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Journalists and terrorism experts explore international security issues
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A three-day seminar on reporting international security issues kicked off in London this week, bringing together journalists and security experts from around the world to explore themes such as “terrorism after Bin Laden”, the security implications of climate change and cyber warfare and espionage.
- Follow the seminar in real time with our live blog
- Watch videos from the seminar in our multimedia section
- Follow the seminar on Twitter using hashtag #trflive
- Submit a question for Wednesday’s live event, Facebook and people power – The view from Tahir Square
Here is the agenda for the seminar, which is sponsored by Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Stanley Foundation and Gerda Henkel Stiftung.
Day One – Monday 6 June
0900 –Terrorism after Bin Laden
Moderator: William Maclean, Specialist Security Correspondent, Reuters
Speakers:
- Noman Benotman, Senior Analyst (Strategic Communications), Quilliam Foundation
- Guido Steinberg, Researcher, Middle East and Africa, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
- Anna Murison – Head of Global Jihad Forecasting, Exclusive Analysis
Key issues:
- After bin Laden, what is the future of al Qaeda?
- What has been the impact on al Qaeda of the Arab Spring?
- How can governments most effectively counter the residual threat from AQ and like-minded groups?
1045 – Break
1100 – Workshop and discussion – Using social media.
Moderator: John Mastrini, Online Editor/Managing Editor, International Financing Review
Speakers:
- Matthew Yeomans, Director, Custom Communication; writer, filmmaker, social media consultant
- Zaid el Elaimy, a lawyer and youth organiser of the revolution
Key issues:
- What are the most useful tools available to journalists who cover security issues?
- Risks and rewards of reporting based on Facebook and Twitter
- How are terrorists and intelligence agencies using these media?
- How do social media change the role and responsibilities of ‘traditional’ media?
1245 – Lunch
1330 - Terrorism and the Media
Moderator: David Levy, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Speakers:
- Noman Benotman, Senior Analyst (Strategic Communications), Quilliam Foundation
- Camille Tawil, terrorism specialist ,al-Hayat daily
- Mark Hosenball, Correspondent specialising in Intelligence and Security, Reuters Washington Bureau
Key issues:
- Are terrorists and the media in a symbiotic relationship?
- Given the relatively small death toll from global terrorism, are the media right to pay it so much attention?
- Do media give enough prominence to the victims of terrorism? Do they do a good enough job of covering ‘hard to report’ countries like Yemen and Somalia?
- How do the role and responsibilities of the media change in the age of 24-hour news channels, Facebook, Twitter and WikiLeaks?
1500 - Finish afternoon session – depart to the Frontline Club (bus from TR to venue)
1615 – Preventing Nuclear Terrorism – Is it Possible? (A panel preceding the screening of the movie Countdown to Zero)
Moderator: William Maclean, Specialist Security Correspondent, Reuters
Speakers:
- Bruce Blair, Global Zero
- Matthew Brown, Global Zero
- Dr. Rizwana Abbasi, University of Leicester
Key Issues
- There is an international push under way to secure all nuclear material such as highly enriched uranium. How much of this material is out there? Where is it? And how hard is it to secure?
- How easy is it for a terrorist group to develop a crude nuclear device? How likely is it?
- What would be the impact of a nuclear terrorist attack anywhere in the world? What would be the economic, security and political ramifications of such an attack?
1730 Drinks and set up for screening
1830 - Film screening, Countdown to Zero (90 minutes running time)
2000 – Post-film Q&A
Moderator: Mark Hosenball, Correspondent specialising in Intelligence and Security, Reuters Washington Bureau
Speakers:
- Bruce Blair, Global Zero
- Matthew Brown, Global Zero
2030 – Dinner (Frontline Club)
Day Two – Tuesday 7 June
0900 – Islamism and radicalisation
Moderator: Tom Heneghan
Speakers:
- Noman Benotman, Senior Analyst (Strategic Communications), Quilliam Foundation
- Guido Steinberg, Researcher, Middle East and Africa, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
- Jahan Mahmood, community historian, Birmingham
- Kamel Helbawy, cleric, Muslim Brotherhood.
Key issues:
- What is Islamism? How are Islamist movements faring in the rebalancing of power in the Middle East and North Africa?
- Violence in the name of Islam – what makes the Muslim religion vulnerable to abuse by terrorists and what can clerics and ordinary Muslims do to prevent it?
- Has the loss of bin Laden robbed militant Islam of its radical appeal, and what is its future?
- Is it possible to identify shared personality traits or ideological drivers that prompt someone to become a terrorist? What does this imply for counter-terrorism methods such as ‘profiling’? Is it possible to become ‘self-radicalised’, for example over the Internet?
- What can governments and societies do to combat radicalisation and/or ‘deradicalise’ extremists?
1015 – Depart to East London mosque
1100 - Site visit: East London mosque
Speaker: Abdullah Anas, Algerian cleric, leader of the Taruf conflict-resolution consultancy
1215 – Depart back to TR
1400 – Lunch at Thomson Reuters
1430 – The security implications of Climate Change on Water, Food, Borders
Moderator: Laurie Goering, Climate Change Editor, AlertNet
Speakers:
- Sarah Cullum, Head of Climate Security, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Bernice Lee, Research Director, Energy, Environment and Resource Governance, Chatham House
- Jeffrey Mazo, Research Fellow for Environmental Security and Science Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies
- Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert. Chair, advisory group, UN Peacebuilding Fund
Key Issues:
- How will the warming of the world affect security issues and conflict? What are the risks for both developed and developing countries, and in particular fragile states?
