Student Engagement
Student Engagement is comprised of Seminars, Conferences, and Summer programs that are a part of a larger effort to empower a new generation of leaders to contribute to wider efforts to stop nuclear proliferation and further reduce, and ultimately eliminate, nuclear weapons.
Continuing the Series of Conversations: Creating a World without Nuclear Weapons
This series of discussions focus on developing the next generation of specialists and activists of the Catholic community by addressing the current controversies and challenges surrounding global nuclear non-proliferation, modernization and expansion of nuclear arsenals, U.S. policy, and the evolving Catholic position on nuclear weapons and disarmament.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 8:00pm EDT (US) - Topic: Renewal of New Start Treaty: Consequences and costs of non-renewal.
Click here to register.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 8:00pm EDT (US) - Topic: To be determined. Please send in your suggestions and register.
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A Witness to Nuclear War: A Conversation with the Next Generation of Nuclear Abolitionists
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 8:00pm to 9:00pm EDT (US)
Location: Virtual. Registration required.
The Most Reverend Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, the Archbishop of Nagasaki and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan, will engage students from various Catholic Universities in an informal conversation about his experience growing up in the aftermath of nuclear war, the work of the church to remove the threat of nuclear weapons, and the responsibilities for this generation.
Moderator: ,
Video of "A Witness to Nuclear War" Student Conversation
Study Ahead: Attendance at the October 5, 2020 webinar is highly encouraged. The Archbishop will discuss current nuclear policy issues with a panel of experts.
This is one in a series of student nuclear conversations to empower a new generation of Catholics: church leaders, scholars, and students, to contribute to wider efforts to stop nuclear proliferation, and further reduce and ultimately eliminate nuclear weapons.
This event is hosted by Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, and the Catholic Peacebuilding Network; in partnership with Georgetown University, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs; The Catholic University of America Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies; Center for Social Concerns; Notre Dame International Security Center; and the Catholic Social Tradition Minor, University of Notre Dame; and the International Federation of Catholic Universities. This is one in a series of events by the Project on Revitalizing Catholic Engagement on Nuclear Disarmament.
Images of artifacts recovered from the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Snite Museum Exhibit Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we have worked in collaboration with the Snite Art Museum on the Notre Dame campus to create an exhibit with various photographs from the bombing.
Professor Gerard Powers is sponsoring the exhibit for his class, War, Peace, and the Catholic Imagination, where Professor Powers discusses the Catholic Church's rich tradition of reflection and action on war and peace. The course, offered through the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, introduces students to the most well-known and well-developed part of that tradition: just war and pacifism. It considers the relationship between the just war-pacifism strands of the tradition and the development of a theology, ethics, and praxis of peacebuilding.
In observing the 75th anniversary of the United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first and only time that a nuclear bomb has been used in war, students will explore the Church’s approach to conflict prevention, conflict transformation, and post-conflict reconciliation through the issue of nuclear disarmament. Through these works from the Museum’s collection, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the several hundred thousand lives lost and injured in the bombings, the tens of millions killed in World War II, and the on-going threat to civilization from the use—accidental or planned—of the thousands of nuclear weapons of the nine nuclear powers. Furthermore, students can consider the role of artists in particular and visual imagery in general in advocating for nuclear disarmament. This installation also supports the Catholic Peacebuilding Network’s efforts to commemorate this anniversary.
Summer Seminar - Creating a World Free of Nuclear Weapons
POSTPONED - DATE TBD
Due to the escalation of COVID-19 globally, the University of Notre Dame has made the decision to prohibit all University-reimbursed international travel for students, faculty, and staff for summer 2020 and until further notice. In line with this directive, the 2020 Creating a World Without Nuclear Weapons Summer Seminar has been postponed.
We will post more information about the rescheduled seminar on this webpage as it becomes available. If you have already been accepted into the 2020 seminar, our staff will be in touch with you soon about these developments. If you wish to attend the seminar at a future date, you will not have to go through the application process again.
