You are invited to the 8th Annual Student / Young Pugwash Conference on 15 March 2025
The venue is King’s College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building (Room 1.10). Registration will take place from 9.30am and the first session will start at 10am. The event will end at around 5pm followed by a social at a nearby pub.
The conference theme is ‘Stepping back from the brink of nuclear war: fresh thinking on peace and disarmament’
We want to encourage discussion on the legal, political and technical questions associated with this topic, with a focus on ethical science.
—Conference registration—
You can attend the conference in-person or online via Zoom.
To attend in-person please register using this form.
To attend online please register via Zoom here.
NB i) Please only register for either online or in-person attendance.
ii) All are welcome, but please only register for this conference: if you are a student or young professional (under 35); OR if you are a Pugwash member.
iii) There are limited tickets available: 100 in-person places and 100 online places. Places will be allocated to those who register first. If the event is oversubscribed, priority will be given to Student / Young Pugwash members: join for free here.
Drinks and snacks will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
—Provisional agenda: speakers and panels—
NB There will be time for Q&A after each panel. All panels will be recorded via zoom. The speakers listed below are all confirmed but the running order and presentation titles may change. There will be opportunities for attendees to discuss issues raised and to network with other guests and speakers after each panel.
- Registration: 9.30-10.00 (Coffee, Tea, Snacks served)
- Keynote panel: 10.00-11.00
Dr Becky-Alexis Martin (Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, University of Bradford)
David Cullen (Policy Fellow and Programme Manager, Emerging Voices Network, BASIC)
Chair: Dr Poul Erik Christiansen, Programme Director, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
- Break, 15 mins, 11.00-11.15
- First presenter panel: 11.15-12.45, The impact of emerging and disruptive technology on peace and security
– Shivani Singh (Research Associate, Third Nuclear Age Project, Leicester University)
“Maintaining Cold Peace Between Regional Nuclear Dyads in Light of the Third Nuclear Age: Case of South Asia”
– Olivia Ibbotson (PhD student, Biological Security Research Centre, London Metropolitan University)
“An integrated approach on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Security education: Exploring the challenges arising to CBRN security education from advanced science and technology”
– Jan Quosdorf (MA Student, King’s College London & University of Hamburg)
“Neutrino detectors between nuclear safeguards and security: Implications for the future of nuclear-powered submarines”
– Chair: Matteo Bordin, Student / Young Pugwash Board Member
- Lunch, 12.45 – 13.45
- Second presenter panel, 13.45 – 15.15, Regional and global challenges posed by nuclear weapons
– Harine Raaj (Masters student, International Relations, University of Manchester)
“Countering the Threat: Regulating Illicit Nuclear Arms Trade for Global Stability”
– Beatrice Aubert (Research Assistant at RAND Europe in the Defence, Security and Justice Team & Member of the Nuclear Strategy Network – Next Generation)
“The relevance of the nuclear superiority theory: assessing the credibility of strict sufficiency”
– Muhammad Qasim (Policy & Research Volunteer, Nuclear Information Service / MA in Peace, Conflict, and Development, University of Bradford)
“Regional Instability and Proliferation Risks: A Focus on South Asia”
Chair: Joel Christoph, PhD Researcher, European University Institute
- Break, 15.15 – 15.30
- Third presenter panel, 15.30 – 17.00, Creating a more inclusive and impactful peace and disarmament debate
– Anthea Ennequin (LUISS Guido Carli University, Master’s Student in International Relations)
“Eco-Centric Diplomacy as a Path to Deterrence”
– Fernando Escobar (PhD Candidate and Research Fellow, Keele University’s David Bruce Centre for the Study of the Americas and Hiroshima Peace Institute)
“Youth Organizing at the Dawn of a Post-Hibakusha Antinuclear Movement”
– Cornelia Hedloy (MA Student, National Security Studies, King’s College London, Department of War Studies & IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow)
“Substantive Commitment or Symbolic Rhetoric? Evaluating Diplomatic Declarations on “Irreversibility” in Nuclear Disarmament”
Chair: Orlanda Gill, Student / Young Pugwash Board Member
- Social at nearby pub in Waterloo