Learning Resources

CNS Hosts Spring 2007 Critical Issues Forum U.S. and Russian High Schools Conference

"Outer Space: Next Frontier for Proliferation or Forum for Cooperation?"

California Schools:
  • Charles Weber Institute for Applied Science
  • Orinda Academy
  • Redwood Christian High School
  • Highland High School
  • Franklin High School


Texas School:
  • Medina Valley High School


Russia's Closed Cities:
  • Lesnoy
  • Novouralsk
  • Ozersk
  • Sarov
  • Seversk
  • Snezhinsk
  • Trekhgorniy
  • Zarechniy
  • Zelenogorsk
  • Zheleznogorsk

Andre from Redwood Christian High School hosts Space Maze Game
Students from Highland High School play roles of major space powers
Dr. John Boyd (right), answering a student's question, and Dr. Clay Moltz, moderating the Q & A session
Participants from Zelenogorsk with Dr. Yuan, Education Program Director, at award ceremony
Students and a teacher from Seversk and Trekgorniy celebrate the successful conference
Russian students enjoy San Francisco tour

More than 60 students and teachers from five high schools in California, one in Texas, and 10 schools in Russia's "closed nuclear cities" participated in the Critical Issues Forum (CIF) Spring 2007 conference sponsored by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies on May 3rd and 4th, 2007 in Monterey. Students presented the results of their research on the topic "Outer Space: Next Frontier for Proliferation or Forum for Cooperation?" The conference was the culmination of a year-long investigation into space and space security by the students. Students' research projects ranged from scientific, commercial, and environmental aspects of space to political, social, and cultural issues associated with space activities. The topic is extremely timely given the increasing international reliance on space for scientific, commercial, and military purposes.

CIF spring conference participants on Del Monte beach

During the conference, students from each school presented their research findings in a variety of innovative ways using multimedia tools, interactive games, simulations, role plays, and video scripts featuring news segments and interviews. Student presentations ranged from historical aspects of space security to brief analyses of U.S. and Russian space policy, space exploration, lunar colonization, civilian and military use of space, and further international cooperation in peaceful use of space. Students from one U.S. high school amused the conference participants with a newscast format for presenting their material. These student-filmed newscasts covered a number of topics such as the physics of space, satellites, and space weapons. Some of the school's team members took the roles of the news anchors, while others were foreign correspondents reporting on space security issues from different corners of the world.

One of the Russian students talked about the space nonproliferation efforts of the United Stated and Russia and about the urgency of establishing a world and space free of nuclear weapons. Another student from Russia spoke about space technologies, their civilian use, and their effect on our daily lives. One creative presentation was a virtual excursion around the fictitious Universal Museum of Space. This student took the audience through the exhibition halls of Russian and American space exploration and featured children's drawings depicting space. These projects and other materials produced by CIF students are available on the CIF program web site at www.criticalissuesforum.org.

In addition to students' creative presentations, the conference featured a keynote address by Dr. John W. Boyd, Senior Advisor to the director of NASA Ames Research Center. His speech, based on his long and remarkable career, fascinated and captured the attention of the audience. Dr. Clay Moltz, CNS Deputy Director, a recognized specialist in the field of space security, also shared his knowledge and passion for space security in his opening remarks and in a presentation at the beginning of the conference.

Interactive Game hosted by students from Linguistic Gymnasium, Zelenogorsk

CIF students, who have a wide variety of backgrounds, also took advantage of opportunities for engaging in cultural exchange, making contacts, and building friendships. The ethnic, economic, and cultural diversity of CIF schools is a major strength of the program. As part of the conference's cultural activities, Russian participants visited the Defense Language Institute and introduced their cities to students who are studying Russian language. The Russian participants also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and enjoyed a one-day San Francisco tour.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Critical Issues Forum. During the past 10 years, CIF has involved hundreds of high school students from Russia and the United States, and dedicated teachers and staff members have promoted awareness of nonproliferation and international security issues to the younger generation.

CNS began its high school educational outreach effort in 1997 in order to meet the needs of nonproliferation education among high school students, which was practically non-existent. CNS initiated CIF in 1998 in partnership with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Science and Technology Education Program and became the project leader of CIF in 1999. CIF aims to empower students to develop informed opinions and think critically about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and other crucial international issues of the 21st century.

Russian participants at the Defense Language Institute

A CIF partner in Russia, the Nuclear Cities Educational Information Center in Novouralsk, sponsors nonproliferation education programs for elementary, high school, and university students, many of whom go on to work in Russia's nuclear industry. Funding for this year's Critical Issues Forum was provided by the Ford Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Ploughshares Foundation. CNS and its educational partners plan to add more schools to the CIF program and continue to work together to carry the nonproliferation mission into the next generation.

CNS thanks the following funders for their support of the CIF Spring Student-Teacher conference: the U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Ford Foundation, and the Ploughshares Fund.

For more information about the CIF programs and activities, visit us at http://www.criticalissuesforum.org/


Return to the Learning Resources.

Return to Top