Ever wondered how to reach people from 50 countries in a single campaign event? The Arias Foundation in San José, Costa Rica has done just that. They promoted the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace campus at an event which included students from over 50 nations. Last week, two Arias Foundation staff set up posters around campus with Control Arms info-graphics and the question, “Why do YOU want an Arms Trade Treaty now?” Passers-by were invited to sign the posters and respond to the question. The responses were enormously positive. The posters will now come to New York to be displayed during the March diplomatic conference as a powerful reminder of university students´ support for a strong ATT!
These posters also formed the basis for a well-attended discussion with a panel of distinguished faculty members (Dr. Mihir Kanade, Dr. Toh Swee-Hin, and Dr. Juan Carlos Sainz-Borgo) and Arias Foundation Programs Officer, Emily Hedin. The panel discussion was moderated by Christopher Edelman, who was assisted in the organization of the campaign by Weijun Yuan. Participants spoke on his or her discipline’s (and civil society’s) respective perspective on the importance of passing a strong ATT and a general discussion with all participants followed. Arias Foundation staff were very pleased with the high quality of the conversation and the strong support for the ATT demonstrated by UPeace’s faculty and students.
