December 3-5, 2009
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies celebrated its 20th Anniversary 3-5 December 2009, with an international conference on “The Power of Nonproliferation Education and Training”. The conference consisted of panels covering the importance of nonproliferation education and training, educational methodologies, regional nonproliferation efforts, and the role of foundations, NGOs, and the media in educating the public. Ambassador Linton Brooks (Former Under-Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, USA), Ambassador Susan Burk (Special Representative of the President of the United States for Nuclear Nonproliferation, Washington, DC) , Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala (Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Colombo, Sri Lanka), The Honorable Andrew Weber (Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense), and other experts participated in the anniversary events.
The celebration culminated in a reading of Reykjavik, a new play by Pulitzer-prize winning author Richard Rhodes, a premier of a film on the impact CNS has had over its 20 years, and a gala awards ceremony at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Participants included alumni, friends, colleagues and stakeholders of the Center.
“There can be no security without arms control and disarmament. And there can be no arms control and disarmament without ideas, no ideas without experts and no experts without CNS.”
—Tibor Tóth
Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
A film highlighting the impact CNS has had over the past 20 years, through interviews with those involved in various nonproliferation and disarmament efforts and organizations.
A slideshow with photographs of students, staff and friends that have been part of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) during the past 20 years.
Thursday – December 3, 2009
Session 1: Opening
Speakers:
- Monterey Institute President Sunder Ramaswamy
Opening Welcome: Video – Transcript PDF - Professor William C. Potter
Opening Remarks: Video – Transcript PDF - Ambassador Linton Brooks
Keynote Address: Video – Transcript PDF – Presentation Paper PDF
Session 2: Panel Discussion on the Objectives and Practice of Nonproliferation Education and Training
Panelists:
- Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala
- Dr. Vladimir Orlov – Presentation Paper PDF
- Mr. Lars van Dassen
Session 3: Panel Discussion on Educational Methodologies
Simulations, OJT, Internships at IO, CIF, Intro Course, On-line education.
Panelists:
- Ms. Nellie Porseva
High school teacher from Zelenogorsk, Russia.
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Professor Scott Sagan
Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Dr. Fred Wehling
Director of the CNS Education Program.
Video – Presentation Paper PDF
Session 4: Impact of Education and Training by CNS
MIIS alumni and recipients of CNS nonproliferation certificate talk about how much training at CNS has helped their careers.
Panelists:
- Ms. Christine Buzzard
Executive Director of the Moscow Office of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Mr. Michiru Nishida
Special Assistant for Disarmament and Nonproliferation at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Dr. Ole Reistad
Research scientist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Video
Friday – December 4, 2009
Session 5: Panel on Regional Nonproliferation Efforts
Panelists:
- Dr. Christiane Agboton Johnson (Africa)
Deputy Director of UNIDIR
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Ambassador Nabil Fahmy (Middle East)
Chair of the Middle East Nonproliferation Project at CNS
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - The Honorable Andrew Weber (Post-Soviet States)
Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Programs
Video
Session 6: CNS and International Organizations
Panelists:
- Dr. Michael Barletta
Presentation Paper PDF - Mr. Jean DuPreez
Chief of External Relations and International Cooperation at the CTBTO
Video - Dr. Patricia Lewis
CNS Deputy Director
Video - Dr. Randy Rydell
Senior Political Affairs Officer at the Office of Sergio Duarte, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, UN
Video – Presentation Paper PDF
Luncheon Discussion: “What we have learned from engagement with North Korea”
Speaker:
Video
Session 7: Ways Forward in Nonproliferation Education and Training
Panelists:
- Professor William Potter
CNS Director
Video - Professor Matthew Bunn
Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - Professor Adam Stulberg
Georgia Tech
Video – Presentation Paper PDF
Session 8: Educating the Public: The Role of Foundations, NGOS, and the Media
Panelists:
- Dr. Jeffrey Lewis
Director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative
Video – Presentation Paper PDF - The Honorable Charles Curtis
President and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Video - Mr. Leonard Spector
Director of the CNS Washington, D.C. office
Video
Reception for MIIS/CNS Alumni
Over 100 alumni, professional staff, and friends of CNS gathered Friday evening, 4 December, in the Monterey Institute’s Samson Student Center to renew friendships and to usher in the Center’s third decade. The Center’s house band, the U-23Jive, provided live entertainment for the event.
