UN Disarmament Education Experts Group Meeting at CNS

August 31, 2001 (Monterey, CA)— The group of governmental experts undertaking a study on disarmament and nonproliferation education held its second session from August 8-10, 2001, at the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in Monterey, CA. The experts are considering ways to promote disarmament and nonproliferation at all levels of formal and informal education, in particular the training of educators, parliamentarians, civic leaders, military officers, and government officials. CNS was chosen as the site for the meeting because of its pioneering efforts to train the next generation of nonproliferation specialists.

Along with six representatives of UN agencies, the governmental experts examined ways to utilize new educational tools and emerging research on effective teaching methods in disarmament and nonproliferation education. The experts heard presentations and discussed these issues with a range of university and high school disarmament and nonproliferation educators, as well as representatives of academic institutes and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field.

In one and a half days of precedent-setting interaction between government officials and NGO representatives, the practitioners of disarmament and nonproliferation education shared their expertise and best practices for teaching these subjects at all levels of education. Eighteen practitioners came from Argentina, China, Jordan, Pakistan, the Netherlands, and the United States to participate in the meeting. Funds for educators from developing countries were generously provided by the Carnegie Corporation and the Ploughshares Fund.

On the second day of the meeting, the experts and NGOs were presented with potential ways to use new technologies to promote and improve the teaching of disarmament and nonproliferation. The participants held a videoconference call and met with high school educators, were introduced to CNS-produced on-line tutorials, and were given an overview of how to best use the internet to research disarmament and nonproliferation issues. The group also discussed ways to promote the use of this technology in the developing world.

The experts also visited a session of the CNS "Train the Trainers," a program that aims to promote the emergence of well-trained nonproliferation and arms control specialists in China by providing training and course materials to Chinese university professors.

As part of the experts group's work, they examined the preliminary results of a survey of contemporary disarmament and nonproliferation education conducted by the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs. A questionnaire was sent to governments, UN agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and individuals around the world. The results of the survey and links to the websites of institutes and organizations working in the field are available on the UN/DDA website.

The group of experts will hold two more sessions before submitting their study to the UN General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session in the fall of 2002. The chairman of the group of experts is Ambassador Miguel Marin Bosch, Under-Secretary for Asia, Africa, Europe and Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of Mexico. The 10 governmental experts come from diverse geographic regions and educational traditions (Egypt, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Senegal, and Sweden).

Also participating were UN offices and related agencies: International Atomic Energy Agency, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and the University for Peace.

The Monterey Institute of International Studies, a private graduate institution located in Monterey, California, is at the forefront of international professional education preparing students for global careers in the private, public, non-profit, and educational sectors. The Institute offers degree programs in International Business, Translation and Interpretation, International Policy Studies, and Language Teaching. The Institute's approximately 700 students come from more than 50 countries. Further information about the Monterey Institute of International Studies may be found at www.miis.edu.