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PGSD WORKING PAPER No.
5
DRAFT – 8 June 2003 Global Guide to Disarmament andNon-Proliferation EducationSelect Recommendations from Invited Contributors to the Study Dr. Natalie Goldring, Program on Global Security and Disarmament in the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland The group needs to decide early whether the study is focusing primarily on education on disarmament and non-proliferation issues, or on education to promote disarmament and non-proliferation. Dr. Goldring stressed five key priorities in her oral presentation to the panel: dissemination, global integration, partnership, continuity, and implementation. Dissemination: Getting the study materials out both in print and on line, and ensuring that people without regular computer access still have access to relevant materials. Global integration: Integrating programs in the perm five countries (US, Russia, UK, France, China) as well as the countries represented on the panel. Coordinating activities at the country, regional, and global level. Developing curricula that are tailored to specific countries, regions, and circumstances. Considering curriculum modules that can complement existing curricula. Partnership: The United Nations can provide significant credibility and aid access to resources by being the umbrella under which such partnerships among governments, universities, and non-governmental organizations are fostered. Continuity: Continuity of education from K-12 to university to post-graduate is key. We cannot afford to concentrate on only one piece of this problem. Implementation: Ensuring that the necessary resources are available for implementation. Procure the necessary funding to carry out these plans. The experts group's mandate cannot be carried out fully without additional funding. Many of the relevant programs are being run with sufficiently few resources that modest assistance can make a huge difference in their ability to function. Ms. Felicity Hill, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, UN Office, New York “[Practical and useful annexes should be produced and] could be suggested curricula, modules or disarmament education tools for the various constituencies listed in the resolution containing some key elements of successful disarmament education that you have unearthed through this process. These could be summarized in the text version, and be available electronically or on a CD Rom.” “We hope this process has the effect of strengthening pre-existing initiatives of the United Nations, like the UN’s School Bus… which needs more materials on disarmament. We need more of the high quality occasional papers, studies and reports from DDA, UNIDIR and the CTBTO.” “NGOs feel it would be helpful if the Expert Panel notices the untapped potential in collaboration between the UN system and NGO experts in the conceiving, producing, promotion, funding and especially, dissemination of publications on this matter.” “Some NGOs felt the Expert Panel would benefit from analysis of the lessons learned from the UN Disarmament Campaign that emerged from SSOD2. Some frank analysis of the products and programs it produced could assist the Expert Panel in making recommendations… My organization was involved in the regional disarmament seminars to which NGOs were invited, both as speakers and participants. The sense of those WILPF members involved is that finances played some part in the campaign’s demise, but the main reason is that governments did not and still do not want to encourage the development of a strong popular movement demanding disarmament… WILPF suspects that if governments really wanted to inform and educate their people about disarmament they could do it, but if they do not want to do it, UN attempts will fail again. This, I suspect, will be your most difficult obstacle in this process.” “Some NGOs feel that the UN Messengers for Peace and other celebrities could be brought into this process and could promote the issue of disarmament… We need to acquire some contemporary relevance by association, and learn to package the idea of disarmament so that tabloids can amplify our message.” “[There is] the potential of the expert group to engage publishers of text books.” “A worldwide promotion and use of Disarmament Week, could focus, in the next year, on disarmament education.” “Organize or commission an audit of television coverage and representation of weapons during a one week period in various countries, monitoring the presence of weapons and giving a report card.” “I am not at all a supporter of the Global Compact with Corporations or so-called Partnerships between the UN and the for-profit sector for a whole range of reasons… However, I think engagement, rather than partnership, is vital. Perhaps this Expert Panel could test this form of engagement and call on some of the major arms manufacturers to give some analysis of the kinds of advertising and educational materials they produce to go with their various weapons systems.” Professor Kamel S. Abu Jaber, Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, Amman “We must first disarm mentally. “Man [sic] has developed weapons that can blow our planet to smithereens, has probed the farthest reaches of the universe: the secrets of the atom, the depths of genes and DNA, but has not been able to devise a political, legal, ethical or moral system that can deal with, to say nothing of, control the horrific consequences of his [sic] inventions.” “Initiate a global, massive reeducation campaign, emphasizing the common humanitarian aspects of men [sic], wherever they reside and to whatever race or religion they may belong, with an emphasis on human rights, international law, gender equality, respect for the Geneva Conventions, the general principles of humanitarian law, the issue of genocide and the emergence of the International Court of Criminal Justice.” “One of the most important aspects of our education program then must be concerned with global as well as regional approaches to problems” “A new approach sponsored by the UN must strive to literally bring about a culture of peace and change the deliberations and considerations of peoples and states from the mode of war preparedness to that of peace preparedness.” Dr. Vladimir Orlov, PIR, Center for Policy Studies in Russia Conducting