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The conference is organised by the NATO Defense College Foundation, in co-operation with the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, the Policy Center for the New South and the NATO Defense College. The event will live streamed on our new engaging, interactive digital platform, in Italian and English. On the of 10th December, 2020 the live streaming will start at 3.00 pm. to finish at 7.40 pm. On the 11th of December, we will be live from 3.00 pm. to 4.40 pm.

This year has shown once more the swift evolution of international security. New challenges are increasingly complex, ranging from climate change to health-security nexus to AI with its multiple applications. Each of these challenges is bound to affect deeply both daily life and strategic considerations (extreme weather, pandemics, autonomous civil and military vehicles). The Game Changers 2020 conference intends to clarify the overall debate while pinpointing relevant details on these issues, using innovatively virtual platforms and live speakers.

The Opening Remarks will be delivered by Ian Lesser, Vice President of the German Marshall Fund of the Unites States. The first Conversation will tackle climate change and resources scarcity, discussing how the effects of climate change may have a significant influence both on political-strategic and operational levels. Mahmoud Karem (former Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to NATO and the EU) will talk climate change and shared water resources. Kidane Kiros (Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South) will give a southern perspective on climate change and international security.

The second Conversation will include five specialists, who will explain what are the main political and operational lessons from the pandemic crisis both at the national and international level. Among them: Jamie Shea (Former Spokesperson of NATO, Overijse, BE), talking about the new post-pandemic leaderships and Daniele Riggio (Press Officer at NATO HQ), explaining the lessons learned by the Alliance.

Francesco Maria Talò (Permanent Representative of Italy to the North Atlantic Council) will conclude the working day with a special intervention on emerging challenges.

On the 11th of December we will discuss the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence – the most disruptive element in international security. Among the five panellists: Laura Carpini, (Cybersecurity Coordinator, Italian MFA) and Stéphan Brunessaux (Senior Expert in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, Airbus Defence and Space).

Overall, twenty highly qualified practitioners will attend the conference both in-person and virtual.

According with the current rules, the event will be organised without the audience in the room and only some speakers will be present on stage (indicated in the official programme attached with **).