Youth Special Session: New Technologies and their Impact on the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Regime

Next week, the 19th annual Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues is being held with the theme of ‘New Technologies’. This year, a Youth Special Session pre-event is being held on Wednesday, 2 December at 7am EST/1pm CET/9pm KST where five youth representatives will share their ideas and engage in a Q&A discussion.

This is held as a response to the calls from the UN Secretary-General in his Agenda for Disarmament, UNGA res 74/64 on Youth, Disarmament & Non-Proliferation and UNSCR 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) for inclusive and meaningful youth participation. 

Make sure to tune in to hear from these #Youth4Disarmament from programs and groups such as the UN Youth Champions for Disarmament, responsible innovation workshops and the CTBTO Youth Group.

Stream live via Youtube here: bit.ly/3q4b7Jn. 

Update, 2 December 2020: View the YouTube recording of the event by clicking here. 

Programme

Moderator
Mr. Charles Ovink, Associate Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs

Opening Remarks

Presentations by five youth representatives followed by Discussion

• Chaerin Kim (Republic of Korea), NPT Youth
• Dilan Ezgi Koç (Turkey), UN Youth Champions for Disarmament
• Idriss Irakoze (Burundi), CTBT Youth Group
• Heng Jing Han (Singapore), Responsible Innovation STEM students
• Moe Sasaki (Japan), DPPA-ODA Northeast Asia YPS

Key questions to be addressed

• We all want a safer and more secure world. With that in mind, what should the international community prioritise to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic? What needs to change, and how?
• How are your areas of interest affected by emerging technologies? How can you help the international community adapt to these fresh challenges and opportunities?
• Raising awareness about disarmament issues in younger generations is important for securing our future. What do you think have been the barriers for young people participating in disarmament issues? How can we overcome these? What ideas do you have to further engage young people on issues of disarmament and non-proliferation?
• In a changing world, what do you think leaders can and should do to maintain and enhance the disarmament and non-proliferation regime?
• Looking to the future, what do you think are the most pressing opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present for disarmament and non-proliferation?

Q & A

Wrap-up and Closing