- What does the science suggest will happen to trends in infectious disease, energy insecurity, water and food supply and the scale and frequency of natural disasters? Are we going to see major unplanned population movements as people go in search of scarce resources or try to avoid conflicts? Will such movements raise tensions between and within states?
- What will growing climate-related pressures do to the ability of governments to work together to solve problems? Is more cooperation or more disagreement ahead?
- What can be done to address the coming problems?
1600 - Break
1615 - Atrocity and Genocide Prevention
Moderator: Rachel Gerber of Stanley Foundation.
Speakers:
- Kyle Matthews, Lead Researcher, Will to Intervene Project, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Concordia University
- Jennifer Welsh, Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) and Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford.
- Kwesi Aning, head of the Conflict Prevention Management and Resolution Department of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (in Accra, Ghana
Key issues:
- Following genocides in Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere, the world heard promises of “never again.” So how do you go about preventing mass atrocities? What are governments and international institutions doing to address this problem?
- What present-day examples exist of potential genocides or atrocities that have been prevented due to early strategic engagement? South Sudan? Kenya and its post-election violence? What works in prevention? What doesn’t?
- What impact do fragile states have on global security, the world economy, neighbouring countries and the state’s own population?
- How can a broken state be put back together again? What role does the UN play in applying its Peacebuilding process and the Responsibility to Protect principle?
1745 – End of day two
Day Three – Wednesday 8 June
0900– Future challenges II: Cyberwarfare and espionage
Moderator: Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent, Reuters
Speakers:
- Ralph Langner, head of Langner Associates, control systems consultants
- Rafal Rohozinski, Principal with the SecDev Group, a global strategy and research analytics firm
- Pierre Lethier, independent intelligence expert
- Tony Dyhouse, ICT Knowledge Transfer Network, Cyber Security, Senior Manager, Qinetiq
Key issues:
- Implications of Stuxnet and other advanced malware – is this technology now moving within reach of weak states, militant groups and criminals?
- Cyberespionage and the role of China: After the Renault debacle, has the Western media exaggerated the offensive capacity of China’s cyber sector
- Could cyberterrorism become a reality?
1030 – Break
1100 – Future challenges I – Civil resistance – A Tool To Transform The Middle East
Moderator: David Gardner
Speakers:
- Pierre Lethier , independent intelligence expert
- Sally Moore, Egyptian-British psychiatrist who was closely involved in the strategic planning, publicity and logistics of the Egyptian uprising
- Zaineb al-Assem – Head of Middle East and North Africa Forecasting Exclusive Analysis
- (Tentative) Mourad Dhina, co-founder Rachad, exiled Algerian opposition group, veteran advocate of civil resistance
- Srdja Popovic, Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), Belgrade
Key issues:
- After Egypt and Tunisia, can non-violent struggle dislodge other autocrats in the Arab world and beyond?
- What is likely to be the impact of the Arab revolts of 2011 on the post-bin Laden al Qaeda, an organisation that was born, according to some accounts, in the prison cells of Egypt, and on the notion of a “clash of civilisations”?
- Will the rebellions in the Middle East have any effect, for good or ill, on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute?
- How do revolutions fare in their aftermath? Are there lessons for north Africans to be learnt from the past, or does the 21st century Information Technology revolution mean past upheavals are no longer relevant?
1230 – Lunch
1330 – Pakistan: A global terrorism concern, a key to peace in Afghanistan?
Moderator: William Maclean, Specialist Security Correspondent, Reuters
Speakers:
- Ehsan ul-Haq, former Director-General, Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan
- Jahan Mahmood, Community Historian, Birmingham
- Richard Bonney, Professorial Fellow, Royal United Services Institute.
Key issues:
- Does the death of Bin Laden in Pakistan change the country’s significance in tackling global terrorism?
- What is the state of relations as the United States and its partners prepare to start drawing down troops, how prepared is Afghanistan to guarantee its own security?
- What are the chances of a negotiated arrangement between Afghan authorities and the Taliban? What is al Qaeda’s plan or the Afghan endgame?
- How will a Western pullout affect Pakistan, its relations with Afghanistan and India, and the militant groups operating from its soil?
1500 – Break
1515 – Global Leadership and Complex Crises
Moderator: Keith Porter, Stanley Foundation
- Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
- Greg Austin, Vice President of Program Development and Rapid Response, EastWest Institute
- Dana Allin, Senior Fellow for TransAtlantic Affairs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, and djunct Professor in European Studies at the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.
Key issues:
- The world faces the emerging threat of complex, multiple crises and the global security system and diplomatic practices do not appear to have kept up with the threat. How do world leaders manage these crises? In what venues?
- What’s the future of interplay between the UN, specifically the Security Council, and the G-summit process? How might they best work together on a variety of security issues, from Iran, to securing nuclear materials to climate change?
- What are the benefits of tackling security challenges in leader-level summits like the G-8 and G-20? What are the downsides and do such configurations even make sense in today’s world of shifting global power structures? What leadership roles will emerging powers like China, India, and Brazil play, or be expected to play?
1645 – Break
1800 – Drinks
1830 – Evening NEWSMAKER panel discussion – Facebook and People Power – The View from Tahrir Square
Moderator: Paul Taylor, European Policy Columnist, Thomson Reuters
Speakers:
- Srdja Popovic – His group CANVAS, has worked in many countries in the Middle East and beyond to train opposition activists how to mobilise in civilian mass movements
- Dr Sally Moore – an Egyptian-British psychiatrist who was closely involved in the strategic planning, publicity and logistics of the protest movement.
- Wael Ghonim (via videolink) Google’s marketing manager for the Middle East and Africa, who was arrested and interrogated for 12 days before emerging as one of the heroes and symbols of the revolution
- Zaid el Elaimy, a lawyer and youth organiser of the revolution
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