Welcome to Youth Hotline – Youth Fusion’s very first educational/networking campaign. However connected the world may seem, we cannot but notice a frightening trend – the erosion of trust and disappearance of common spaces for the Russian and American disarmament advocates, especially among the young people.
What is the campaign about?
Keeping in mind that personal connections matter the most, we are launching our version of the famous ‘nuclear hotline’ established between the then USSR and the United States to put today’s young people, leaders of tomorrow, at the forefront of the nuclear disarmament discussions between Russia and the US. With the campaign, we seek to propose a novel interpretation of the famous hotline that in the 21st century goes beyond the cooperation between the two superpowers and requires all hands on deck.
We are bringing together 21 young individuals (selected out of a very competitive pool of applicants, we’d like to add!) who share the belief that disarmament efforts taken by Russia and the United States are critical to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Our goal is to foster continuous knowledge exchange and bridge the trust gap between the two nations concerning nuclear disarmament by creating an online platform for a direct informal dialogue between young people from all over the world, especially those from Russia and the United States.
What activities does the campaign include?
The 21 Youth Hotline Participants will:
- participate in 4 online webinars with leading experts from Russia and the US, discussing current arms control issues, the NPT regime, humanitarian effects of nuclear testing, and the future of the TPNW through the lens of the Russia-US relations;
- hear from experts in the disarmament field as well as young professionals who are shaping the future of the disarmament movement;
- work on a creative group project to educate the public about the significance of nuclear disarmament between Russia-US for the world and receive mentorship from the Youth Fusion team;
- network with the like-minded and driven change-makers from Russia, the U.S., and beyond in a closed chat to build trust and momentum for further nuclear disarmament;
- become a part of our network to be the first to find out about relevant job opportunities, scholarships, and events happening in the field.
What is the timeline for the campaign?
- We expect to hold our welcome webinar for the campaign participants in the week of May 22-May 28, 2023.
- Every Wednesday between 31 May – 21 June we will welcome an expert for an hour-long webinar and Q&A session to unpack some of the most pressing issues around Russia-US cooperation, arms control, nuclear testing, and more!
- The educational part will be followed by small group projects (June-July) – your chance to make an impact by creating educational material in any form (digital or physical) to inform the public about the significance of Russian-American cooperation for further nuclear disarmament. You won’t be alone in this: Youth Fusion members will be there for you to provide mentorship and organize weekly check-ins.
- The campaign does not end there! We are hoping to deliver many more networking events, and educational workshops for the campaign participants this Fall and keep the hotline open at all times.
Who are the organizers?
The project’s initiator and lead is Youth Fusion’s Program Assistant, Ivan Siluianov. The project is also being run by three Youth Fusion Core Team Members: Nico Edwards, Michaela Sorensen, and Vanda Proskova.
On June 1, 2023, Youth Fusion held the inaugural session of Youth Hotline Campaign.
Youth Hotline Campaign Members
Ankita Sehgal
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Anne Alessandra Cuadros Gutiérrez
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Bache Kum Efuegheijeh Godwill
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Christelle Barakat
Christelle Barakat works as a Researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, an independent public policy think tank in Lebanon. She is a Fulbright Foreign Student Program graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she pursued a Master of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies with a concentration on International Peace Development. She holds a B.A. in Political Sciences and International Affairs with high distinction from the Lebanese American University where she was also part of the honors program, with 3 minors in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Gender Studies, and Legal Studies. From 2020 onwards, Christelle was selected by UNODA as 1 of 10 UN Youth Champions for Disarmament, 1 of 25 Leaders 4 Tomorrow (2022), and as a Leader 2 the Future (2023). In 2021, Christelle interned with Peace Boat US where she contributed to making the voices of hibakusha (survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan) heard around the globe. In 2022, she was selected as a participant in SIPRI’s Armament and Disarmament summer school which took place in Sweden and in the Hiroshima-ICAN academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security which was implemented virtually and in Hiroshima, Japan. This summer, she will be partaking in the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs’ summer academy on Nuclear Weapons and American Grand Strategy at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. Christelle has spoken during various international events on disarmament, particularly addressing youth, and focusing on the linkages between disarmament, sustainability, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She has also facilitated high-level and group dialogues on disarmament and has addressed the Conference on Disarmament.
Daria Zdanovich
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Doniyor Mutalov
Doniyor Mutalov is an incoming MA student in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Prior to that he completed a BA in International Relations from the Webster University in Tashkent. Last year he was selected as a CTBTO-CENESS Research Fellow. His works mainly focus on disarmament/non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and his research interests are arms control and international law. His native language is Uzbek, and he is fluent in Russian and English and mastering French.
