To help commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, Executive Director Sandra Ionno Butcher presented a talk at the Thinkers Lodge Lobster Factory, Pugwash, Nova Scotia, in the final session of a Canadian Pugwash conference. She said,
“Every single Pugwash meeting seeks to move a step closer to some sort of resolution of issues the founders warned us about so clearly: the need for disarmament, the need to avoid war, the responsibility of scientists and policy makers to take steps to avert the worst case outcomes. The interrelatedness between understanding ‘the other’, the imperative of dialogue, the requirement that especially in difficult times people of goodwill and expertise have a responsibility to seek solutions. Pugwash today, with the help of its national groups and contacts, its Council members, policy makers who value the Pugwash process, through engagement with sister NGOs and civil society organizations worldwide, and also through its involvement with up and coming young experts, continues to seek to fulfil those goals.”
International Student/Young Pugwash leader Poul Christiansen spoke in the opening session of the Canadian Pugwash conference, at the Pugwash District High School. He said,
“The interactions facilitated in ISYP and Pugwash give the younger generation not just a sense of the possibilities for disarmament, that is the technical requirements, but also, vitally, a sense of the kinds of interactions necessary to address the topics; and the experience of having done so early on in their careers. In a sense, diplomacy now is not just for the diplomats. So encouraging these interactions and investing in them is really important.”
An International Student/Young Pugwash meeting took place on 12-13 July 2015, with a focus on exploring ways to engage youth in nuclear disarmament and other ways to fulfill the mandate of the Manifesto.
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs 