Student Conference Spring 2006

• The CIF 2005-2006 Student Conference was held Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28, 2006, at the Beach Resort Monterey Hotel in Monterey, California. The conference guide is available as a Word file (544KB), PDF (2.1MB) or web page (272KB).
• Images of conference events and participants are available.
• Student responses to this year's CIF Benchmarks are available. As they are posted you can find them on the "Spring 2006 Student Responses to Benchmarks" page.
• A report by Fred Wehling, CIF Project Director and Associate Professor and Education Coordinator, Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the CIF 2005-2006 Student Conference is available below or as a Word file (1.1MB).

"Critical Issues Forum Explores the Future of Nonproliferation"

By Fred Wehling
CNS Education Coordinator
02 May 2006

Students from seven U.S. high schools and ten schools in Russia’s closed nuclear cities met April 27 and 28, 2006 in Monterey, California to share their research and viewpoints on nuclear weapons and nonproliferation at the 9th annual conference of the Critical Issues Forum (CIF). More than 50 students and teachers took part in the conference, which culminated a yearlong program of teacher development and directed student research focused on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament issues, including options for controlling nuclear weapons technology in the face of proliferation threats from Iran, North Korea, and other countries as well as the possibility of terrorism with weapons of mass destruction.

Russian and American students simulate nonproliferation treaty negotiations at the CIF conference.

Student presentations at the conference demonstrated innovative activities for learning about nuclear weapons issues and evaluating the economic, political, social, and environmental impacts of nuclear energy. U.S. and Russian students took the lead in conducting simulations and learning games and premiered multimedia projects on proliferation threats and international responses. Several schools submitted video interviews with people in their communities to illustrate public attitudes toward nuclear and terrorist threats. These projects and other materials produced by CIF students are available on the CIF program web site at www.criticalissuesforum.org.

CIF students from Didakt Gymnasium in Zarechniy, Linguistic Gymnasium #164 in Zelenogorsk, School #41 in Novouralsk, Severskaya Gymnasium in Seversk, School #125 in Snezhinsk, and School #39 in Ozersk with Air Force JTROTC cadets from Highland High School in Palmdale, California.

CIF students from a wide variety of backgrounds also took advantage of opportunities for cultural exchange, making contacts, and building friendships. The ethnic, economic, and cultural diversity of CIF schools is a major strength of the program.

Russian participants in the 2005-06 CIF Program

The Critical Issues Forum is an educational outreach of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) and partner organizations designed to promote awareness of nonproliferation and international security issues and develop analytical skills in high schools in the United States, Russia, and other countries. Now in its seventh year at CNS, CIF has proven effective in empowering students, including many at-risk students, to develop informed opinions and think critically about weapons of mass destruction (WMD), terrorism, and other crucial international issues of the 21st century.

Russian CIF participants visit Point Lobos State Reserve.

CIF partners in Russia, the Nuclear Cities Educational Information Center in Novouralsk and the School for Cosmonautics in Zheleznogorsk, sponsor nonproliferation education programs for elementary, high school, and university students, many of whom go on to work in Russia’s nuclear industry. Funding for this year’s Critical Issues Forum was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Battelle Corporation, and the Ford Foundation. In the 2006-07 academic year, CNS and its educational partners plan to add more schools to the CIF program and continue to work together to carry the nonproliferation mission into the next generation.

Students from Franklin High School, Elk Grove, California, with Russian students from Lesnoy, Zarechniy, and Zelenogorsk.

http://www.criticalissuesforum.org/conf_s06.html
updated 23 May 2006