Govallo Artem Sergeevich
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Iku Nakamura
Iku was born and grew up in Tokyo, but I studıed abroad in the US and UK. During high school, she launched the “One History Textbook Project” with local students to create a history textbook that considers World War II from both Japanese and American perspectives. After high school, Iku started working for KNOW NUKES TOKYO as the International Division Officer to promote international communication in the nuclear field by participating in international conferences such as the 1st MSP of TPNW and creating events among other international youths. To expand communication in different levels, she has been also participating in research fellowships including 2023 NEREC Summer Fellows Program in Korea this summer.
Ileana Exara
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Jennet Charyyeva
Jennet Charyyeva is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in International Relations at Bilkent University. With a keen interest in nonproliferation and disarmament, Jennet actively engages in this field through various roles and experiences. As a mentee in the Young Women in Nonproliferation and Disarmament Mentorship Programme, she gained valuable insights and mentorship from renowned professionals. Additionally, Jennet contributed to research efforts as a research assistant at Bilkent University, where she honed her analytical skills and deepened her understanding of nonproliferation. Currently, as a team member of the Emerging Voices Network working group, she collaborates with like- minded individuals to create policy recommendations. Jennet’s passion for nonproliferation and disarmament drives her to make a meaningful contribution to global peace and security in her future endeavors.
Joel Christoph
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Kati Aloe-Gunnell
Kati Gunnell is a scholar of history who is passionate about international law, diplomatic history and the transnational advocacy initiatives she supports such as the prison abolition movement, the UN’s disarmament agenda and the student-led not for profit “Ceasefire for the Children” she started last year. This not for profit is aimed at lobbying Universities in Ontario to consider opening up pathways for displaced youth who face a lack of direct access support programs dedicated to increasing displaced youth and potential asylum seekers educational opportunity. She believes fellow university youth have the power to serve as community sponsors for displaced youth seeking asylum or refugee in Canada.
Kati was previously a program fellow of the distinguished US Department of State Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange program, serving as an ambassador promoting intercultural cooperation between Germany and the United States. She recently broke the glass ceiling as the youngest female identifying person to serve as a representative in the Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) initiating the implementation of reforms that would improve the courts effectiveness in accounting for and defining gender based violence. During her inaugural year as a Board director of the second largest students’ union in North America (UTSU), she effectively campaigned and supported a resolution that led to the divestment of organizational funds from stakeholders that are complicit in breaking international humanitarian law. Her scholarly interest in disarmament is inspired by her scholarship in international law and the field of genocide history, that brought her to the United Kingdoms House of Commons recently to advocate for a bill to initiate a public awareness campaign recognizing those silenced by violent militaristic oppression and specifically the Armenian Genocide.
Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tucker hails from Sellersburg, Indiana, USA, and recently obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Russian from the Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Throughout his academic journey, he found inspiration in the legacy of former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, fueling Kyle’s commitment to a career centered around nuclear nonproliferation and arms control. In the past year, he lived in Almaty, Kazakhstan as a participant of the Russian Language Flagship Program. Additionally, he gained valuable experience on export control and nuclear security matters as an intern at the Nuclear Technology Safety Center in Kazakhstan. This coming fall, Kyle will embark on his role as a Scoville Peace Fellow at a think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to nuclear security issues. Moving forward, he aspires to further his studies on global nuclear risk reduction initiatives.
Lydia Attoe
Lydia is from Nigeria and she holds a degree in History and International Studies from the University of Calabar. She currently serves as a global youth ambassador for Theirworld and a young ambassador for WCAPS. She is actively involved in promoting peace and security as well as quality education. In recent months, she has been focused on promoting the concept of peace education. Lydia has written several research articles advocating for peace education and youth inclusion in promoting the agenda of peace. Lydia has served as a United Nations Volunteer. She has participated and contributed towards different consultations and global youth events, the 2023 World Bank Group Youth Summit, the UN Transforming Education Summit, 2022 Effective Development Co-operation Summit, the AU-EU Lab Consultation, Global Futures Forum, 2022 Younga Youth Delegation and 2022- 2023 ECOSOC, just to name a few. Lydia is interested in the processes of Disarmament and Non-proliferation. She supports the concept of disarmament education strategy, because she believes that education is an important tool for promoting peacebuilding for a sustainable, peaceful future.
Nikita Kuzyakov
Member of the inaugural cohort of Youth Fusion’s Youth Hotline Campaign.
