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8th International Security Forum : “Coping with Global Change”

The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces hosted the 8th International Security Forum (ISF) from 18-20 May 2009 at the CICG Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

The 8th International Security Forum bring together some 500 experts with security-political background, among them civil servants, diplomats, military, academics, and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations worldwide.

Main conference partners and co-organizers include, among others, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies of Geneva, the Center for Security Studies and the International Relations and Security Network at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The ISF objective is to create a platform for discussion and dialogue on past, current and future security problems and solutions.

The conference consisted of two plenary sessions:

"Towards an Unruly World?" and
"How to Cope with Change?",

six topic sessions

1. Will Democracy Win?

2. The End of capitalism?

3. Globalization and the Five Dimensions of Global Security 

4. Global Burden of Violence

5. Security and Development

6. Global and Regional Security Governance: Quo Vadis?

and twenty-four parallel workshop sessions organized by participated organizations.

The keynote speeches have been provided by  

  • Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chairman, Crisis Management Initiative, "Building Bridges for Sustainable Security";
  • Carol A. Dumaine, Deputy Director for Energy and Environmental Security in the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the US Department of Energy, "Common Security, Uncommon Challenges: Managing Risks in an Age of the Unthinkable” ;
  • Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union “Global Cyberthreats and the Need for Cyberpeace” .

The ISN Special Report "Safeguarding Security in Turbulent Times" narrate the views on issues from

  • Nayef Al-Rodhan "Multi-sum Security: Five Distinct Dimensions";
  • Anne-Marie Buzatu "Security for Sale";
  • James A Lewis "The geopolitics of Technology";
  • Alyson JK Bailes "Some Heretical Thoughts on Security Governance".

The forum's contribution to the international debate is unique in the sense that it will bring together specialists not only from the security sector, but from all areas that shape the future.

The 8th International Security Forum is sponsored and co-organised by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs as an official Swiss government contribution to the Partnership for Peace. 

The International Security Forum (ISF) was launched as the Institutes and Security Dialogue in Zurich in 1994 and has since been at the forefront of cooperation among international security professionals around the world.

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