Opening of the 27th International Training Course in Security PolicyThe
27th ITC will open on 9 October 2012 at the GCSP. The course will offer the 31 participants coming from 24 countries a broad overview of international security issues, with a special focus on the contemporary regional and global security environment. The ITC will welcome for the first time participants from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Oman, and South Sudan. Each year a study trip is taken to Brussels, together with the participants of the
European Training Course in Security Policy (ETC). This Academic Year the ITC will also travel to Paris, to take part in a major exercise at the Ecole de Guerre. The ITC is directed by Dr Pal Dunay and co-directed by Dr Graeme Herd.
In addition to the ITC, many of the participants opt to take the
Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security (MAS). The MAS is run in conjunction with the University of Geneva.
The 5th recipient of the GCSP's ITC/MAS European Scholarship for Central Asia will also be welcomed in October. The 9-month scholarship to participate in the ITC and MAS in Geneva is awarded to a recent graduate of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. In 2012-13, the awardee is Ms Malika Tukmadiyeva from Kazakhstan.
The ITC will be opened by Professor François Heisbourg (Chairman of the GCSP Foundation Council), together with Ambassador Fred Tanner (GCSP Director) and Dr Khalid Koser (GCSP Deputy Director).
5th ASOS: a platform of exchange for senior military leaders
From 10 to 12 September, the GCSP hosted the
5th Annual Senior Officers Seminar (ASOS) for Flag Officers from NATO, PfP, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Countries, as well as for South Asian, East Asian, and African countries. The seminar offers a unique professional development and networking opportunity for Flag Officers and high level experts to engage with experts and practitioners of the highest quality and to discuss the current developments and challenges of today and future inter-agency and multilateral operations.
The seminar welcomed 35 participants from 24 countries.In the context of this seminar the GCSP was honoured to welcome
Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann, Assistant Secretary General Political Affairs & Security Policy Division, NATO HQ;
H. E. Ms Mariangela Zappia, Ambassador and Head of the European Union delegation to the UN in Geneva, who delivered the opening keynote speech; and
Major General Aldo Schellenberg, Chief of the Armed Forces Staff, Swiss Armed Forces.
Lieutenant General Arne Dalhaug, Commandant of the NATO Defense College, Rome (pictured on the left with Ambassador Fred Tanner), who was also present for the 5th ASOS, visited the GCSP to meet with Ambassador Tanner, Director of the GCSP, for a bilateral meeting to discuss potential areas of future collaboration.
International Luxembourg Forum: top experts on non-proliferation meet at the GCSP
From 11 to 12 September, the GCSP hosted a meeting of the
International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe. The Luxembourg Forum is an institution that unites leading, world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear arms, materials and means of delivery. The Forum holds several high-level events annually in different countries gathering world leading experts devoted to the most burning international security issues and problems of nuclear non-proliferation. The meeting at GCSP was initiated by
Dr Alexei Arbatov (Institute for World Economy and International Relations and the Carnegie Moscow Center), a GCSP Advisory Board member. Participation included
Dr Viatcheslav Kantor (President, International Luxembourg Forum),
Ambassador Hans Blix (former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency),
Mr Mark Fitzpatrick (IISS, London), and
Professor Catherine Kelleher (University of Maryland).
