Reflections on RTT’s Francophone Conference

By Mathilde Haas

On July 27, Reverse the Trend (partnering with NAPF and ICAN France) held its first francophone conference on the French nuclear tests in Algeria. The conference addressed various aspects of the topic: the history, the humanitarian consequences, the legacy of the tests in Algeria and the French perspective.

Furthermore, because the event aimed to be youth-centered, we integrated young people to the panel to not only have their expertise but their perspective as young people. For instance, Inès Lopes, a French student and intern at ICAN France, addressed the importance of education and involvement in a powerful speech. She rightly noted that education is key to get more people involved in the disarmament movement. People may think that this is a topic that does not interest anyone, especially not young people, maybe because they did not live during the Cold War and do not feel the same "nuclear pressure" anymore. 

But when working with youth, we realize that it is not a lack of interest that prevents young people from getting involved but rather a lack of education and information on the topic.

From personal experience, I can say that this is absolutely true. I, myself, was not especially involved in the fight for nuclear disarmament before I had to write an essay on the 1996 ICJ Advisory Opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons for my International Humanitarian Law class.

Knowing close to nothing of this topic, I researched it thoroughly and took the opportunity to educate myself. Now, I am strongly opposed to the very existence of those weapons and plan on putting the fight for disarmament at the center of my career. I also observed a similar impact when talking about it with my friends. Once they got more information, they realized how important and urgent the matter of nuclear weapons is.      

At Reverse The Trend, we aim to change that trend. We strive to make information available to everyone who wants it. We will always be here to help youth get the knowledge and information they seek in order to get involved in the fight against the twin existential threats that are nuclear weapons and climate change. It is with goal in mind that we decided to launch new RTT Chapters all over the world. We are now working on new initiatives and events that can be enjoyed not only by young people in the United States, but also by youth in Canada, Japan, Korea and in the Francophone World.

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 The recording of the Francophone conference can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clmcNkZG8EA&t=30s