International Student/Young Pugwash
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International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP) is an international organization that promotes awareness and action among students and young professionals in relation to ethical implications of science and technology policy, particularly matters of international security and weapons of mass destruction. It developed from the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.
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[edit] Vision Statement
With the invention of nuclear weapons, humanity for the first time obtained the capacity to extinguish itself. Today, our global society faces continued threats from nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation, as well as social, economic and environmental problems that put human security at risk. New tools need to be developed within an interdisciplinary framework to actively search for and realize sustainable and equitable solutions. We have to learn to think in a new way. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto articulates the dangers of war in the age of the hydrogen bomb and humanity’s responsibility to prevent universal death. Guided by the Manifesto, International Student/Young Pugwash draws together international students and young professionals concerned with global problems and the socially responsible application of science and technology. Through exposure to a diversity of disciplines, cultures, and ideologies the members of ISYP form common understandings and collaborative links at an early stage in their careers and keep each other committed to ISYP’s ideals. ISYP has a mutually reinforcing relationship with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs that enables the two organizations to focus in parallel on both the root causes and the symptoms of global insecurity. Through the intellectual proximity of these efforts, the Pugwash movement can foster truly creative approaches to world affairs. The result of this relationship is an unprecedented opportunity for young people to concentrate on long-term, sustainable and equitable solutions. In order to pursue this goal, ISYP’s focus is on educating students and young professionals; promoting dialogue and collaboration between young scientists, policy makers, and international institutions; and preparing members to reach crucial positions within the international policy community. In this way, ISYP is committed to transfer the spirit of Pugwash to future generations. To engage a new generation, ISYP remains, and will continue to remain, infused by the indelible spirit echoed by the Russell-Einstein Manifesto: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.
[edit] History
Students have been invited as participants in Pugwash Conferences since the early 1970s. Following interest to create a forum specifically for students, student/young Pugwash groups started to form in the late 70's, Student Pugwash USA doing so in 1979. International collaboration among the groups began in 1988 in the Netherlands for the first jointly organized IS/YP conference. Student pre-conferences to the annual Pugwash Conferences began at the 1997 Pugwash Conference held in Norway.
[edit] Organization
ISYP's members comprise national groups, which themselves may comprise loose or formal collections of school or university chapters. National entities include Student Pugwash USA (SPUSA), the largest, and Student Pugwash UK (SPUK) among others.
