Disruptive Nuclear Futures Summit

On December 4,2016, I had the privilege of being invited by the N-Square Collaborative to the Disruptive Nuclear Futures Summit in Santa Fe, N.M. The goal of the summit was to convene a diverse set of experts, ranging of security to film and television, around a framing question, "How might we achieve global stability without nuclear weapons by the year 2045?" The goal, as expressed by the organizers (Creative Santa Fe, NSquare Collaborative, The Nuclear Threat Initiative, and PopTech), was to create a space tgar encouraged innovative dialogue - across sectors - around this question. Over the course of three days, we were immersed in the history of nuclear weapons, discussed present day nuclear threats and explored ‘what if’ scenarios about the future of global security.

There were a number of very interesting aspects of the summit: a fireside chat between Eric Schlosser (investigative journalist and author of Command & Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damacus Accident and the Illusion of Safety) and Former Secretary of Defense William J Perry where they discussed the numerous nuclear threats facing the global community, and how to organize ones thoughts/intentions with respect to nuclear disarmament; a lecture by former Ambassador Robert Galluci where he discussed the intricacies of deterrence and how it differs from defense; workshops on the art and science of storytelling and how it could be leveraged in the nuclear security space, among many others. 

In addition to learning more about my field, I left the experience with a greater appreciation for how other fields, particularly television, media and brand strategy could help to craft a new narrative around nuclear security. At the intersection of security and these fields lay the opportunity to reposition the discussion about global security, nuclear threats and disarmament from its isolated elite station to one that is accessible and relevant to everyday people.