selective sociological polling in certain states to assess the level of public awareness and awareness of certain target groups; Preparing non-proliferation textbooks for high school students, university students and students of higher educational institutions; Dissemination in different languages in hard copy and via internet of international documents pertaining to disarmament and non-proliferation, such as international treaties, UN resolutions, etc; Preparing and disseminating the aforementioned textbooks and documents on CD-ROM through governments, non-governmental organizations, at seminars for journalists and during training programs for experts; Elaborating general recommendations on lecture courses on non-proliferation and disarmament, especially in nuclear field, on the basis of accumulated experience; Promoting Training-for-Trainers Programs in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation; Providing support to efforts aimed at introducing and maintaining sustainability of such courses, presumably Education and Training, which could be established in the future; Creating video materials to promote non-proliferation and disarmament values, to explain these principles to widest possible audience and their promotion through seminars for TV journalists, non-governmental organizations, schools, and universities; Assisting certain major non-governmental organizations in different regions to establish and expand their disarmament and non-proliferation libraries with free and open access to their resources; Promoting international programs for distance learning; Promoting interest in disarmament and non-proliferation among undergraduate students, postgraduates, young specialists and journalists, keeping them in the field by organizing the International Program for Fellowships and Internships in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation coordinated and financed by the United Nations and conducted at regional level by several selected governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned. Dr. L Eudora Pettigrew, International Association of University Presidents/UN Commission on Disarmament Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace The Commission recommends that the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs convene a meeting with an international cadre of institutions of higher education as well as policy-making, higher-education organizations and government and corporate leaders to discuss the need for disarmament education and related topics. The Commission recommends that the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs request the UN to provide funding to support pilot studies on the development and institutionalization of coursework on disarmament affairs, conflict resolution and peace education in institutions of higher education. The Commission recommends that the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs approve a resolution supporting the role that institutions of higher education can play in teaching, research and public service of disarmament education, conflict resolution and peace. Dr. William C. Potter, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies Facilitate access to information on disarmament and non-proliferation education.; Create an online, multilingual disarmament and non-proliferation information clearinghouse Develop and disseminate curriculum materials for high schools Foster participatory learning Establish an international fund for graduate training Expand on-the-job training Utilize new technologies to provide distance learning Build global communities of disarmament and nonproliferation specialists. Train the trainers. Improve liaison among relevant UN bodies Dr. Betty Reardon, Hague Appeal for Peace, Teachers College, New York First, we all do everything we can to ensure that the Department for Disarmament Affairs has the resources and the mandate to undertake the essential area of disarmament education in collaboration with other United Nations agencies. Not only UNICEF and UNESCO, but also agencies dealing with constituencies and problems related to disarmament but not focussed on that, including the Division for the Advancement of Women and UNIFEM, and various NGOs, particularly those NGOs dealing with education. Further, that the Department consider working with some of these agencies on some programs to reach academics, teacher educators and program facilitators. A very specific collaboration with the Department to set a goal for the next NPT that disarmament education would no longer be marginal, but rather fully integrated into education for citizenship. Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, Educators for Social Responsibility, Metro Area, New York Disarmament education should be defined as contingent to conflict prevention, non violent conflict resolution and humanitarian/environmental ethics. The study should provide a critique of standard models of education. Young people are ill-suited to deal with the global realities of small arms proliferation and their effect on local and international communities, as well as the threat posed by WMD, and in particular the time-based threat of nuclear contamination and radioactive fallout. “Education needs to address the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor, escalating environmental degradation, loss of species and wild places – and especially for the youth, how they can be a part of making a difference. Reading and writing is no doubt important. But so too is cultivating a sense of personal dignity and responsibility, developing a spirit of cooperation and service. The need to transform Western models of education is an important assumption for your study.” The study should emphasize the use of experiential exercises, participatory learning and using the ‘real world’ as a classroom: to hone critical thinking skills, boost confidence and inspire respect for students and teachers alike. “The United Nations Study on Disarmament Education could be pivotal in fostering critical, ethical thinking skills, so that young people are equipped to deal with the very real problems and dangers that lie ahead. The current generation of decision makers appears to run headlong on a path of destruction. Perhaps the next generation will choose a different course.”
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