UNITAR
The Youth Leader Fund for a World Without Nuclear Weapons is a programme of the United Nations Office for Disarmament that seeks to empower young leaders to advocate for a nuclear-weapon-free world. The programme Youth Peace advocates the unique opportunity to learn about nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control principles via online courses and a fully funded in-person study tour to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
UNITAR supports the Youth Leader Fund as an implementing partner and organized the study tour to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We must prioritize dialogue and cooperation to achieve a world free of nuclear threats.” - Franco Escobar, Research fellow and PhD student, Youth Leader Fund participant
This programme launched in 2023 and is generously funded by the Government of Japan.
Programme Snapshot
2023-2024 Cohort
100 youths, aged 18-29, from over 60 countries were selected from over 2,000 applicants
First Youth Leader Fund study tour
The first YLF study tour was in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where 49 global youth leaders from 37 countries got together to learn and take action for a world without nuclear weapons. The young people went on field excursions, learned from hibakusha (atomic bombing survivors) and engaged in exchanges with local youth.
The study tour culminated in the Youth Leader Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, which took place on 29 August in Hiroshima and online. Youth Leader Fund participants and local youth from UNITAR Hiroshima Youth Ambassadors and Hiroshima Peace Volunteers issued a youth “DeclarACTION” stating their recommendations and commitments in three pillars: Hibakusha and Community Engagement; Youth Participation in Political and Diplomatic Processes; and Research and Academia.
No matter how difficult the path to a world without nuclear weapons may be, we should not stop our steps. Now is the time when we need the power of young people like you, the bearers of our future." —Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan, in his message to the youth leaders.
UNITAR