Youth Empowerment Initiative

 

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Often viewed as a highly intellectual and scientific issue, nuclear weapons can be a particularly daunting conversation topic for anyone. The same can be said for the Foundation’s other main issue areas: strengthening international law and promoting the responsible use of technology. Young people, in particular, represent an often neglected and marginalized constituency who are absent from conversations on these admittedly difficult, yet critical themes. We at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation reject this trend. We acknowledge that youth culture and resistance have been important social change agents for centuries. We respect the energy and creativity of today's youth. The resources listed below are intended to help young people, educators and parents alike in exploring the common ground between youth organizing and nuclear weapons issues. Send us your thoughts and questions.

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Publications

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, in collaboration with partner organizations across the United States, completed its first publication by and for youth, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: A Guide to the Demilitarization of America's Youth & Students,” in February 2005. Click here to read more.

Questions to Consider

How many countries possess nuclear weapons and how many nuclear bombs does each country possess? What are the key institutions, agencies, and sites in the US nuclear weapons complex? Are you familiar with the argument that it was not necessary for the US to bomb Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japan in order to end World War II? Click here for more questions to consider.

Recommended Reading and Viewing

Click here for the list of recommended reading and viewing.

See for Yourself

We all know the educational exercise in which a group of people stand in a circle and one person whispers a statement in the ear of one of the individuals next to him or her. The statement makes its way around the circle, but by the time the statement comes back to the source, the message has completely changed. This game illustrates the inaccurate process of relaying information, the tendency to misrepresent and embellish, and the importance of primary sources. Click here to read more.