You are invited to the 9th Annual Student / Young Pugwash Conference!
The venue is London Metropolitan University (Holloway campus, Room TM3-03). Registration will take place from 9.30am and the first session will start at 10am. The event will end at 5pm followed by a social at a nearby venue.
The conference theme is ‘How can we control and eliminate weapons of mass destruction over the next decade?’
We want to encourage critical discussion of the legal, political and technical questions associated with nuclear weapons and other WMD, with a focus on ethical science.
Key questions that will be explored include:
- What are the regional and global politics of nuclear weapons and WMD today?
- How should nuclear weapons and WMD be regulated and eliminated, for example, in terms of arms control and disarmament?
- What is the impact of emerging and disruptive technology on international peace and security?
There will be opportunities for attendees to discuss issues raised and to network with other guests and speakers.
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: 80 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.
Refreshments will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.
London Metropolitan University – Holloway Road Campus – 166-220 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DB.
The campus is a few minutes walk from Holloway Road underground station (Piccadilly line). The campus is also a 15 minute walk from Highbury & Islington station (Victoria line) or Finsbury Park station (Victoria and Piccadilly line). Please head to ‘The Rocket’ reception (see picture below). There will be signs guiding you to the conference room (TM3-03).
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. Poster presenters will be available to discuss their work during breaks.
Registration: 9.30-10.00 (Coffee, Tea, Snacks served)
Keynote panel: 10.00-11.00
- Jane Kinninmont, Chief Executive Officer at the United Nations Association – UK
- Professor Lijun Shang, Professor of Biomedical Science at the School of Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University
Chair: Matteo Bordin, Student / Young Pugwash-UK board member
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Break, 11.00-11.15
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First presenter panel: 11.15-12.45, Regional and global challenges posed by nuclear weapons
- Tom Dunkinson, PhD Student, University of Warwick: Tom.Dunkinson@warwick.ac.uk
“Sell me this Atom: The Profit Motive and the Development of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime”
- William N. Faulkner, PhD Student, University of Sussex: william@fluxrme.com
“Long-Term Consequences and Strategic Reasoning: Nuclear Winter Tensions in Strategic Frameworks”
- Camilla Braito, Lead Coordinator at Youth Fusion, Pisa, Italy and Ayleen Roy, Lead Coordinator at Youth Fusion, Paris, France- Instagram
“The Youth Hotline Campaign – Negotiating Nuclear Risk”
- Pablo José Pérez Cañavate, Research Fellow, African Center for Science and International Security, Madrid- Spain / Accra, Ghana
“Assessing the Potential of NPT Pillar III to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation in the Era of a Nuclear Renaissance”
Chair: Ching Wei Sooi, Student / Young Pugwash-UK board member
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Lunch, 12.45 – 13.45
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Creative / interactive session, 13.45 – 15.15
Details of this session (which will involve role-play, involving different scenarios, and forecasting) will be sent out to registered attendees beforehand.
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Break, 15.15 – 15.30
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Second presenter panel, 15.30 – 17.00, The impact of emerging and disruptive technology on peace and security
- Bartu Doruk, Graduate Researcher, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
“Emerging Biotechnologies as Stabilizing Tools for Biological WMD Risk Reduction and Crisis Management”
- Mónica Chinchilla Adell, International and EU Law Assistant Professor, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain: mchinchilla@unav.es
“The dual-use dilemma of biological technologies: ethical guidelines for biorisk governance?”
- Sathchidha Pachiappan, Researcher & International Security Advisor, Challenger Research, UK
“AI and Quantum Technologies in Nuclear Security: An Intelligence-Driven Assessment of Opportunities and Risks for Deterrence Stability from State and Non-State Actors”
- Athraa Alezzi, Masters Student, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
“The Role of Defensive AI Algorithms in National Security: The Implications of Autonomous Weapon Systems in Modern Warfare”
Chair: Olivia Ibbotson, Student / Young Pugwash-UK board member
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17.30 social at nearby pub!
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Poster presentations:
- William N. Faulkner, PhD Student, University of Sussex and Asya Ostrovsky, Masters
Student, University of Sussex: asya.ostro2@gmail.com
“Visualizing Nuclear Winter: A Scientifically Grounded Overview of the Causal Chain from Detonation to Global Effects”
- Priscilla Muhita, Masters Student, University of Portsmouth
“Digital Fault Lines in Nuclear Deterrence: Cyber Risk and the Future of Strategic Stability”