This year, thanks to you and your work, we have been able to promote the CTBT at new international gatherings and global forums and reach out to audiences and expert communities who knew little or nothing about the important role that this treaty plays for global peace and security.
In addition, the network of young professionals working to promote the entry into force of the Treaty is growing significantly, not only in size but also in geographical, gender and expertise diversity.
Please rest assured that here at CTBTO, we don’t take your efforts for granted. Rather, we work tenaciously to secure youth voices and perspective in each and every CTBTO event.
You do matter to us.
As the end of the year draws near, I write to recap what we have accomplished together in 2019, highlight some exciting policy innovations and sketch out the road map for 2020.
First on the global level, there have been some significant steps taken by the United Nations and other influential nuclear organization to make the nuclear community more diverse
- The release of the UN Secretary General agenda for disarmament acknowledges the special role that youth plays in disarmament;
- In October, during the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, a Resolution on Youth involvement in International Affairs was submitted by South Korea and was unanimously approved. This is the very first resolution on Youth adopted by the UN;
- UNIDIR released a report, "Still Behind the Curve. But Why? And what can be done about it?" to investigate the enduring gender gap in nuclear non-proliferation and strategic discussions.
- Finally, a consortium of NGOs and think tanks all over the world launched the initiative on gender champions in nuclear policy, which specifically seeks to promote diversity in the nuclear non-proliferation field.
Second, within the CTBTO Youth Group
The current membership stands at nearly 780 members from 100 countries. This means that we have added 200 members to the group this year alone!
Some of our regional groupings have been particularly active this year. Let me mention two in particular:
- The CYG Africa group has submitted 3 project proposals (one of which will be implement in the New Year) and also recruited new bright voices to our membership.
- The CYG Latin America and Caribbean group has hosted technical briefings at national and regional scientific forums and some of its members have been invited to speak at CTBTO events in South America.
In addition, let me congratulate all CYG coordinators for the outstanding job they have done in recruiting talents and sharing information!
In 2019, CYG members have participated in the following events:
- Paris Talks, 15 March, Paris France. 5 local CYG members participated in the discussion on disarmament.
- Youth for Peace and Disarmament – Event co-hosted with the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizenship, 31 May, Seoul, South Korea. 1 member residing in South Korea and 1 member from Japan were invited as panelists. In addition, in order to recruit new members in South Korea, 20-25 University students were invited to participate.
- CTBTO Science and Technology Conference (SnT2019), 24 - 28 June, Vienna, Austria. A total of 69 members participated: 10 as panelists, 9 presented posters, and 4 served as facilitators and moderators of panels and group discussions.
- New Tools for Verifying Disarmament and Nonproliferation hosted by James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, 8 - 10 July, Monterey, United States of America. 10 CYG members attended the workshop.
- Science Diplomacy Workshop, 12 - 13 September, Quito, Ecuador. This workshop was the first science diplomacy workshop organized by the CTBTO in the LAC region. 1 CYG member participated in a panel of senior officials and helped to organize the hands-on workshop.
- Article XIV Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, 25 September, New York City, United States of America. 1 CYG member was invited to deliver a brief talk at the opening session.
- The 2019 Annual Meeting of the Mexican Geophysical Union, October 27 - 1 November, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 5 CYG members attended and were panelists and also staffed a CTBTO booth.
- Moscow Nuclear Non-Proliferation Conference & young professionals seminar on "CTBT: Treaty's Impact on the International Non-Proliferation Regime and Assessment of the Current State of Affairs", 7 - 12 November, Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. 20 CYG members attended both events and actively participated in the CTBT seminar.
Call for Proposals for Initiatives in 2020
The next call for proposals will take place from 15 December 2019 - 14 February 2020. Please visit the 2020 call for proposals page on the CYG portal for detailed information, a link to the proposal submission form and examples of past CYG member initiatives.
In the next two months, you are encouraged to submit an idea for a meeting, workshop, event or innovative use of new technologies that you would like to organize to promote the CTBT.
To submit a proposal, the following information is required:
- Title of the initiative
- Scope (what do you hope to achieve?)
- Relevance (why would this initiative be important to fund?)
- Main activities
- Tentative budget
Proposals that meet the following criteria will be given priority:
- Proposals that bring together CYG members and young professionals from different countries and regions
- Proposals that capitalize on international events, seminars, and summits that encourage the CTBTO to collaborate with other organizations. For instance, if you know that your region or your country will be hosting a big international event, we would like to encourage you to seize the opportunity and submit a proposal for a CTBTO - CYG event coinciding with the timing of the event.
- Proposals that are inter-disciplinary in nature. We would like to encourage a deeper dialogue between young scientists and young policy experts so we hope to receive proposals that incorporate both policy and technical discussions.
- Must be delivered in 2020.
- Completion of the CYG Introductory Curriculum.
Events in the pipeline for 2020 (others can be added depending on the proposals we receive!)
- CTBT Science Diplomacy Symposium, 29 March - 1 April, Vienna, Austria and online.
- Building Bridges, 10 - 11 June, Geneva, Switzerland. View the concept note here.
- East Africa - West Africa Policy Dialogue, Dates and location TBD. View the concept note here.
Please be sure to visit the events section on the CYG portal as other external events of relevance to the CTBT are listed there. Are you hosting an event, or know of another that's not listed? Add your event to the calendar here.
CYG Introductory Curriculum
We're pleased to announce the launch of the CYG Introductory Curriculum. This curriculum provides CYG members with a centralized and comprehensive way to learn about how to make the most of the CYG membership, and important foundational CTBT topics.
All members are strongly encouraged to complete the curriculum as we firmly believe that the knowledge that you will gain will help you in your CYG, and related academic and professional endeavors.
Those who successfully complete the curriculum will be awarded a digital badge on their profile and an official certificate of completion. Please note that completion of the curriculum may be considered as a criterion for selection of members for future projects.
Visit the curriculum landing page for more info. Get started today and good luck!
Thank you again for the amazing job in 2019, looking forward to an even brighter and more successful 2020! Sending warm season's greetings and a happy new year to you and your families.
Best wishes,
Francesca Giovannini
Policy and Strategy Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary
CYG Task Force
