On Thursday, 19 February 2026, BASIC’s Emerging Voices Network (EVN) Programme took part in a collaborative event with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Branch at the United Nations Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office (PBPSO)/Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO), and Peace Boat.
A decade after UN Security Council Resolution 2250 launched the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, the desire remains to facilitate youth-led peacebuilding. Yet, this past decade has shown us that frameworks and policy commitments are not enough. Progress on meaningful inclusion in disarmament requires increased youth participation, sustained support, and additional opportunities for young people to lead and demonstrate impact.
The Second Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, developed by independent lead author Ms Nanjala Nyabola and coordinated by the UN YPS Secretariat, presents an important opportunity to gather evidence and youth perspectives across all peace and security fields, including disarmament. In this context, the dedicated consultation with young people engaged in disarmament aims to document challenges facing the disarmament community and highlight actionable youth-led and youth-inclusive approaches that contribute to prevention, protection, and sustaining peace.
We were delighted to receive an invitation from our friends at UNODA to participate in this timely consultation and to include our EVN members in the event. We quickly got to work to organise the consultation, in which young members of our organisation’s networks would be brought together for an online session to share their experiences and opinions on working in disarmament as young people. Rather than separating discussions by organisation, we structured discussions around thematic breakout rooms to encourage cross-sector exchange.
The breakout rooms were:
1) DDR: Youth disengagement and reintegration;
2) Synergies between YPS and disarmament;
3) Participation and partnerships: Enabling youth-led disarmament;
4) Employment opportunities: Entry pathways to peace, security and disarmament.
The EVN team helped facilitate the fourth group.
The Consultation Process
The event itself was a three-stage process. First, the scene was set and the participants were given an overview of the Progress Study and guidance on what would be collected through the consultation. Then, we went into our breakout rooms for an hour-long discussion, which was co-facilitated by young people and supported by young rapporteurs.
In our breakout session, we focused on the following questions:
Q1. Where are the opportunities for young people to meaningfully engage with disarmament policy and practice and for career development?
Q2. What are the biggest barriers youth face when attempting to engage with disarmament policy and access opportunities?
Q3. What are examples of youth-led or youth-inclusive initiatives in disarmament that you have engaged with and what made them work?
Q4. What could be done to improve the opportunities landscape for youth in disarmament?
Q5. What recommendations should be reflected in the Second Progress Study for Member States, UN entities, and partners?
The session then wrapped up with the youth rapporteurs reporting back on their group discussions, followed by live polls to validate priorities and recommendations.
Employment Opportunities: Entry Pathways to Peace, Security, and Disarmament
In our breakout room, the discussion focused on what it takes for a young person to find their place in the world of disarmament policy. Participants shared their experiences, frustrations, and hopes for a more inclusive disarmament landscape. From fellowships to grassroots advocacy campaigns, the conversation revealed both the promise of youth engagement and the very real structural barriers that stand in the way. Here is what they told us.
Joining the Disarmament Field
Several participants revealed that their entry point into disarmament work had come through formal fellowship programmes. Participants highlighted the UNODA fellowship opportunity as a transformative experience — particularly for those coming from hard science backgrounds who had had little prior exposure to the policy world. Being posted to Geneva opened doors to networking with NGOs, diplomats, and technical experts that would otherwise have been inaccessible.
Beyond individual fellowships, the UN offers other opportunities to help young people enter the disarmament field. The Disarmament Education Dashboard provides an accessible online learning environment for those seeking certifications. Participants also stressed the need for opportunities that are not solely tied to large intergovernmental entities. They wanted spaces where young people could engage on their own terms and where the disarmament movement could connect meaningfully with states that currently benefit from or support nuclear arsenals in order to bridge the deterrence-disarmament divide.
Barriers to Entry
The participants named several recurring barriers that limit youth participation in disarmament policy. Unpaid opportunities were heavily criticised. Many entry-level roles — fellowships, internships, volunteer positions — carry no salary, effectively limiting participation to those with independent financial means or family support. The technical complexity of language used in the field was also seen as a barrier. Disarmament discussions involve highly specialised language — verification mechanisms, convention structures, treaty frameworks — that can be opaque even for well-educated newcomers. Several participants noted that sitting in meetings felt alienating when they could not follow the technical debate.
The experience requirements for entry-level posts were also a problem for many young people looking to work in disarmament. Youth face a perverse catch-22 situation in which junior positions frequently require extensive prior experience, leaving first-time applicants with nowhere to start. Furthermore, opportunities often have a limited geographic reach. Opportunities are disproportionately concentrated in Europe and North America, with participants from the Global South facing additional costs and visa barriers to participation.
What Works: Youth-Led and Youth-Inclusive Initiatives
Despite the challenges, several initiatives show what meaningful youth inclusion can look like in practice. BASIC’s EVN policy cycles and Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Scheme have provided structured pathways for young professionals to develop expertise alongside experienced practitioners. Similarly, the Youth Hotline Campaign at Youth Fusion and similar programmes have created spaces where young people can practise and refine their advocacy skills.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has inspired youth-led advocacy groups that bring young delegates directly into treaty processes — an important model for mainstreaming youth voices in formal multilateral settings. Youth for TPNW is an excellent example of a youth-led advocacy movement, which I was a part of before I joined BASIC. One participant spoke of participating in opportunities which explore how emerging technologies can be integrated into the nuclear policy landscape, creating new forms of public education and awareness. Though several fellowships in the disarmament field exist, the participants reiterated how concentrated these often are for North American and European youth.
The Rest of the Process
After our breakout room discussion concluded, each group was represented by their two rapporteurs to report back on their group discussions. While this was happening, those in attendance were also polled on their views on the main discussion topics of each breakout room. After the event finished, the rapporteurs submitted their full notes to Ms Nanjala Nyabola, who used them to write the outcome report. You can read more about the event from the UN’s Youth4Disarmament team here. The final summary report from the consultation has now been shared with the UN YPS Secretariat and will help inform the Second Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security.
In our breakout room, at least, it was clear that geographic and economic inequalities need to be addressed as unfair barriers to entry for youth in disarmament. Accessibility is key for all youth, regardless of their location, financial resources, or experience. While there are some pathways into disarmament for youth that many of our breakout room respondents had benefited from, including the EVN, it is clear that more are needed for a truly inclusive youth-driven disarmament field.