we can help encourage additional participation, and decrease the isolation of those working on these issues. In the process, we are likely to discover new participants both in the north and the south.

We are now beginning to develop a global consortium on disarmament and non-proliferation education. The consortium offers the prospect of funding colleagues across the global south who lack the resources, or support from their home institutions, to carry out extensive work in this field. Our preliminary research highlights the resource constraints under which so many institutes and institutions are operating. 

This guide will be most useful if readers continue to offer comments, updates, and additions to the information it contains.  We also welcome your suggestions for next steps for our education work in general.

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