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This week long seminar is focused on developing the next generation of nonproliferation specialists and activists and will be held at the Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs Washington D.C. Office.
This rigorous program is for rising college sophomores through graduating seniors and select graduate students, and is designed to equip students with multidisciplinary knowledge about nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament and to empower a new generation to contribute to wider efforts to stop nuclear proliferation and further reduce and ultimately eliminate nuclear weapons.
This Project is co-sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University, the International Federation of Catholic Universities, the Notre Dame International Security Center, Office of International Justice and Peace, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Catholic Peacebuilding Network.
2019 Summer Seminar for Students - Creating a World Free of Nuclear Weapons
This Week LongSeminar will be offered annually and is focused on developing the Next Generation of Nonproliferation Specialists and Activists.
The inaugural Summer Institute, Creating a World Without Nuclear Weapons, was held on May 19-24, 2019 at the Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs in Washington D.C. Office.
This rigorous program was designed to equip undergraduate and select graduate students with multidisciplinary knowledge about nonproliferation and disarmament. Students were able to take full advantage of experiential learning opportunities alongside key arms control institutions and experts in Washington DC. Students explored ways they can get involved on their campuses, as well as internship and career opportunities in the field.
The 2019 seminar was co-sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Catholic Peacebuilding Network.
Additional Reading
Old Guard Looks to New Generation of Voices on Nuclear Disarmament
Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament
The Vatican hosted a conference on November 10-11, 2017, to address the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. Present at the conference were 11 Nobel laureates, U.N. and NATO officials, and several nuclear powers. Also in attendance were faculty and students from Catholic University, Georgetown University, and University of Notre Dame.
The purpose of the conference was to build consensus and support for a change in strategy from nuclear deterrence to complete nuclear disarmament.
Transcript of the address by Pope Francis
Papa Francesco 20171110 Convegno Disarmointegrale Nov 2017.
Student Perspectives on the Vatican Conference
Sarah Bueter, University of Notre Dame ‘18
Vatican Conference Nuclear Disarmament Highlights False Sense of Security
David Patou, Georgetown University '18
Reflections on the Vatican Conference on Nuclear Disarmament
Theodore Dedon, fourth year Ph.D. student at Georgetown University '20
Pacem in Terris and a World Free of Nuclear Weapons
Students meet Pope Francis to Discuss Nuclear Disarmament
Pope Francis meets with Faculty and Students Attending Nuclear Disarmament Conference
ND News: Faculty and Students to Participate in Vatican Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament
Vatican Nuclear Weapons Conference
Student Internships
Fifteen Months, Three Internships, and Valuable Insight
Bridget Rickard, a Philosophy and Peace Studies major with a minor in the Catholic Social Tradition, concluded a trifecta of internships at the United Nations office of Caritas Internationalis in New York, the Bureau of International Organizations at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., and the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome. At the Embassy to the Holy See, Bridget Rickard worked with the nuclear disarmament policies and initiatives.
Peace Studies Senior Reflects on High-Level Church Internships
Sarah Bueter, a Peace Studies and Theology major with a minor in the Catholic Social Tradition, completed two internships from January to April 20-17. She interned at the Office of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. and at the Holy See Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, Austria. Sarah assisted policy advisors on a variety of international issues including nuclear and arms control issues, drone policy, religious freedom, mining and resource extraction, and human rights.
Peace Studies Student Interns at Arms Control Association
Monica Montgomery, a Political Science major with a supplementary major in Peace Studies, concluded a three month internship at the Arms Control Association (ACA) in Washington D.C. researching global arms control policy and trends during summer 2018. Monica's participation in a class taught by Kroc Institute professor Gerard Powers, director of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, earned her a spot among a delegation of University of Notre Dame faculty and students attending the November 2017 Conference on Nuclear Disarmament at the Vatican.
Future Course Offerings
Nuclear Disarmament, Development, and Environment, Fall of 2021 (at University of Notre Dame).