Saturday – December 5, 2009
Reading of Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Rhodes’ new play “Reykjavik”
Monterey Peninsula actors presented a passionate reading of Reykjavik, a new play by Pulitzer-prize winning author Richard Rhodes. Reykjavik is a two-act play by Richard Rhodes based on the historic summit meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held at Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 1986. The two leaders came as close at that meeting as any world leaders have yet done to agreeing to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. Reykjavik explores their arguments for doing so, and the reasons they were unable ultimately to agree. It’s a history play in the tradition of A Walk in the Woods, Copenhagen and the recent Frost-Nixon, with a limited set of characters and maximum fidelity to the facts. The dialogue and action are based on the original transcripts, both Soviet and U.S., of the proceedings. The characters include Reagan, Gorbachev, George Shultz, Eduard Shevardnadze, Raisa Gorbacheva, Richard Perle and the ghost of Robert Oppenheimer.
Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Master of Ceremonies:
Mr. Frank Sesno
Keynote Speakers:
State Assemblyman Bill Monning
Ambassador Susan Burk
Mr. Vasileios Savvidis
CNS and MIIS alumni and special guests gathered for a gala dinner at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The dinner featured CNN’s Frank Sesno (Middlebury ’77) as master of ceremonies and included presentation of a congratulatory resolution from the California State Legislature by Assemblyman (and former MIIS professor) Bill Monning, and a keynote speech by Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation Susan Burk. The dinner program reprinted congratulatory letters sent to CNS by President Barack Obama and outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed El-Baradei.
Awardees
The CNS award for “Most Distinguished Alumnus” was given to Ambassador Yukiya Amano, recently elected Director-General of the IAEA.
Other awards for outstanding contributions to the nonproliferation field were given to:
Naila Bolus
Executive Director, Ploughshares Fund, Washington, DC
[Unsung Hero award]
Ploughshares.org article on her award
Ambassador Linton Brooks
Former Under-Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, USA
[Government Service award]
George Bunn
Consulting Professor, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University, and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford, CA
[Lifetime Achievement award]
The Honorable Charles Curtis
President and Chief Operating Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Washington, DC
[Unsung Hero award]
Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala
Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Colombo, Sri Lanka
[Lifetime Achievement award]
Mohamed Elbaradei
Outgoing Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency
[Lifetime Achievement award]
Dr. Robert Gard
Chairman, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Washington, DC, and former President, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA
[Lifetime Achievement award]
Rose Gottemoeller
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation, United States
[Government Service award]
Tariq Rauf
Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, International Atomic Energy Agency
[Unsung Hero award]
Dr. Randy Rydell
Senior Political Affairs Officer, Office of the High Representative, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York
[Unsung Hero award]
Dr. Scott Sagan
Co-Director, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University, Stanford, CA
[Educator award]
Leonard Spector
Deputy Director, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA
[Unsung Hero award]
Ambassador Roland Timerbaev
Russia
[Lifetime Achievement award]
CNS Celebrates 20th Anniversary at Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington
June 9, 2010
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) concluded the celebration of its 20th anniversary with a gala reception at the Washington, DC, Embassy of Kazakhstan, on the evening of June 8, 2010.
The celebration, which included a panel discussion and awards ceremony, brought together distinguished current and former U.S. officials and political figures, Washington-based CNS alumni, members of the Washington diplomatic corps, and leaders of the non-governmental Washington nonproliferation community. Monterey Institute of International Studies President Sunder Ramaswamy and members of the CNS International Advisory Board also participated.
The panel discussion, introduced by Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States Erlan Idrissov, featured remarks by Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, on the outcome of the recently concluded Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Senator Richard Lugar (R. Ind.), former Senator Sam Nunn, currently co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and CNS founding director Dr. William C. Potter offered commentaries on Dhanapala’s presentation.
The discussion was followed by the presentation by Dr. Potter of awards for Life-Time Achievement in the Field of Nonproliferation to Senators Lugar and Nunn. In presenting the awards, Potter stressed the extraordinary contribution made by the two leaders in conceiving and ensuring the enactment of the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to address the dangers posed by the Soviet Union’s nuclear legacy after that country broke apart in 1991. In the course of their remarks at the ceremony, Potter, Lugar, and Nunn each highlighted the important role that Kazakhstan had played during this period, in transferring nuclear weapons on its territory to Russia and transferring or rendering safe large quantities of weapons-grade nuclear materials in the country.
