Angelo Cardona

Cardona is part of the Youth for Disarmament initiative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) established in 2019 with the aim of promoting inclusive participation of young people in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation following the mandate of the resolution 74/64 of the United Nations General Assembly. He was among the winners of the '75 words for disarmament' launched by the United Nations to commemorate the 75 years of its foundation and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[14][15][16][17][18]

In 2016, at age 19, he became member of the International Peace Bureau,[6][9] and was invited to participate in the IPB World Congress 'Disarm for a Climate of Peace' between September 30 to October 2, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.[19][20][21] There, he, along with 31 other young people from 25 countries who participated in the congress, founded the International Peace Bureau Youth Network (IPBYN).[22][1][23]

In 2018, the IPB Youth Network began to prepare pre-conferences for young people in different countries of the world,[24][25] before its world youth conference 'Transform' in Berlin, 2019; where Cardona is one of the speakers.[23] That year he met with Argentine pianist and president of Humanity United for Universal Demilitarisation (HUFUD), Alberto Portugheis, with whom he organised the first IPBYN pre-conference in Europe, on September 15, 2018 at Rudolf Steiner House in London, England.[26][27][28] Cardona gave his lecture entitled 'the hidden shadow of war', in which he spoke about the business of war and how it has impacted the implementation of the peace agreement in his country, Colombia, and the progress of the efforts for peace in different regions of the world.[29] On September 21, International Day of Peace, IPBYN held its last pre-conference of 2018, 'Challenges and Positive Approaches to Peace' in Berlin.[30]

On September 20–22, 2019, the IPBYN World Congress was held, 'Transform! Towards a culture of peace ', in an alliance with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Berlin, Germany. The Congress had approximately 100 participants from 28 countries, mostly young people.[31] Cardona participated in the panel, 'How do we transform our societies?'.[23]

Cardona is also part of the international Steering Group for the Global Campaign against Military Spending (GCOMS).[32] The campaign launched in December 2014, by the IPB [33][34] with the aim of raising awareness and changing the discourse on military spending begins to expand internationally, it currently has more than 100 organisations in 35 countries.[32] As part of the campaign, the IPB proposes April 12, as the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS).[35][36]

In 2019, Cardona was appointed Council member of the International Peace Bureau.[37]

In 2018, the International Peace Bureau Youth Network began to prepare a series of pre-conferences of youth for peace around the world, which would end in the world conference, 'Transform! Towards a Culture of Peace' in Berlin, 2019.[31] So that the Youth Network could make their conferences in Latin America with a name in Spanish, Cardona founded the Latin American Youth Network for Peace (in Spanish: Red Latinoamericana de Jóvenes por la Paz) along with the members of the IPBYN in Latin America. The network is launched in the first pre-conference of the IPBYN, on April 25, 2018 in Medellin, Colombia, during the '2nd International Congress of Science and Education for development and peace' at the University of Antioquia.[24] Then, the Latin American Youth Network for Peace, carried out the second pre-conference, on July 3, 2018, in the Senate of the Argentine Nation, during the international conference 'Let's Talk about Peace'.[38] The Latin American Network held its third pre-conference, on October 9, 2018, this time at the Tecnologico de Monterrey campus in Mexico City.[25] In 2020, Cardona along with the members of the IPBYN in Latin America decided to change their name to Ibero-American Alliance for Peace.[3]

He is vice-president of Humanity United for Universal Demilitarisation a London-based organisation which he directs along with Alberto Portugheis and Martha Argerich.[39][26]