Youth Fusion Podcast

Russell Burrell, a Youth Fusion associate through Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, sat down with Professor Paul Meyer recently to discuss issues to do with peace versus militarization in Outer Space. Mr. Meyer is currently a Director of the Canadian Pugwash Group, Fellow at the Outer Space Institute, and adjunct professor at the School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Formerly, he was Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2003 to 2007. Mr. Meyer has published academic and other articles on several aspects of international security, including nuclear non-proliferation, cyber security, and outer space. He also contributed a great deal to the Space section of the Disarmament Handbook “Assuring Our Common Future”. In our interview with Mr. Meyer, we discussed his background, what brought him into international affairs, how he came to work with the Canadian Foreign Service, and of course, outer space.

Michaela Sørenen, a core member of Youth Fusion, had the honour of interviewing Dr. Becky Alexis-Martin, who has been involved with nuclear related issues for many years and has an impressive plethora of work on some pretty niche topics- which is what we love around here at Youth Fusion- we are all about niche and nuance! Just a quick snippet of information before we start, Dr. Becky was in Vienna for the MSP while this interview took place, and Michaela was fortunate enough to meet up with her there a few days later where they were on the same panel about The future of youth engagement with the TPNW! Dr. Becky Alexis-Martin is currently a Lecturer in Cultural and Political Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University. On top of this, she is also the Principal Investigator of Nuclear Families, which is a large-scale, multidisciplinary social sciences project exploring the lives of British Nuclear test veterans and their families, as well as being the Principal Investigator of Atomic Atolls, a study that explores the colonial necropolitics of the South Pacific, among many other exciting things! Check out Dr. Alexis Martin’s website at https://www.nucleargeography.com where she has a plethora of resources on nuclear related issues for you to read up on!

Welcome to the Youth Fusion Experts Series, a podcast where we engage with leaders and experts in the various related fields of nuclear disarmament, peace and security, and sustainable development. Through these conversations, we wish to offer you all the chance to learn and be inspired by those who are actively working towards a fairer and more peaceful future for all. My name is Michaela Sørensen, and I am a  program officer at Youth Fusion, and I am delighted to host today’s episode. Today we have with us a very experienced and well accomplished guest with a very cool background, Renata Hessmann Dalaqua, who is originally from Brazil. Renata is currently the Head of the Gender and Disarmament Programme at UNIDIR, but before joining UNIDIR, she was the Deputy Director of Projects at the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI), where she worked for six years. Renata is also the recipient of the United Nations Women Scholarship for Peace, where she has published and conducted research on international cooperation on security, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, and nuclear energy governance. She holds a PhD in History and Politics from the Vargas Foundation in Brazil, and a master's degree in International Politics and Security from the University College of London, UK. Renata’s areas of expertise include gender and multilateral disarmament fora, nuclear energy policy-making and technology governance. Today, we are very excited to hear from her, so without further ado, let’s jump right into it!

This is the fifth episode of the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts. In this series, we aim to raise awareness about the consequences of the nuclear weapons testing/or use by uplifting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition to that, we also draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing/or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we pursue to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In this episode of the podcast series, Youth Fusion spoke  with Mere  Tuilau, a youth advocate from Fiji.  Together with Ms. Tuilau,  Aigerim Seitenova, the host of this series,  looked into the destinies of Fijian veterans who were sent to Kiribati Island (Christmas Island), which at the time was a nuclear test site and a colony of the British Empire. Ms. Tuilau spoke on how Fijian soldiers were treated unequally in comparison with other military servicemen and that compensation has not been distributed after they finished their service at the nuclear test site. Ms. Tuilau also shared the story of her activism, as a part of Youngsolwara Pacific, in preserving the ocean and the land of the Pacific as sacred symbols of their culture.

This is the fourth episode of the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts. In this series, we aim to raise awareness about the consequences of nuclear weapons testing or use by highlighting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition, we draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we seek to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In this episode, Youth Fusion converses with Ariana Tibon, a nuclear justice advocate and Commissioner and Nuclear Envoy to the RMI National Nuclear Commission. Aigerim Seitenova, the host of this series, gets to learn about the historical background to the US nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands, connecting it to nuclear and colonial legacies, forced displacements and how to utilize education to pursue nuclear justice.

In the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts, Youth Fusion aims to raise awareness about the consequences of the nuclear weapons testing/or use by uplifting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition to that, we also draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing/or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we pursue to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In this episode, Youth Fusion had conversations with Dr. Togzhan Kassenova, an expert in nuclear politics,  WMD nonproliferation and the prevention of financial crime,  and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla a youth activist from Kazakhstan.  Dr Togzhan Kassenova and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla shared the importance of Kazakhstan’s role in the nuclear disarmament field that marked the history of the country from the very beginning of its independence. The impact of their nuclear legacy on the national identity of people from Kazakhstan and the role of activists from previous and younger generations will also be discussed today. Enjoy and stay tuned for more episodes:) 

In the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts, Youth Fusion aims to raise awareness about the consequences of the nuclear weapons testing/or use by uplifting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition to that, we also draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing/or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we pursue to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In the second episode of the podcast series, Youth Fusion spoke with Miho Tanaka and Iku Nakamura, youth activists from Japan.  In this episode, Miho and Iku share their experiences of activism and organizational work to raise awareness around nuclear disarmament, including projects related to engagement with Diet Members of the Japanese Parliament with the aim to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Enjoy listening and share this podcast with your friends:)

In the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts, Youth Fusion aims to raise awareness about the consequences of the nuclear weapons testing/or use by uplifting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition to that, we also draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing/or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we pursue to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In the first episode, we have a conversation with Tina and Livia Cordova, activists and advocates from New Mexico, USA. The episode was divided into Part I and Part II where the host of this series, Aigerim Seitenova, gets to know about negative implications related to the Trinity Test, the first nuclear weapons testing in the US that took place in South Central New Mexico. This is Part II of the first episode where Livia Cordova, an inspiring youth activist has been a part of Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) from her childhood joining her aunt Tina in a life mission to achieve justice for Tularosa residents. 

In the new podcast series Nuclear Collateral Damage: Conversations with Survivors and Experts, Youth Fusion aims to raise awareness about the consequences of the nuclear weapons testing/or use by uplifting voices of previous and current generations who have been negatively impacted up until this day. In addition to that, we also draw attention to a kinship of nuclear weapons testing/or use with colonial histories in different parts of the world. By addressing individual and collective traumas, we pursue to revive, restore and reclaim human dignity. In the first episode, we have a conversation with Tina and Livia Cordova, activists and advocates from New Mexico, USA. The episode was divided into Part I and Part II where the host of this series, Aigerim Seitenova, gets to know about negative implications related to the Trinity Test, the first nuclear weapons testing in the US that took place in South Central New Mexico. This is  Part I of the first episode where Tina Cordova shares her personal and professional journey of establishing Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) and fighting for justice for the people of New Mexico. 

In the Youth Fusion Elders series we engage the long-time and effective leaders of the peace, disarmament and related fields, in a dialogue across generations, topics and disciplines. Through creating a conversation between active youths and their inspiring predecessors, we wish to open up an inclusive space for learning, listening and, above all, sharing. In the season's sixth episode, Youth Fusion Member Arthur Duforest had the honour to sit down with Mr Douglas Roche, a longstanding and outstanding voice on, actor in and advocator for human security, disarmament and peace, for an inspiring conversation on his multifaceted work in Canadian politics, diplomacy and UN-driven multilateral disarmament processes.