Youth Fusion Podcast

Posted: 10th March 2021

Dear Peter,On World Future Day March 1, the Youth Fusion Elders initiative was launched with an online inter-generational dialogue between young activists and some long-time and effective leaders in the peace and disarmament fields.

Youth Fusion, the youth network of Abolition 2000, follows-up the launch with a podcast and blog series which explores the lessons to be learned from Elders, and the questions youth activists pose to build a more successful global nuclear abolition movement.

The first of these feature Bruce Kent (UK), Honorary Vice-President of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and former President of the International Peace Bureau, and Uta Zapf (Germany), former Chair of the Bundestag (German Parliament) Sub-Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control and an inaugural Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.

Youth Fusion thanks Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) for usage rights for an excerpt of ‘Two Suns in the Sunset’ as the theme music for the podcast series.
  

Bruce Kent

Youth Fusion Member Nico Edwards interviews Bruce Kent (UK) on the highlights and challenges of his long career. Even if Bruce insisted that there is no “Peace Bible” to religiously stick to – Nico did have the strong sense that their conversation had just provided her with one.

“Part of my religion is loving your neighbour whatever flag they happen to be waving. When the United Nations charter began, there were about 50 nation states – and now there are 190 something! We keep dividing the world into other bits but they are not enemies, they belong to the same community, the same globe. That’s my position on it and the idea of slaughtering tens of thousands of completely innocent people in order to keep the so-called “peace” is absolute nonsense.”
Bruce Kent 

At the age of 91, Bruce still carries on his unfaltering work in the interrelated fields of peace and disarmament, sustainable development, climate justice and social equity. Across six decades of peacemaking, he has become perhaps the most prominent Catholic peace activist in all of Great Britain. And he has lots of good advice for youth and other activists:

“Everybody is capable of doing something, but not everybody is capable of doing everything. Don’t think you can fight all the battles – leave something to somebody else! But do what you do with imagination and perseverance and courage and get on with it and that will be your reward.”
Bruce Kent

Listen to the podcast and/or read the blog article.
  

Uta Zapf

In this blog interview by Chistoph Jaschek, German politician Uta Zapf speaks about her own motivation and experience serving 23 years as a member of the German Bundestag, and as representative to various inter-parliamentary bodies including the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Inter-Parliamentary Union and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Ms Zapf addresses a range of issues including NATO’s role, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and various notions of security.

“For providing peace and security you do not only need military defenses, but you need a lot of investments in the economy, social welfare, environment protection, to fight climate change and for development aid. If we can implement the UN Agenda 2030 and all Sustainable Development Goals, we can do much more for peace and security than by increasing our defense budgets.” 
Uta Zapf

Her primary advice for youth is the same as what she told herself when she was young:

“Advice for my own 25-year-old self: speak up, have self-confidence, respect others.” 
Uta Zapf Yours sincerely
UNFOLD ZERO