Newsletter
January 2011
January 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 1 |
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Highlight
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European Training Course in Security Policy (ETC)
On 11 January 2011, the 15th European Training Course in Security Policy (ETC) was opened by Professor François Heisbourg (Chairman, GCSP Foundation Council) who spoke on "European Security in a Global Context". The training course welcomes an impressive range of participants from Europe (e.g. Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Lithuania) and outside (e.g. Algeria, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia). The ETC provides participants with a comprehensive and analytical overview of security trends in Europe and its periphery through expert lectures, discussions, and hands-on exercises. The ETC is directed by Dr Gustav Lindstrom and Col (GS) Arnold Teicht. The course runs until 25 March 2011.
A recent highlight of this ETC was the joint session with the International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC) on "The EU as a Security Actor", which featured two distinguished guest speakers. The first speaker, Maj Gen Bernhard Bair, EUFOR ALTHEA Force Commander, European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR BiH), and an alumnus of the GCSP's third ETC (1999), discussed "The Military Dimension of CSDP: Capabilities and Operations - The Case of EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina". The second speaker of this session was Maj Gen Francis "Buster" Howes, Operation Commander, EUNAVFOR, Commandant General Royal Marine / Commander of the UK Amphibious Forces, who presented "The EU Counter-Piracy Operation: EUNAVFOR Atalanta".
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News
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Course Schedule 2011
The GCSP Course Schedule for 2011 is now available in print and on the GCSP website (the online version will include updates throughout the year). It lists all of our training courses that will take place this year. Applications for many of these courses are now being accepted via our website.
GCSP Courses to have High-level Briefings at Brussels-based Organisations
The 52 participants of the International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC) and European Training Course in Security Policy (ETC) will visit Brussels during the week of 7 February 2011. Over the course of the week they will meet with high-ranking officials from the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, the European Parliament, NATO and SHAPE. The Permanent Representatives of Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and United States to NATO will provide briefings, as will the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Finnish representative to the EU Policy and Security Committee. The participants and Brussels-based alumni will come together for an official dinner on the evening of the 8 February. The dinner will include a keynote address by Ambassador Pierre Vimont, Executive Secretary-General, European External Action Service, European Union.
Fellows in 2011
The GCSP is very pleased to announce its Associate and Visiting Fellows for 2011. They include Dr Selmo Cikotić (former Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mr Alan Doss (former Under Secretary General of the United Nations), Dr Laura Hammond (School of Oriental and African Studies), Professor David L. Heymann (Chatham House and former WHO Assistant Director-General), Brigadier General Dr Walter Feichtinger (Austrian Ministry of Defence), and Dr Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou (former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mauritania). A full list of the 2011 Fellows is available here. These Fellows will complement GCSP's in-house faculty expertise by contributing to training activities, participating in workshops or seminars, delivering public lectures and writing research papers. We are very pleased to welcome all of them and look forward to closely working with them.
Expert Training Modules at the GCSP:
*APPLY NOW*
Throughout 2011 the GCSP is opening a number of expert training modules to the public. These modules will address highly relevant issues in the area of peace and security and include contributions by leadings experts. All of these modules will be open either individually or as a group to those interested for a small fee. The first will be a series of modules on Arms Control and Disarmament from 28 February - 3 March 2011. The choice of topics is: Global and European Multilateral Arms Control; Humanitarian Arms Control; Arms Transfers, Defence Industries and Agencies; and/or, Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament. From 18-29 April 2011, the GCSP will offer a series of modules on New Security Issues. The choice of topics is: Demography, Global Public Health, Food Security and Climate Change, International Migration, Organised Crime and/or Cyber-security.
Registration for all Expert Training Modules can be made via the GCSP website. The deadline for registration for the February/March modules is 14 February 2011. The GCSP reserves the right to select the best candidates to fill the available places. |
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Training
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Upcoming Courses
23 - 28 January 2011: Training Course in Diplomacy and Security Policy for Military Personnel entitled "New Trends in Global and Regional Security" is being conducted by the GCSP in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje, Macedonia. This training module is designed for defence officials working in a multilateral environment from Macedonia and other invited countries of the region. For further information, please click here.
27 February - 3 March 2011: The GCSP will run the 7th Annual Defence Attaché Orientation Module that aims at improving the skills of defence officials and providing a strong basis for their future professional challenges as Defence Attachés. For further information, please click here.
27 February - 3 March 2011: The GCSP will run the Expert Training Modules on Arms Control and Disarmament open to the public (see above). For further information about our modules and to register, please click here.
14 - 15 March 2011: Migration and Climate Change: From Speculation to Action: This professional training course provides a state-of-the art review of the current research on climate change and migration, as well as an overview of current policy responses and plans. It is intended to provide an evidence-base for policymakers in government and international organisations to take action. For further information about the course and to register, please click here.
21 - 25 March 2011: Swiss Professional Officers Training Course (SPOT) will take place at the GCSP for the seventh time. Its objective is the transfer of knowledge and the broadening of the conceptual understanding of international security issues with special reference to questions related to global and regional security, the role of states and international institutions in conflict management and peace building. For further information, please contact Mr Thierry Randon (t.randon@gcsp.ch).
