In January 2025, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set the ‘Doomsday Clock’ to 89 Seconds to Midnight, indicating how close humanity is to a civilizational catastrophe from climate change; nuclear war; or a global war triggered by rising authoritarianism, militarism, digital misinformation, propaganda and political disruption.
Our ‘Reversing the Doomsday Clock’ intergenerational forum on January 23, 2026, will bring innovative young activists together with policy makers and civil society leaders to discuss effective initiatives and policies to address these issues. Amongst the initiatives to be presented are:
- An incredibly successful youth-led case in the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States with respect to climate change;
- A Youth Hotline: Negotiating Nuclear Risk initiative launched by Youth Fusion in 2025;
- A legal challenge in Slovakia based on universal jurisdiction and the ICCPR war propaganda prohibition against Russian statements and speeches which vilify Ukrainians (depicting them as Nazis) and consolidate support for the invasion of Ukraine;
- A challenge in the UN Human Rights Council against the deployment of nuclear weapons by Russia in Belarus;
- A Nobel Effort, a draft food-for-thought paper on leadership of Switzerland in advancing peace, disarmament and international law, including as President of the OSCE in 2026.
- Legal Alternatives to War (LAW not War), a global initiative to promote the use of legal approaches - including the International Court of Justice - to resolve international disputes peacefully, uphold the rule of law and prevent war.
- An update on negotiations for a global treaty to end plastic pollution;
- Some of the inspiring policies that won the World Future Policy Award on Peace and Future Generations.
The event is held in conjunction with the Basel Peace Forum 2026 and the award ceremony for the 2026 PACEY Youth Award which provides three prizes of €5000 each for youth projects on peace, climate action and nuclear disarmament.
This is the first of a series of events in 2026 which also coincide with the 125th anniversary of Henri Dunant (Switzerland) winning the very first Nobel Peace Prize (shared with Frédéric Passy from France).
Venue and Registration
Speakers
-
Fabien Fivaz (Switzerland)
Member of Swiss Parliament. Member, Committee on Science, Education and Culture. Member Committee on Legal Affairs. Member of the Interparliamentary Coalition to End Plastic Pollution -
Prof Dr Andreas Nidecker (Switzerland)
Co-President, Basel Peace Office -
Lukas Ott (Switzerland)
Head of the Basel Cantonal and City Development -
Henrieke Buenger (Netherlands)
World’s Youth for Climate Justice, one of the two winners of the 2021 PACEY Award -
Diana Murzagaliyeva (Kazakhstan)
Founder and CEO of Inclusive Academy for children with disabilities, including those related to radiation impacts of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. -
Natia Ninoshvili (Georgia)
PNND Program Officer. Core team member, Youth Fusion. -
Dvir Ezra (Israel/Germany)
Young European Federalists (JEF) -
Rastislav Šutek (Slovakia)
Founder and Executive Director and Ukraine Programme Director, Platform for Peace and Humanity, one of the two winners of the 2021 PACEY Award -
Anna Vyshniakova (Ukraine)
International criminal law consultant, Head of LingvaLexa NGO -
Ghurni Bhattacharya (India/Germany)
Youth Present and World Future Council
Policy on equality, inclusion and respect
Basel Peace Office has policy on equality, inclusion and respect in the workplace which extends to our events. Participants in Basel Peace Office programs and events are expected to:
- Show respect and courtesy to colleagues regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, religion, or age;
- Engage in good faith discussions and interaction, respecting others even when opinions, perspectives, experience and values may differ;
- Ensure everyone has the opportunity to contribute to discussions regardless of age, gender or expertise;
- Respect others’ personal space and privacy, recognising and respecting that norms on personal space and privacy may differ across cultures and generations;
- Maintain professional conversations and interactions in the workplace and at Basel Peace Office events, avoiding comments or actions that encroach upon personal space or privacy, or that may constitute harassment.