Disarmament in Review
“What is the biggest challenge you see in the next year for building up disarmament education in your organization?” Disarmament experts and educators tackled this and other topics at the recent Disarmament4Educators Roundtable Series, organised by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
The Roundtable Series, which took place from 18 November to 9 December 2020, are part of the ongoing Disarmament4Educators project, supported by generous donations from the Government of the Republic of Korea and Rissho Kosei-kai. By combining online learning resources with interactive virtual meetings, the project seeks to increase awareness of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education for educators from the Asia-Pacific region.
Educators from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka kicked off the project by exploring issues related to international peace and security. Participants agreed that tailored solutions to these challenges, which vary across the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, are key. Each situation requires an appropriate response, they stressed, and education plays an important role in generating dialogue and bringing about a better understanding of how the tools of disarmament and arms control contribute to securing our common future.
The participants also discussed the obstacles that affect their disarmament education efforts, such as a lack of resources. To this end, UNODA is developing didactic material that the educators can use in their efforts to expand young minds for peace and development.
The participants will continue their training on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control through self-paced online modules in early 2021.
For more information about this project and other disarmament learning resources visit: www.disarmamenteducation.org.
