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One of the talking points assignments (1 (d)) for the second session concerns the task to examine ways to utilize more fully evolving pedagogic methods, particularly the revolution in information and communications technology, including distance learning, to enhance efforts in disarmament education and training at all levels, in the developed and the developing world.

New technologies and especially the Internet create unprecedented opportunities in disarmament and non-proliferation education for both an academic audience and the general public. At relatively low costs people from all over the world can be supplied with information in the field of security policy and international relations including such issues as arms control, multilateral agreements, export control, verification etc. Besides, hypermedia technology allows educational information to be updated continuously.

High-quality hypermedia education on non-proliferation and disarmament would certainly contribute to better transparency and understanding of complicated issues in international relations and security to different groups of society. An ongoing project on Integrating Fact Databases in the Field of International Relations and Security which is a collective effort by a number of institutes and institutions in Europe and the US, among them SIPRI, and financed by the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is aiming at the dissemination of research results to the widest possible audience. The Internet portal of the project 'Facts on International Relations and Security Trends' (FIRST) (URL http://first.sipri.org) represents a user-friendly Internet Web site which allows for the search of country-related data and facts and returns a set of tables with those data. The search result is represented in one result page, although information is coming from other Internet sites besides SIPRI's own Internet site. FIRST allows the creation of country profiles, but it is being further developed to allow the search for data and facts retrieval on such general terms as 'nuclear policy', thus retrieving both data and facts on nuclear issues for all countries as well as policy documents.

The system consists at the moment of 37 country-based databases under eight main headlines. Under for example the headline 'Weapons of mass destruction' you find the sub-titles 'Nuclear forces', 'Nuclear explosions' and 'Military fissile material and nuclear weapon programmes'.

It appears that the portal 'Facts on International Relations and Security Trends (FIRST)' has established itself as an important data resource on the Internet. Since its start in mid-January 2000 it has attracted many users, especially those in the categories media, research and politics. SIPRI's user survey shows that e.g. all major newspapers and TV channels have visited the site. Scholars are regular users and FIRST is now being recommended in International Relations classes at several American universities.

In order to fulfill the purpose of disarmament and non-proliferation education of a wide variety of target groups, educational modules have to be worked out through which each individual may go deeper into the subject through links to e.g. FIRST. These modules would provide basic information on disarmament and non-proliferation but more specialized information would be retrievable from FIRST.

The information can easily be tailored to suit a wide range of target groups - may it be elementary, middle and high school as well as university students, researchers and teachers in addition to several other target groups. The limitations of the information that can be presented through the new technologies are also set by the recipients and not only by the suppliers of the information. The policy makers, politicians, media representatives, military personnel etc do not in all target countries have the equipment which is required to receive the education. Therefore it is not only the educational information itself but also the level of the technical means of the recipient that may be problematic.

A textbook approach by means of multimedia tools like video, animation, pictures and a link reference database could be applied in the education. The textbook approach should be designed as an educational module by which different pedagogic approaches may be applied for the different target groups. Electronic games and animations could for example be effective tools for presenting concepts like tolerance, democracy and conflict resolution to an audience with only basic education. It would also help to illustrate the necessity of disarmament and non-proliferation. An example of a textbook-like approach is the Chemical and Biological Warfare (CBW) Non-proliferation Educational Module which has been produced by SIPRI and the Free University of Brussels with financial support of the ISN. This module deals with CBW but similar educational modules on non-proliferation could be used for the purpose of education on issues related to nuclear weapons. A model of armament could be introduced as a means to look at the proliferation process from the demand side (i.e. the entity seeking WMD) and to examine the dynamic interaction between political, material and doctrinal factors that promote and obstruct the armament dynamic. While this approach dispels with the idea that proliferation is inevitable or continuous, it also highlights the difficulties and shortcomings of disarmament and non-proliferation policies in dealing with a proliferator.

In addition to the models all relevant texts of treaty documents related to the topic, such as the NPT, CTBT, START I and II in the case of NW, and statements by export control regimes (e.g. NSG, the Zangger committee, MTCR) could be accessed by the user via hyperlinks in the texts or via a glossary.

Hypermedia technology appears ideal to support active learning. Hyperlinking information makes it possible to avoid the pre-arranged linearity of information, such as in a textbook. It has the advantage of reflecting the human thought process more accurately than the tutor-defined, pre-arranged thought process. The user is more or less forced to participate actively in the learning process e.g. by having to press a navigation button in order to know more or to have a clarification of the previous text.

Many users could be expected to be non-native speakers of English. As a consequence, the texts should be constructed in a way that they not only increase the technical understanding of disarmament and non-proliferation, but also expand the user's vocabulary and understanding of key concepts. The glossary with its brief definitions and explanations is the main help tool in the above-mentioned CBW educational module.

The Internet-based educational modules assumes that the user is prepared to actively take part in the learning process. The development plans of e.g. the CBW module envisage tools for the user to evaluate his or her progress. It has a vertical structure with three levels of complexity and is being developed by a single team. It is also possible to create an educational module with a much wider information base, whereby several independent teams develop the modular components (e.g., one team dealing with nuclear non-proliferation, a second one with nuclear arms reductions, a third one with nuclear test ban, etc. ). Course developers may in fact connect several modules and integrate them into a single curriculum.

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