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2018 Halifax International Security Forum

2018 Halifax International Security Forum

Date
November 16-18, 2018
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Participants
300

Agenda & Speakers

Friday, November 16
Saturday, November 17
Sunday, November 18

15:00-15:30

Welcome On the record

Mr. Peter Van Praagh, President, Halifax International Security Forum

Opening Remarks On the record

The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, Canada

One hundred years ago, the ‘War to End All Wars’ ended. As the guns fell silent, there was a feeling of optimism, that there was a better, more peaceful world in our future. But it was not to be. And 100 years later, the world again grows skeptical and disenfranchised. Multilateralism is fading. Isolationism is growing. Populism is spreading further around the globe. The stakes have never been higher.

This is why – more than ever – we need a security conference of democratic states that seeks to strengthen democracy. This is why we need Halifax.

The 2018 Halifax International Security Forum kicked off with remarks by Forum President Peter Van Praagh. He welcomed and invited all participants to extend their hands, push their limits, and speak their minds. Van Praagh opened his remarks by paying tribute to the late Senator John McCain, who passed away in August 2018, and warmly welcomed the United States congressional delegation.

Participants were welcomed to the Halifax International Security Forum by this weekend’s host, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, the Hon. Harjit Sajjan. Minister Sajjan reminded participants that as they gather to discuss these important issues this weekend, they must remember those who fought and died defending the values of democracy, liberty, and freedom.

15:30-16:30

Plenary 1: 100 Years On: Are We Tired of Winning? On the record

Speakers

Presenter, Impact, BBC World News
Moderator
Ms. Yalda Hakim

Ms. Yalda Hakim

Yalda Hakim is the Presenter for Impact, BBC World News. She is an award winning foreign correspondent and joined BBC World News in December 2012 as a presenter and correspondent and made her on-screen debut in March 2013 presenting a special three part series of Our World entitled, Iraq: Ten Years On. For the past twelve months Yalda has reported extensively from Iraq on the rise of ISIS, and from Nigeria on the country’s fight against Boko Haram. Her other investigations include the United States’ use of drones in Yemen, people-trafficking and torture of Ethiopian migrants in Yemen, and following the Bangladesh garment factory collapse, uncovered workers still being put at risk in unsafe premises. Yalda was born in Afghanistan and moved to Australia in the late 1980s. She began her career at SBS’s World News Australia and filmed her first story for Dateline in 2008 called ‘Yalda’s Kabul’. Before joining BBC, Yalda was the presenter of SBS Dateline in Australia. Yalda was a finalist for the Australian Young Journalist of the Year Award and won the United Nations Media Peace Prize for Best Australian Television News coverage in 2009.

Chairman of the Military Committee, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach is Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, his fourth four-star appointment. He was born in 1956 in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. He was educated at the University of Sheffield, University of Cambridge, RAF Staff College, and the Joint Services Command and Staff College. Commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1977, he flew Canberras and Tornado GR1s in reconnaissance and strike roles. He commanded IX (Bomber) Squadron, and did several staff tours including personal staff officer to the Commander-in-Chief in RAF Germany. His operational service includes tours in Belize, Hong Kong, Germany, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Kosovo, and the USA. His senior UK staff appointments include Chief of Military Intelligence, Chief of Joint Operations, Commander of the Joint Forces Command, Vice Chief of Defence, and Chief of Defence.

Minister of National Defence, Canada
The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan

The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan

Harjit Singh Sajjan is the Minister of National Defence of Canada. He has served Canada and his community as both a soldier and a police officer. He continues his service to Canada as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver South and as Minister of National Defence. Minister Sajjan is a retired Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a combat veteran. He was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina and served three separate deployments to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Minister Sajjan has received numerous recognitions for his service, including the Meritorious Service Medal for reducing the Taliban’s influence in Kandahar Province. He is also a recipient of the Order of Military Merit, one of the military’s highest recognitions. Minister Sajjan was a police officer with the Vancouver Police Department for 11 years. He completed his last assignment as a Detective-Constable with the Gang Crime Unit specializing in organized crime. He proudly tackled gang violence and drug crimes in Vancouver. Minister Sajjan is also a human security specialist, and has lectured to a wide audience in both Canada and the United States.

