The following reflection is from Erin Huber, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL270 Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2025. Students had the opportunity to engage in civic engagement assignments with disarmament advocacy efforts in the context of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meetings in New York City.

Growing up my mother would always tell me an old Greek proverb that goes “A society grows great when old men plant trees who shade they know they will never sit in.” It always made me think and I decided to major in Early Childhood Education to create a better future and convince future generations of the never-ending need for progress.

The first day of Dr. Matthew Breay Bolton’s Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class I feared that I would be like a square peg in a round hole. Unlike many in the class I was not a Political Science or Peace and Justice Studies major and I did not know where my passion for education and youth representation would fit into the framework of the United Nations. These fears were only exacerbated as I walked into the doors of the General Assembly Building. I wondered how it would be within these meetings, and what I would take away from them.

But in the lobby stood a painting gifted to the UN by Mexico, a piece called “La Fraternidad” painted by Rufino Tamayo. It’s a truly remarkable piece, filled with rich reds, oranges, and yellows, depicting a group of people circling around a fire holding one another’s hands. When I looked up the piece, I found an explanation from Tamayo about the ideas behind his work: “I try to represent time, I should say rather, eternity, in which I hope brotherhood will prevail.”

In that moment, I felt all the pieces shift into place, and it made me realize the need for youth representation within the framework and proceedings of the UN so that we can help shape the future we will live in.

One of the tasks we were given in our civic engagement was to track anytime a state delegate or other speaker talked about or said “youth” or “education.” It felt like destiny for me, I wanted to learn and see how these topics were addressed in international politics, and I had a front row seat. I sat with bated breath, excited to hear remarks that touched on how the perspective, ideas, and talents of young people were being used to further progress being made.

My excitement soon turned to disappointment when it became apparent that these topics would not be really discussed much. There were few times when youth perspective would be brought up, and rather than speak on how Gen Z was being invited to talk and be included in international politics, youth representation was being somewhat tokenized within the UN diplomacy.

While I was temporarily disappointed over the shortcomings of the UN itself in their engagement with young voices, it also motivated me. I saw the commitment that many humanitarian disarmament activists, like those who are part of StopKillerRobots, have to involve young people in a thoughtful and robust manner within their organizations. If this representation can be done in the sectors adjacent to the UN, then it certainly can be done within the UN as well. If you want the change, you must be the change. That is why I have been signing up for events for Youth4Disarmament, an outreach initiative of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, so that more youth representation is being seen and heard.

The United Nations has always been a fixture of advancement for the future of all, but if you do not include the people who will live in that future, then the intention is lacking. I still have hope that more deliberate involvement of Gen Z in collaboration with the UN will create the great society that the UN and all of us envision, and will plant the trees that not only will my generation be able to be shaded in, but the generations that will come after.