Disarmament Education: Empowering Youth for a Peaceful Future

1. Physicians for Global Survival PGS Student Chapter McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Yasmine Hussain – 1st year April Kam – final year, PGS National Student Representative

2. Student endeavours in the past: • Peace-through-health and Health Sciences Education: Teaching Students New Skills • McMaster-Lancet Peace Through Health Challenge Conference, October 2001 • Submitted to The Lancet for publication • Sanctions on Iraq and Health Effects on Children • McMaster-Gandhi Peace Week, September, 2002 • Iraq Awareness Display • In main lobby of McMaster University Medical Center • Peace rallies • Gandhi Peace Festival Peace March • November 16th Coalition Against War and Sanction in Iraq

3. History • Hamilton Nuclear Free Zone: 20th Anniversary • over 200 NWFZ’s in Canada • promoting disarmament at a municipal level • UN Department for Disarmament Affairs • Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education • Increase availability and distribution of disarmament education • Must be education efforts at all levels, from young school children to military personnel

4. Purpose • Foster PGS links with Hamilton community • Encourage school aged children to think about peace and security issues • Empower youth with knowledge of peaceful alternatives and to inspire activism “Disarmament education is a key step in moving towards a more peaceful and non-violent global environment” (D. Chaffee, 2002)

5. Highschool Outreach PRESENTATION OUTLINE • Introduction • Questions and Answers • War: A Public Health Threat? Indirect Effects - Death & Injury Direct Effects - Environment & Community • Nuclear Weapons • Alternatives to War • Student Activism

6. Questions and Answers Q. How many wars are going on right now? A. 40 in 36 different countries Q. How many people die in wars every year? A. Over 20 million, and 30-40 million have to flee their homes Q. What % of war casualties are non-military? A. 90% are civilians, mostly women and children Q. How much does the world spend on war per year? A. $808,546,000,000 on the military in 1999, and war costs us in countless other ways

7. Nuclear Explosions • Explosive power measured by the mass equivalent of TNT: • A 1 kiloton bomb has an explosive yield equivalent to 1000 tons of TNT. • A 1 megaton bomb has an explosive yield equivalent to 1,000,000 tons of TNT. • The Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotons.

8. 1 megaton bomb over Hamilton Public Broadcasting Service

9. Activism: What can YOU do? • Letters to policy makers: • Meet MP in person • Handwritten letter. • Fax or typed letter. • Email. • Telephone call. • Prewritten postcard or form letter. • Petition. • Education: • Knowledge = Empowerment! • Educate yourself, friends and family. • Join a peace group or form your own. • Respond to TV/Radio talk shows: • CBC has the ‘talk back’ forum - use it! • Well justified opinions reach huge numbers of people. • Send letters to the editor and write opinion articles. • Demand that mainstream media be more objective in their reporting. • Seek out alternative media sources.

10. Experience • “According to the teacher (who was very, very helpful and informed himself) some of the students who attended often don't participate at all in class, and some of these kids were actually asking questions and paying attention to what we had to say, fantastic, isn’t it?” – Bobbi-Jo Coldwell, Med II • “I asked, ‘How many of you have been personally affected by war’ - and 2 of the students in the class lived through wars. They became great resources throughout the presentation, brought personal meaning to what we had to say, and greatly increased class discussion.” – April Kam, Med III • “It was so inspirational how knowledgeable and active the students were. It made me feel good about what we were doing.” – Ki Lim, Med II

11. Physicians for Global Survival PGS Challenges PRESENT • Encouraging Health Science students to carry out presentation • Busy schedules • Transportation difficulties • Co-ordination with various schools • Confidence & knowledge level • Commitment • Schools receptive? FUTURE • Follow up with students & schools • Different forums/locations to conduct presentation • Continuity for health science students in following years • Updating information in presentation

12. Physicians for Global Survival PGS Acknowledgements • Hamilton PGS Chapter and PGS-Ottawa (DG) • Financial support by Canadian Bureau of International Cooperation (CBIE) with funding from the Canadian government’s Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) • Japan-PPNW – for your hospitality, generosity, and an experience of a lifetime “Education is peace building by another name” (J. Dhanapala & W. Potter, 2002)