Senator from New Hampshire, United States Senate
Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Senator Jeanne Shaheen is a Senator from New Hampshire and the first woman in U.S. history to be elected both a Governor and a United States Senator. Jeanne Shaheen has been committed to serving the citizens of New Hampshire and is known for her common-sense leadership, hard work and dedication to improving the lives of the middle class. As a former small business owner, Senator Shaheen has worked to keep the U.S. economy competitive in the global marketplace through her efforts on the Small Business Committee and through legislation such as the Small Business Jobs Act and the Small Business Innovation Research program. She has served in the United States Senate since 2009 and is a member of the Senate Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and is Ranking Member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Between her time as Governor and election to the U.S. Senate, Senator Shaheen served as the Director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.

Senator from Mississippi, United States Senate
Senator Roger Wicker

Senator Roger Wicker

Roger F. Wicker has represented Mississippi in the United States Senate since December 2007. During his time in the Senate, Wicker has championed pro-growth policies to create jobs and has worked to reduce spending, limit federal overreach, and maintain a strong national defense. He is a member of the Senate Republican leadership team, and served as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 114th Congress. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he chairs the Subcommittee on Seapower. Prior to his service in the Senate, Wicker was elected seven times, beginning in 1994, to represent Mississippi’s First Congressional District in the House of Representatives. Before being elected to Congress, he served in the state Senate on behalf of Lee and Pontotoc counties. Senator Wicker served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force and then joined the Air Force Reserve. He retired from the Reserve in 2004 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Senator Wicker is married to the former Gayle Long of Tupelo and has three children and six grandchildren.

Despite over a century of relative global peace and prosperity since the end of the First World War, there are growing concerns for the trajectory of the liberal democratic order. Populism, nationalism, and growing distrust for the media are disrupting the status quo. Emerging threats from China and Russia challenge not only global security, but also the values that have underpinned the rules-based international order.

The first plenary session of the 2018 Halifax International Security Forum examined how liberal states and institutions can continue to champion their values. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach affirmed how the US and other NATO member states are demonstrating their commitment to collective security through their actions, such as Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 held in Northern Norway. US Senator Roger Wicker reiterated this point, speaking to the significance of this year’s NATO Summit, which reaffirmed all 29 members’ commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.

The Hon. Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of National Defence and US Senator Jeanne Shaheen both made the point that liberal states and institutions need to communicate the value of multilateralism to their citizens to combat the misinformation that is eroding public trust. The speakers were unanimous in their view that NATO remains an effective and unified institution.

“We are stronger together. We have a single set of forces, aligned to a NATO command structure that is adapting quickly to the threats it faces.” 

— Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chairman of the Military Committee, North Atlantic Treaty Organization

“The west is not very good at public diplomacy. These command and control societies where the top leader gets to run the television studios are just better at that. We need to get more in tune with the time and with new media in terms of telling our story.” 

— Senator Roger Wicker, Senator from Mississippi, United States Senate

“What decisions do we want to take now so that our grandchildren, 100 years from now, can look back and not ask “what were they thinking?” 

— The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, Canada

“A successful democracy in Ukraine where people are engaged sends a powerful message to Russia.”

— Senate Jeanne Shaheen, Senator from New Hampshire, United States Senate

16:30-17:00

Coffee Break

17:00-18:00

Plenary 2: Present Tense: Treachery in Tech, Trouble in Trade On the record

Speakers

Senior Advisor, Halifax International Security Forum
Moderator
Mr. Robin Shepherd

Mr. Robin Shepherd

Robin Shepherd is the Senior Advisor to the Halifax International Security Forum. The author of two books – one on post-Communist transition in the former Czechoslovakia; the second on European relations with the State of Israel – he is preparing a third on the interplay between democracy and the digital revolution. Formerly the Moscow Bureau Chief of the Times of London, he joined the think tank world in Washington DC as a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2003. Since then, he has held senior positions at a range of top think tanks in the United States, Britain, and continental Europe including Chatham House, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He has been closely associated with the Halifax Forum since its inception in 2009.

President, Boeing International
Mr. Marc Allen

Mr. Marc Allen

Marc Allen is President of Boeing International and a member of the Boeing Executive Council. As President of Boeing International since 2015, Allen is responsible for the company’s international strategy and corporate operations outside the U.S., overseeing 18 regional offices in key global markets. His responsibilities include developing the company’s growth and productivity initiatives outside the U.S., forming new business and industrial partnerships, overseeing international affairs, enhancing Boeing’s local presence and providing global functional support. Allen reports to Boeing Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg. Previously, Allen served as president of Boeing Capital Corporation, a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary that arranges, structures and provides financing for Boeing’s commercial airplane, space and defense products. Prior to Boeing Capital, Allen served as Vice President of Boeing International and President of Boeing China, responsible for leading the company’s business in China from its Beijing headquarters.

Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Georgetown University Law Center
Ms. Rosa Brooks

Ms. Rosa Brooks

Ms. Rosa Brooks is the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Brooks is also an adjunct scholar at West Point’s Modern War Insititute and a Senior Fellow in the ASU/New America Future of War Program. From 2009-2011, Brooks served as Counselor to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy. From 2005-2009, Brooks was a weekly op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Brooks’ experience also includes stints as a Senior Advisor at the US Department of State, as the Special Counsel to the President of the Open Society Foundations and as a consultant for Human Rights Watch. Brooks has taught at Yale Law School, Harvard and the University of Virginia, and has served as a fellow at the Carr Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She currently serves on the Open Society Foundation’s US Programs Advisory board and the Harper’s Magazine Foundation Board. Her 2016 book, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of the Military Times’ top five non-fiction books of 2016; it was shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize and the Arthur Ross Book Award.

Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Digital and New Media, Government of Nigeria
Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi

Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi

Tolu Ogunlesi is the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on Digital and New Media, and Head of the Presidency Office of Digital Engagement (PODE). Prior to this, he worked as Strategic Communications Adviser to Nigeria’s current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. Between 2009 and 2015 he worked as a Journalist, Columnist, and Contributor to Nigerian and international newspapers, including the Financial Times, New York Times, Financial Mail (South Africa), Forbes Africa, the London Guardian, CNN.com, and several others. He’s a two-time winner of the CNN Multichoice African Journalism Award; a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow (2013); a Nordic Africa Institute Guest Writer (2008); and a 2016 Winner of Nigeria’s DAME Prize for Informed Commentary. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, UK. In 2016 he set up the Presidency Office of Digital Engagement, to serve as an in-house Digital Agency for the Nigerian Presidency and the Government of Nigeria.

Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and Founding Director, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
Dr. Janice Gross Stein

Dr. Janice Gross Stein

Dr. Janice Gross Stein is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science and the Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was the Massey Lecturer in 2001 and a Trudeau Fellow. She was awarded the Molson Prize by the Canada Council for an outstanding contribution by a social scientist to public debate. She has received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from four universities and is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She is a frequent contributor to CBC, TVO, and the BBC and writes regularly for the Globe and Mail.

Picture this: an autonomous vehicle made in China with Chinese tech driving on American streets. Threat to U.S. security, or benign technological innovation? Panelist Janice Stein from the Munk School of Global Affairs posed this thought provoking scenario during the discussion, ‘Present Tense: Treachery in Tech, Trouble in Trade. The digital era is upon us – from our smart phones, to artificial intelligence to social media. In some cases, digital technology is making lives better, but it also poses new risks and challenges. With enormous multinational companies wielding unprecedented power, how should governments engage with these actors to ensure liberal institutions and values remain upheld?

Another point of discussion was the role that technology plays in opening up ‘grey-areas’ for state and non-state actors. Georgetown University Law Professor and Associate Dean Rosa Brooks discussed how technology is opening up new methods of coercion and confusion that are displacing traditional hard power. Why bother with military intervention when you can accomplish the same goals using misinformation campaigns and hack-attacks? Finally, Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi, Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Digital and New Media, discussed the rapid pace of technology adoption on the African continent and how China is providing enticing alternatives to Western partnerships.

“Tech is not neutral…from a programmed car to a programmed person, these are potentially all dual-use technologies” 

— Dr. Janice Gross Stein, Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management, and Founding Director, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

“Increasingly yesterday’s bystanders are becoming today’s active agents, and technology is making that possible” 

— Tolu Ogunlesi, Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Digital and New Media, Government of Nigeria

“We can never enter a market without first having to assess what we are doing there, what is our mission.” 

— Marc Allen, President, Boeing International

“Is the decline of American leadership and of the West bad for the world, or just bad for the West?”

