2016: Berlin and Prague. Chaining the bomb

October 2016, Berlin, Germany. November 2016, Prague, Czech Republic 

I entered the nuclear disarmament world in summer 2016. The dissertation 'The sound of risk and the art of change' was written. In Berlin I met people from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), as well as from the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND). In October 2016 I attended the abolition2000 meeting for the first time, a platform where non-governmental actors coordinate their activities. I was in the center of non-state actors nuclear disarmament work. It is a small world. 

I had no previous knowledge of the disarmament process and did not know most of the terms, people where talking about. I was convinced, and still am, that nuclear disarmament will happen. Enough good people are working on this wish. In Berlin, I learned that a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the ban treaty, as it is called, is negotiated at the United Nations. I also learned that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is going to be negotiated again in 2020. I was exited to learn more. 

In Prague, I joined a conference on nuclear disarmament with a mixed participants from national state actors, NATO, science and non-governmental groups. I learned about the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). 

I figured out that listening to the narratives is important. We tell us different stories and create different realities with our words. We want security and we -- state actors -- still believe that nuclear weapons are a guarantee of security for us. I wonder how we can change our basic assumptions and can leave this infinite regress. Do our children really deal with this issues? What story do we want to tell our children? What story do we want our children to be telling their children? Keep working and listening.  

The days in Prague left me with deep thoughts. The nuclear weapons have the power to destroy the world on the one hand, on the other its destructive power also forces us to find a language we all understand and speak to overcome the idea of enmity, hatred and revenge. Solving the nuclear dilemma also bears the chance for the international community of nations to speak as one voice and one community. From my point of view, It is an opportunity for political leaders to learn from each other, to build trust and cooperation. Disarmament is an responsibility an obligation to act. 

In front of a former cold war Soviet nuclear weapon bunker, we were invited to take pictures on a 3D installation. We all try to work on chaining the bombs around the world. 

Join and take bold and careful steps to make it happen.