Vanda Prošková
Pronouns: she/her
Occupation: Independent consultant
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Profile
Currently based in New York, Vanda Proskova from the Czech Republic holds a BA in International Relations and an LL.M. in International Law with a specialization in Conflict and Security. Since her undergraduate studies, she has been involved in the field of sustainable security: she worked for numerous organizations in the field including Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security, or Basel Peace Office. The lack of youth in the field led her to co-establish Youth Fusion in 2020, a fully youth-led global network aiming to facilitate a cross-generational discussion abut disarmament and sustainable development. Today, Vanda continues to advocate for sustainable security in her role as an independent consultant. In this capacity, she collaborated with DOCMINE to help develop and promote Nuclear Stories – a multimedia platform exploring the chilling truths of our shared nuclear past through story-telling. The organisation produced a series of short animated films, and together they recently created a social media campaign to reach younger audiences. Vanda was also selected as one of the 25 #Leaders4Tomorrow of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in 2022, while also becoming one of 50 OSCE Scholars for Peace.
Story
‘I don't think I've ever held a banner above my head that says “no nukes”, 99.9% of my work is based on research and education. However, when I say I'm a nuclear disarmament advocate, it definitely has that perception,’ said Vanda Prošková, an independent consultant with over 6 years of experience in the sustainable security field. Youth Fusion, an organization Vanda co-created, focuses on raising awareness about connections between arms and other world issues, such as the environment and development. They publish academic articles and organise lectures, debates, and events to get the conversations about nuclear disarmament started. ‘Each discussion starts with the reminder that even though we’re studying global security, we’re still so uneducated on the issue of nuclear weapons,’ said Vanda, referencing the debates she had coordinated.
Vanda also focused on supporting young people who already have the knowledge and skills in International Relations and Law. Within the branch of Youth Fusion Experts, they collaborated with NGOs to push young academics into discussions and events about disarmament and global security. ‘We try to maintain not just the gender, but also the age balance at these events and encourage our members to engage. Through our programmes, we are amplifying the voices of youths globally.’ One of her favourite projects was Youth Fusion Elders, which aims at facilitating intergenerational dialogue. ‘A lot of young people now have this perception that everything old needs to be destroyed because it’s old and wrong,’ said Vanda. ‘We're trying to show that there’s still so much that we can learn from older generations, to see what they have done correctly, and to learn from their mistakes.’
Vanda also collaborated with DOCMINE, where she worked to raise awareness about the impact of nuclear arms through storytelling. ‘There are many ridiculous, chilling, inspiring, emotional, yet all true stories told by individuals directly impacted by the nuclear world. Learning about their lives made me realise how lucky we all are to still be alive,’ said Vanda. She focused on involving young people through social media so that their words can have an impact. She also highlighted the effect these stories have on the storytellers, as they gain a platform to amplify their voices. ‘With these stories out there, the world really needs to listen,’ said Vanda.
Vanda pointed out how the peacemaking world is extremely competitive in terms of funding. On top of that, the lobbying of nuclear corporations adds to their struggles. ‘There’s virtually no money in this’, said Vanda, ‘everyone who’s involved doesn’t do it for the money or the career, but rather for their belief that it is the right thing to do’. She realised that when it comes to politics, money makes the world go round, and it is therefore extremely hard to achieve progress in nuclear disarmament. Still, the people who are committed to working on disarmament projects alongside their school and job commitments inspire her to continue. ‘Write those emails, reach out to government representatives, and don’t be shy, more people are thinking about the same issues,’ said Vanda to those who would like to start their own initiatives. ‘If we don’t reach out, we’ll never find out how many of us want to bring about a change in this world.’
Disclaimer: this profile was developed prior to 2023. Since December 2023, Vanda is no longer affiliated with Youth Fusion or the other above-mentioned NGOs.