Noel Ang
Peter Babigumira AHABWE
Peter Babigumira Ahabwe is Epidemic Intelligence Analyst at the Uganda Public Health Operations Centre (PHEOC). He is also the Border Health Technical lead at the Infectious Diseases Institute of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences. His work focuses on issues of Health security and diplomacy, particularly emphasizing the international public health and security nexus. His research interests include; Non-alignment and Great power politics of International disarmament regimes; Border health and security; deliberate chemical and biological events; joint public health and security investigation; and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction. He has over 7 years of experience in and is responsible for supporting the implementation of international health regulations, the United Nations, Security Council, resolution 1540 and their related instruments through international engagements and national implementation initiatives. As part of the policy-level National taskforce and technical-level national rapid response Team, he participates in efforts to prevent and detect respondent, control, and public health emergencies. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and is certified in Public Health Emergency Management. Peter is an alumnus of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity.Peter Babigumira Ahabwe is Epidemic Intelligence Analyst at the Uganda Public Health Operations Centre (PHEOC). He is also the Border Health Technical lead at the Infectious Diseases Institute of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences. His work focuses on issues of Health security and diplomacy, particularly emphasizing the international public health and security nexus. His research interests include; Non-alignment and Great power politics of International disarmament regimes; Border health and security; deliberate chemical and biological events; joint public health and security investigation; and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction. He has over 7 years of experience in and is responsible for supporting the implementation of international health regulations, the United Nations, Security Council, resolution 1540 and their related instruments through international engagements and national implementation initiatives. As part of the policy-level National taskforce and technical-level national rapid response Team, he participates in efforts to prevent and detect respondent, control, and public health emergencies. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and is certified in Public Health Emergency Management. Peter is an alumnus of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity.
Philip Chennery
Philip Chennery came across arms-control and disarmament through SOAS University of London’s SCRAP Weapons project, where he has worked on the Global Weapons Tracking System in collaboration with open source intelligence specialists, and more recently on the “Conversations with the Arms Industry” series. In 2021 Philip won the APLN-Korea Times essay competition on Youth, Disarmament and Peace in the Asia Pacific with an essay exploring the conditions to develop confidence building measures in the region. More recently he was accepted onto youth4disarmament’s #leaders4tomorrow and leaders2future programmes, UNODA initiatives designed to develop the next generation of UN disarmament expertise as part of which participants were supported in developing a project linking disarmament with education. The role of communication as a tool for constructive cooperation has underscored Philip’s work over the last three years and he looks forward to developing this further with the Youth Hotline Campaign.
Rebecca Pantani
Rebecca is a Dual Master’s Degree Candidate in WMD Nonproliferation, Nuclear Policy and Global Security at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (USA) and MGIMO University of Moscow (Russian Federation). Prior to that, she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Luiss Guido Carli University of Rome (Italy). Passionate about diplomacy and disarmament, Rebecca is currently focused on writing a thesis on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, while completing her internship at the Office for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations in New York, and deepening her knowledge around nuclear related topics, thanks also to being a recipient of the IAEA Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellowship Programme. Some of her most notable experiences in the field were the International School on Nuclear Security at the IAEA, and the Nuclear Research Reactor Program with CTU University in Prague, together with the Perspective 2030 Fellowship program organized by OSCE where she was part of the Building Peace Team.
Stefanie Friedl
Stefanie Friedl studied Slavonic Studies (Russian) and is writing her thesis about the arms trade of the Soviet Union with Egypt for her master’s degree in interdisciplinary Eastern European Studies. Her area of study therefore was Eastern European History with focus on Cold War Studies. In her second ongoing studies (Political science) she focuses on Culture and Politics and Eastern European Politics. Fields of interest outside her studies are disarmament (nuclear and general), diplomacy and conflict prevention.
Viktoriia Skoropadska
My name is Viktoriia Skoropadska, originally I am from a little town in Ukraine, but currently I am based in Regensburg, Germany, where I am doing my Master’s degree in European Studies majoring in Political Science. Rossotrudnichestvo alumna (KSU ’17), Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung scholar (since Oct 2022), European politics enthusiast, UNICEF volunteer, extensive background in teaching visually impaired children. My academic interests are concentrated on the migration policy of the European Union and Security Studies. Besides, I am taking an advanced course in European economic integration to equip myself with macroeconomics tools. During the years of my Bachelor’s education, I was committed to investigating inclusive education and intercultural communication. I speak English, Russian, Ukrainian, German, and am currently learning French.
Violetta Britantseva
Enthusiastic, highly-motivated 1st year student of the International faculty of Ulyanovsk State University who likes to take initiative and seek out new challenges. She is an active participant in University events who took part in many events, like participating in All-Russian Olympiad in Country Studies “The USA and Canada” and Massive Open Online Course (МООC) (English for Business and Entrepreneurship). Violetta also volunteered in The social project “We live and study in Russia!”, aimed at adapting foreign students arriving from near and far abroad to study at the universities of the city of Ulyanovsk. Her main duty was to organize meetings with experts in the field of law, culture, and youth policy. Her main goal in life is to always learn something new, and if there is a chance to change something in life, then she will always use it.