Ten-Year Global Plan on Promoting Disarmament and Nonproliferation Education: 2018-2027

There has never been a greater need for education in the areas of disarmament and non-proliferation, especially with regard to weapons of mass destruction, but also in the field of small arms and international terrorism. Since the end of the cold war, changing concepts of security and threat have demanded new thinking. Such new thinking will arise from those who are educated and trained today.

Report of the Secretary-General “United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education” (А/57/124), 2002

WORLD EXPERIENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF NONPROLIFERATION, DISARMAMENT AND GLOBAL SECURITY

In 2000, the UN General Assembly instructed the UN Secretary General to prepare a report in which a Group of Governmental Experts would assess the situation in the field of nonproliferation and disarmament education and suggest ways to promote it at all levels of formal and non-formal education.

Founding Director of PIR Center Dr. Vladimir A. Orlov took an active part in the preparation of the report as a UN Consultant on education and training in the field of disarmament and nonproliferation (2001-2002).

As a result of the work done, in 2002, the UN Secretary-General prepared the report of the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, containing 34 recommendations aimed at the production of nonproliferation education materials and their translation into all official UN languages, specialized training and fellowship programs for students, teachers, and media personnel in various regions of the world, the use of digital technologies for distance learning, and playful and creative learning methods. The report formed the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/60.

The development of education in the field of disarmament and nonproliferation traditionally receives special attention at the NPT Review Conferences. Thus, in 2010, the Action Plan for the NPT member countries was agreed. Action № 22 was dedicated to issues in the field of education and called on all states to implement the recommendations contained in the 2002 UN Study. In 2010-2013, Russia, thanks to the activities of its academic and non-governmental organizations, has fully fulfilled its obligations under paragraph 22.

On December 7, 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 77/51, the year of the 20th anniversary of the report of the UN Secretary General in 2002, proclaiming 5 of March as the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness.

Implementation of disarmament and nonproliferation education recommendations

PIR Center, as a specialized Russian NGO, has been carrying out nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament and global security education and training since 1994. Being the pioneer of nonproliferation education in Russia, PIR Center collaborates with Russian universities, where it conducts training courses and seminars. As a result, with our assistance and support in the 1990-2000s research schools on nonproliferation and disarmament issues have been established in some cities of Russia, including St. Petersburg State University (SPbU) in St. Petersburg, Ural Federal University (UrFU) in Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) in Novosibirsk and National Research Tomsk State University (TSU) in Tomsk.

Over the 29 years of active work, we have been able to form a broad international community of specialists in the field of International Relations — PIR Alumni Community. Its most impressive element is more than 800 graduates of the key PIR Center Education & Training Program`s projects: the International School on Global Security, training and lecture courses, the Internship Program, the International Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO University-MIIS-PIR Center), the International Timerbaev Nuclear Debates, etc.

8. Member States are encouraged to include non-governmental advisers in the delegations to UN disarmament related meetings

13. Sponsor training, fellowships, and awareness programmes

The level of interaction between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russian NGOs and the expert community is unprecedentedly high for both national and international practice. The Russian Foreign Ministry regularly holds meetings with representatives of non-governmental organizations, and Russian diplomats constantly take part in events organized by NGOs. Representatives of non-governmental organizations, in particular, Founding Director of PIR Center Dr. Vladimir A. Orlov, are part of the official delegations sent to the NPT Review Conference, as well as to other events in the field of disarmament and nonproliferation.

Russian grantmaking organizations, including the Presidential Grant Foundation, the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the Institute for Civil Society Problems, the International Fund for Technology and Investment, regional and local authorities, support educational programs on nonproliferation and disarmament issues. For example, such programs include the PIR Center International School on Global Security and a number of other educational projects of PIR Center.

There is also an increase in opportunities to attract funding for education in the field of nonproliferation. Thus, students of the International Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO University-MIIS-PIR Center) become winners of the IAEA Maria Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Program (MSCFP) and the NTI Scholarships aimed at supporting talented young people interested in nonproliferation studies.

