Glocalisation and National Security

APPSMO 2015: Glocalisation and National Security

1. SINGAPORE (GMT+8) Why do certain responses to national security challenges such as the foreign fighters phenomenon or pandemics work well in certain regions but less so in others? How should national security practitioners attempt to stress-test best practices in dealing with threats when working in conditions peculiar to a particular local situation? Increasingly, policymakers and practitioners alike are acknowledging that sharing of context and issue-specific knowhow are vital cogs in the machinery of national security architectures; these architectures have themselves had to broaden to include variegated topics including social media analytics and crisis communications. It is not just national security frameworks that have had to evolve in response to increasingly diffused and unpredictable challenges, so too have the experts tasked with the responsibility of manning these frameworks.

2. Bringing together senior national security officials from Singapore, the Asia Pacific and Europe, participants of the 9^th edition of the Asia Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO 2015) will explore such issues under the theme of “Glocalisation and National Security”.

3. More than 80 practitioners and scholars from 25 countries will meet and discuss challenges such as national identity; governance and communication; new trends in radicalisation; and the future of national security.

4. In his opening address, Guest-of-Honour Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security, and Minister for Home Affairs, said, “While our security agencies do what we can to prevent risks from materialising, it is also important to build a society where people can pull together regardless of differences in culture or origin, and overcome adversity with solidarity.”

5. Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman, RSIS, also said, “Increasingly, it has become apparent that security professionals need to branch out and become familiar with domains that traditionally may not have been in their comfort zone. These include social media trends and analytics, as well as post-crisis communication. I should also observe that in Singapore, we have had to constantly evolve our thinking with issues of maintaining a harmonious balance in the face of the forces of globalisation. This is no easy task as in a plural society like ours, different segments can easily be affected by ideologies from other countries, or even imported through new media.”

6. APPSNO 2015 will run from 4-8 May 2015, and is organised by the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), with the support of the National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) in the Prime Minister’s Office.

7. A group of eminent speakers will spearhead the discussions in the week-long programme. Of note are the Distinguished Alumni Dinner Lecture on 5 May and the Distinguished Lunch Lecture, which will be delivered by Mr Ronald Noble and Mr Peter Ho respectively. Mr Ronald Noble is the former Secretary-General of INTERPOL and he will speak on “Crisis: An Opportunity to Learn the Truth about Yourself and Your Organisation”. Mr Peter Ho, Chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, Senior Adviser in the Centre for Strategic Futures, and Senior Fellow of the Civil Service College of Singapore, will speak on “Strategic Surprise and Good Governance”.

8. Other speakers include:

• Per Kristen Brekke, Deputy Director-General, Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), Norway
• David Connery, Senior Analyst, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australia
• Janadas Devan, Chief of Government Communications, Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore
• Thomas Hegghammer, Director of Terrorism Research, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), Norway
• Nathalie Herbelles, Assistant Director, Airport, Passenger, and Cargo Security – Asia-Pacific, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Singapore
• Miles Hewstone, Professor of Social Psychology; and Director, Oxford Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict, University of Oxford; Fellow of New College, The United Kingdom
• David F. Heyman, former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security, The United States
• David L. Heymann, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Head of Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House, London; Chairman of Public Health England, The United Kingdom
• Reiner Klingholz, Director, Berlin Institute for Population and Development, Germany
• Daniel Koehler, Director, German Institute on Radicalization and De-radicalization Studies GIRDS, Germany
• Sir Robert Parker, former Mayor of Christchurch City, New Zealand
• Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, Infocomm Development Authority, Singapore
• Kumar Ramakrishna, Associate Professor, Head of Policy Studies, RSIS, NTU
• Norman Vasu, Deputy Head, CENS, RSIS, NTU