Dear Friends,
Greetings from the U.S.! I hope you are all doing very well.
Two weeks ago, I had the honor to participate in the Article XIV Conference in New York City with five incredible Youth Group members: Madeleijn van den Nieuwenhuizen, Sebastian Kohnen, Setou Ouattara, Paul Warnke, and Maggie Rowland. It was fantastic to share this experience with them, and we want to take you along on our journey at the UN General Assembly.
Meet the Members
First, I'd like to introduce you to the members that came together for this event.
Madeleijn is a Fulbright scholar from the Netherlands studying U.S. Foreign Policy at Columbia University. She is brilliant, passionate, and an incredible speaker. She has a talent for organizing conferences and bringing like-minded people together to achieve amazing outcomes.
Setou is a graduate student from Burkina Faso who is currently in Boston studying Coexistence and Conflict Resolution. Her smile lights up the room, and she is a fantastic interviewer. She got to display her superb skills when she interviewed Dr. Zerbo during a Facebook Live session at the UN!
Sebastian is an outstanding scholar from Germany, who is also pursuing a master's degree. If you went to the “Science and Technology” conference back in June, you might have seen him taking copious notes during the conference sessions. He wrote a great article about the Youth Group’s SNT presence for the newsroom, and he’s excited to continue engaging with Youth Group members in Germany.
Paul and Maggie are a dynamic duo from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. They’re both interning at the United Nations this semester, so make sure to drop them a line if you find yourself in New York City this fall. Paul’s story about how he got involved in nonproliferation efforts is quite powerful, and I’m constantly blown away by Maggie’s drive and accomplishments. They were extremely helpful with navigating New York City and the multiple floors of the UN headquarters.
Conference Overview
The Article XIV Conference was an energizing event. It was refreshing to see the renewed commitment from government leaders who pledged their support for the CTBT. Throughout the day, we heard about the CTBT's value from Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors from Member States, and even Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. I was also delighted to hear from inspiring women like GEM Member Federica Mogherini, Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed, and the new UN High Representative for Disarmament, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu. Their determination to bring about the Treaty's entry-into-force renewed our enthusiasm as they reiterated the importance of supporting the CTBT's ratification.
During the conference, we were also able to take part in digital outreach efforts. The UN had a phenomenal social media setup, with a dedicated space for Facebook Live interviews, Instagram Stories, and Twitter. We participated in a Facebook Live interview with Dr. Zerbo using the questions that you submitted in the week leading up to the conference, and I came away with an increased appreciation for the ways that we can use social media to bring about meaningful change in our communities.
Over the coming days, I’ll be posting about our experience at the Article XIV Conference, and I hope these posts will inspire you to continue engaging with Youth Group members in your region. It’s amazing what we can do when we come together to collaborate on projects in our community. Thanks for coming along on this journey, and I’ll talk to you soon!</p>