17. Development and improvement of programs, workshops, fellowship programs and materials on disarmament and nonproliferation issues for journalists and media representatives

21. Use of distance learning in education and awareness on disarmament and nonproliferation issues

Russian state authorities, as well as NGOs specializing in nonproliferation issues, develop contacts with the press. Mass media representatives actively participate in educational programs, including the PIR Center International School on Global Security. Press briefings on disarmament and nonproliferation are held on a regular basis. Russian NGOs strive to attract representatives of leading Russian news agencies (TASS, RIA Novosti, Kommersant, Russia Today) to participate in scientific events and prepare press releases to familiarize media representatives with their activities.

In 2010–2013, key Russian NGOs focused on the development of distance learning methods.

Today, PIR Center actively uses new information and communication technologies as an additional tool to promote disarmament and nonproliferation education. 2022 was marked by intensified work on the launch of a new website Nonproliferation.World, which is a modern, technologically attractive and easy to use online platform for training in WMD nonproliferation and global security. NP.World is expected to become a unified scientific, educational and communication portal for the current and future generation of international security experts.

22. Development and electronic distribution of materials in languages other than English

23, 26. Using a wide range of educational methods to work with people of different age groups and different levels of training

Leading Russian NGOs and the academic community are preparing a variety of educational materials on nonproliferation, disarmament and global security in general.

One of the main educational novelties of 2022 is the PIR Center monograph Russian–American Nuclear Nonproliferation Dialogue: Lessons Learned and Road Ahead, edited by Founding Director of PIR Center Dr. Vladimir A. Orlov and PIR Center Research Fellow Mr. Sergey D. Semenov. Among the recent publications, it is also worth noting the PIR Center report New Nuclear Nine? Assessing Nuclear Proliferation Threats in the World. The two-volume textbook on Nuclear Nonproliferation prepared by the PIR Center together with researchers from the Universities of Yekaterinburg, Tomsk, and Tyumen deserves special mention.

Moreover, a wide range of issues from disarmament and WMD nonproliferation to issues of energy security and the development of nuclear technologies are covered from different angles in the PIR Center Security Index Occasional Paper Series.

Russian NGOs and academic organizations are creative in developing educational programs, taking into account the different levels of audience preparation and the presence of people of different age groups.

In the implementation of its educational programs, PIR Center actively uses modern teaching methods. For example, key formats of the PIR Center International School on Global Security include lectures, seminars, trainings, business cases, debates, panel sessions, situational analysis, strategic session (group work with mentors), meetings with officials, and cultural excursions.

PIR Center systematically conducts the Midweek Brainstorming Sessions and International Timerbaev Nuclear Debates, which are a platform for discussing key issues of nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, strategic stability, global security in general, as well as an effective tool for the formation of a new generation of IR experts

TRACK 2,5 — DIPLOMACY FOR NON-PROLIFERATION AND GLOBAL SECURITY

Since 2018, PIR Center has been implementing the project Young Specialists in the NPT Review Process in the track 2,5 format: diplomats — experts — young specialists.

The aim of the project is to provide young experts in the field of nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, arms control, strategic stability dialogue between Russia and the United States with the opportunity to directly participate in the NPT Review Process: NPT Review Conferences and Preparatory Committees.

In 2018, PIR Center took part in the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference in Geneva. As a result of the competitive selection, the PIR Center delegation included students of the International Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation, implemented in cooperation with MGIMO University, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), California, USA, and PIR Center.

In 2019, PIR Center hosted the second Russian-American seminar on the NPT Review Process issues in the “track 2,5” format on the margins of the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference in New York. The participants of the seminar were mainly graduates and students of the international master’s program of the International Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy, and WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO University-MIIS-PIR Center), as well as students of other MIIS programs. In the same year, PIR Center and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey, California, USA, held the third Russian-American seminar on the NPT review process issues.

On August 15, 2022, despite international tensions, the IV meeting of the Track 2.5 working group on the topic Russian-US Dialogue on the NPT Review Process and the Role of Youth was held in New York. The event was attended by experienced and novice experts on nuclear nonproliferation, strategic stability and arms control. The seminar was co-organized by PIR Center and James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, USA (CNS).

Thus, in the course of the implementation of the project Young Specialists in the NPT Review Process, young experts take an active part in developing recommendations on key issues of the Russian-American dialogue in the field of arms control and strategic stability, as well as gain practical experience and prepare for work on international platforms of the NPT Review Process.