2 - 20 May 2011: The Shifting Geopolitics of the Multilateral System: Actors, Strategies, Policies: For the sixth consecutive year, the GCSP and the Graduate Institute organise their annual three-week course on multilateralism in Geneva.The course provides the participants with strong practical skills and a comprehensive understanding of contemporary multilateralism, and is designed for diplomats and other governmental officials. For further information about the course and to register, please click here.
4 - 6 May 2011:The GCSP will conduct a two-day Course on Artificial Intelligence and Global Security, which aims at assessing the impacts of trends in AI on key areas of Global Security. For further information about the course and to register, please click here.
Past Courses  31 October - 3 November 2010: 2nd Senior Level Peacebuilding Course: "Enhancing Leadership in Peacebuilding" (Geneva, CH)
 7 - 14 November 2010: Training Course in Diplomacy and Security Policy for Military Personnel: "New Trends in Global and Regional Security" (Amman, Jordan)
 8 - 12 November 2010: Global Challenges: Leadership and Cooperation in Complex Environments (Geneva, CH)
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Events
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Upcoming Events
2 February 2011: Geneva Peacebuilding Platform Lunchtime Seminar on "Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping in South Sudan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. Experiences from the Nonviolent Peaceforce". The speakers include Mr Atif Hameed, Nonviolent Peaceforce Country Director, Philippines, and Ms Tiffany Easthom, Nonviolent Peaceforce Country Director, South Sudan. Seminar will be chaired by Dr Caty Clément, Head of the Conflict and Peacebuilding Programme, GCSP. To register, please send the email with your contact details (gpp@gcsp.ch) by Monday 31 January.
9 February 2011: The GCSP, in partnership with DiploFoundation, will host an E-Diplomacy Briefing on "Diplomatic Reporting in the Internet Era after WikiLeaks". The speakers include Ambassador Victor Camilleri, Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of Malta to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, former Ambassador of Egypt to the US and Dean of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo (online participation from Cairo), Mr Philippe Mottaz, Director, World Radio Switzerland, and Ambassador Kishan Rana, Former Indian Diplomat & Professor Emeritus at DiploFoundation (online participation from Malta). For further information, please contact Ms Asa Granados (a.granados@gcsp.ch).
16 February 2011: The GCSP will organise a Public Discussion on "Arms Control and Disarmament Challenges" to discuss a new set of challenges and opportunities for the international arms control and disarmament community. With Ambassador Laura E. Kennedy, U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament; the discussion will be chaired by Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on Disarmament. For further information, please contact Ms Isabelle Gillet (i.gillet@gcsp.ch).
9 March 2011: The GCSP will organise a Public Discussion entitled "Terrorism in the Mediterranean: What Policy Responses for what Threat?". For further information, please contact Ms Ruxandra Mathia (r.mathia@gcsp.ch).
Past Events
 16 December 2010: Public Discussion: "The Astana OSCE Summit: An Assessment"
 11 January 2011: Policy Briefing on "Wikileaks and the Future of Diplomacy"
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Research and Publications
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Policy Papers
In 2010, the GCSP launched its Policy Paper series. These short publications are written by GCSP faculty members and renowned experts in international security. The latest issue is Policy Paper n°9 "The NBRIC Revolution and International Relations?" by Graeme P. Herd and Dale A. Till. For a complete listing of GCSP Policy Papers, please click here.
Geneva Papers The Centre continues to regularly publish its Geneva Papers - Conference Series. Three new issues were recently released:
In 2011, the GCSP launched the Geneva Papers - Research Series that complement the Geneva Papers - Conference Series. These analyze international security issues through an approach that combines policy analysis and academic rigor. They encourage reflection on new and traditional security issues that are relevant to GCSP training, such as the globalisation of security, new threats to international security, conflict trends and conflict management, transatlantic and European security, the role of international institutions in security governance, and human security. The first issue was released in January 2011:  ITC Alumni Research
A number of participants from the International Training Course in Security Policy (ITC) have published their Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security (MAS) papers in academic journals in recent years. For further information and a full list of these publications, please click here.
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Alumni
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GCSP Alumna Profile:
Ambassador Maria Ciobanu
Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations, Geneva
 A career diplomat, she was appointed as Ambassador of Romania to the UN Office in Geneva on 1 February 2009. Previously, she worked for more than 15 years on European affairs, having held different position in the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest and served abroad in Dublin, Helsinki and Brussels. Prior to her arrival in Geneva, she served as State Adviser on European Affairs at the Cabinet of the President of Romania for three years.
Testimonial
"For me, the GCSP was an important step in my professional experience and an excellent occasion to make friends and meet future colleagues. I had the privilege to be the first Romanian diplomat to benefit from the high calibre training the Centre has been offering. Today, after 12 years, I can say wholeheartedly that it was a valuable step in enlarging my cognitive horizon on the complexity of international relations. Going back to Geneva as ambassador of my country and renewing ties with the Centre was one of my objectives".
- Ambassador Ciobanu
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