5 Years Too Many, 65 Years Too Many
Completing the Nuclear Triangle on March 19, 2008

A special report from Steve Stormoen, Youth Empowerment Initiative Coordinator at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

On Wednesday, March 19 in the San Francisco Bay Area, the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, I visited three sites that had been subject to the use of nuclear weapons. On the news, you may not have heard about the use of these weapons – there has been a stunning indifference towards covering this story for more than 65 years. And, walking around the bay, you wouldn’t have been able to identify any of the after-effects typically associated with the use of a nuclear bomb – no mushroom cloud, no shockwave, no blast crater, fallout, or hordes of innocent victims dying of radiation sickness. For the most part it was a typical March day in San Francisco – the weather predictably schizophrenic, the morning rush hour traffic innavigable as usual. The bombs in this case were not used in the same way they were used against the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But they were used nonetheless.

Read more...

The Anti-War Movement -- Coming Soon to a High School Near You!
New semester brings new groups to local high school campuses.

Posted on December 28, 2007

Starting in January, new anti-war and anti-nuclear groups and initiatives will begin at two local Santa Barbara high schools. Students at Dos Pueblos High School will use the Winter semester to restart their We Oppose War club, while Santa Barbara High students will take the opportunity to begin an ambitious lunchtime student-directed lecture series on nuclear weapons and disarmament based on the UC and the Bomb class, which will attempt to engage students through education and building a participatory learning environment. To learn the latest about these projects, check back here at napfyouth.org in the coming weeks for more information. If you're a student of either of these schools and you're interested in getting involved, contact our Youth Empowerment Coordinator here.

California Youth Anti-War Activist Conference
November 9-11 at UC Davis

Posted on November 2, 2007

Involved in the anti-war movement?
Want to meet other activists?
Have some cool ideas to share?

Sign up for the CA Youth Anti-War Activist Conference!

Youth and student activists from across California will gather at UC Davis for a conference to to inform each other of the work we're doing - talk about what's worked and what hasn't - and, most importantly, to strategize for what steps we need to take next.

Workshops include...
The effect of war on Women
How Race fits in
Youth and War
The Nuclear Age ... and more!

For more information, and to sign up for the conference, visit the CYAAC website »

Voices from Think Outside the Bomb
Photos, Notes, and Recap Available Now!

Posted on Nov 2, 2007

The sixth Think Outside the Bomb conference, sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, took place from August 16-19 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. More than 100 students and youth traveled from across the country to take part.  If the responses of the vast majority of them are an accurate indication, the conference not only lived up to its theme of “Inspiring Action for Nuclear Abolition,” but served as a life-changing experience for nearly all who participated.  In the words of one attendee, “I learned so much and made so many really amazing connections that I can hardly believe it all happened in only four days.”
Go to thinkoutsidethebomb.org for photos, notes, and more »

UC Nuclear Free Campaign
Gaining Momentum!

Posted on July 27,2007

Over the last several months, the Youth Empowerment Initiative’s UC Nuclear Free campaign has made remarkable progress in turning the tide toward University of California severance from the US nuclear weapons compounds at Livermore, CA and Los Alamos, NM. In April, we supported the creation of a Student Department of Energy Lab Oversight Committee, a UC student body officially authorized by the student government to provide oversight and accountability to the weapons laboratories. In May, we supported a highly-effective UC student hunger strike to call for UC weapons lab severance. In July, we helped organize a large student presence at the UC Regents meeting in Santa Barbara. This op-ed was published in the Santa Barbara Independent. Please visit the UC Nuclear Free’s website.

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Youth Empowerment Initiative has initiated a new project that aims to promote a more peaceful and secure future in a visually- captivating way. Read more »

No Nukes! No Wars! A Concert for Peace
Friday May 25 - Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, CA

Posted on April 10,2007

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Youth Empowerment Initiative is excited to present its first-ever concert fundraiser, No Nukes! No Wars! A Concert for Peace, on Friday, May 25, 2007 at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, CA. The theme “No Nukes! No Wars!” reminds us that, in the Nuclear Age, all wars are fought in the shadow of potential nuclear holocaust: The United States maintains an arsenal of nearly 10,000 nuclear weapons, and eight other countries also wield these instruments of ultimate devastation. As a generation, we must rise up to demand a world free from the threat of war and free of weapons of mass destruction! Read more »

Santa Barbara County Peace Leadership Training - El Capitan Retreat Center
March 23-25 - Santa Barbara, CA

Posted on March 14, 2007

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Youth Empowerment Initiative brought together high school students from throughout Santa Barbara County for a weekend of informational workshops and skills training on how to be an effective peace activist. Priorities included socio-economic justice, the realities of military recruitment, environmental justice, the war in Iraq – and the connections between these issues. Read more »

International Youth Nuclear Disarmament Summit:
December 6-7 - Hiroshima, Japan

Posted on Feb-6, 2007

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Youth Empowerment Initiative sponsored my trip to Hiroshima, Japan for the first-ever International Youth Summit on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace in December 2006. The purpose of the trip was to build and support an international network of students working towards peace and nuclear abolition. The 2 day Summit was held on December 7th and 8th, not only to mark our unification as students on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor but also to signal our moving away from acts of aggression and violence toward those of cooperation and political activism. Read more »

Think Outside the Bomb Conference:
November 4-5 - New York City, Pace University

Posted on Jan-20, 2007

The first-ever northeast regional “Think Outside the Bomb” conference took place from November 4-5 at Pace University in New York City. It was put together by a small group of organizers who are deeply involved with various anti-nuke projects, but who worked overtime to organize the event because of the importance of catalyzing new nuclear disarmament activism in the northeast. The conference was a major success in this way, with several young adults from New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, DC, emerging from it energized and empowered to work for a nuclear-free world. Read more »

Think Outside the Bomb Conference:
October 20-22 - University of California, Santa Barbara

Posted on Nov-10, 2006

From October 20-22, roughly 150 people from over 30 communities in six states shared their hopes, insights, and stories in a series of panels, workshops, dialogues, strategy sessions, and community-building ("cheesy") activities at the second Think Outside the Bomb youth conference at UC Santa Barbara. The conference broke new ground on many fronts. It was the largest youth nuclear disarmament gathering in recent memory. It was also one of the most inclusive, participatory, and inspiring conferences I've been a part of, exemplifying the best qualities of the growing youth nuclear disarmament movement. Read more »

"Nukesapalooza":
Youth Empowerment Initiative Fall Organizing Tour
in New York City

Posted on Sep-27, 2006

I traveled to NYC as part of a Nuclear Age Peace Foundation “Nukesapalooza” Speaking and Outreach Tour from September 17-23, largely to organize for the "Think Outside the Bomb" conference at Pace University from November 4-5.  Although the city has as many regular and committed nuclear disarmament activists as any geographic area of the U.S., its abolition movement would strongly benefit from – nay, needs – a younger generation of activists to emerge.  The purpose of the "Think Outside the Bomb" conference is to take an important step in that direction. Read more »

Nuclear Abolition Immersion

Posted on Aug-22, 2006

Report-Back from the Heart of the Nuclear Weapons Complex: From August 8-18, seven of the staff people, volunteers, and young allies of the Youth Empowerment Initiative participated in the first-ever "Nuclear Abolition Immersion" Trip to New Mexico. Several participated in a trip to Livermore from August 5-6 as well. Read more »