— Rosa Brooks, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Georgetown University

18:15

Shuttle to Pier 21

LOCATION: Westin Lobby

18:30-19:30

Reception

LOCATION: Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

19:30

Gala Dinner

Presentation of the Builder Award to Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator from New Hamsphire, United States Senate & Recognition of the Inaugural Class of Peace With Women Fellows

21:30

Night Owl Sessions

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea?
LOCATION: Atlantic Ballroom

SPEAKERS:

  • Mr. Seung-Joo Baek, Member of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea
  • Ms. Insun Kang, Washington DC Bureau Chief, Chosun Ilbo
  • Mr. Mark Lippert, Vice President, International Government Affairs, Boeing International
  • Congressman Mike Turner, Representative from Ohio, United States House of Representatives
  • MODERATOR: Mr. Kevin Baron, Executive Editor, Defense One

 

Targeting Tomorrow’s Terrorists
LOCATION: Tradewinds

SPEAKERS:

  • H.E. Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of Foreign Relations Department, Kurdistan Regional Government
  • General (Ret.) Amos Yadlin, Executive Director, Institute for National Security Studies
  • MODERATOR: Ms. Isabelle Lasserre, Deputy Editor, Le Figaro

 

Vancouver Peacekeeping Initiatives: Mali and More
LOCATION: Harbour B

SPEAKERS:

  • Ms. Karin Landgren, Executive Director, Security Council Report
  • General Rrahman Rama, Commander, Kosovo Security Force
  • The Hon. Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, Canada
  • MODERATOR: Ms. Janine di Giovanni, Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University

Clippings

Trump's volatility dangles over Halifax security forum
Bob Howse

“Churchill’s “story of recrimination” among allies is one of our own times, too. And it is one that will hang over the participants in the Halifax International Security Forum as they begin their 10th year of discussions Friday. The 300 invitees are a who’s-who of political, military, government, NGO, scholarly and entrepreneurial leaders from democratic nations. All have a shared interest in a vision of global security that embraces economic, environmental, democratic and human well-being. 

India’s ‘Asian model’ will prevail over China, says global security expert
Anirudh Bhattacharyya

“The head of North America’s leading event on geo-strategic matters believes the Asian model exemplified by democracies such as India will ultimately prevail over the system represented by China. In an interview before the Halifax International Security Forum, formally hosted by Canada’s national defence minister, currently Indo-Canadian Harjit Sajjan, its president Peter Van Praagh said there were complaints in places such as India over the lack of “efficiency” when compared to what has been achieved by China.

Trump's heated rhetoric not in line with U.S. actions: American senators tell Halifax forum
Michael MacDonald

Two outspoken U.S. senators — one Republican and one Democrat — took aim Friday at President Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric about rejecting globalism in favour of nationalism. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told delegates to the Halifax International Security Forum that the United States’ commitment to international co-operation should be judged by the country’s actions, not Trump’s words.

The U.S. and China are playing a dangerous game
Janice Gross Stein

“The gloves are off, and the new Cold War is out in the open. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have each weaponized trade and technology in an effort to make their countries great again. What makes their conflict so dangerous is the enhanced and simultaneous competition over trade, technology, and the South China Sea. In a process of reciprocal escalation, both countries are now firing on all cylinders. In that kind of process, by-standers can get hurt, and badly.”

Russian aggression and cyberwarfare key issues for Canada to confront, says Sajjan
The Canadian Press

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says Russia’s disruptive behaviour on the world stage is a key concern for Canada. Sajjan made the remark Friday at the opening of the Halifax International Security Forum, a three-day event that has attracted security experts and politicians from around the world.

Halifax Forum Looks for Solutions to World’s Security Challenges
Jim Garamone

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, is one of many security and military leaders attending the Halifax International Security Forum, which kicked off today with discussions covering security challenges throughout the world and the role democracies can play to address them.

More News & Press

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It's not every day that women's leadership is associated with the military + engineering. For #PeaceWithWomen alumna 🇦🇺 CDRE Rachel Durbin, it's the culmination of a supportive environment and equal opportunity. Read about her path to success. #WeAreNATO createdigital.org.au/women-leading-…

20 hours ago

A commonality among the 11 countries in the 2020 #PeaceWithWomen Fellowship: #disinformation challenges to democratic norms and values🗽 Today we learned from @AletheaGroup about what it means to the protect the truth. Thanks, @lisackaplan & @CindyOtis_ for a great discussion.

6 days ago

Read our VP Robin Shepherd guest hosting @politico China Watcher👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 twitter.com/HFXChina/statu…

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