International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)

2^nd ISF-Asia

RSIS, together with Schmidt Futures, launched the inaugural ISF-Asia Programme in 2022. Hosting 24 Fellows from across eight countries in Asia, RSIS and Schmidt Futures brought together the region’s brightest in the fields of government, business, technology, NGOs and of course, academia. RSIS partnered Schmidt Futures for the 2nd edition of the ISF-Asia held in Singapore from 30 July to 2 August 2023.

About ISF-Asia

The brain-child of Programme Chairs Dr Fareed Zakaria and Mr Jared Cohen, the International Strategy Forum (ISF) is an interdisciplinary network of rising leaders, established to strengthen progress and security amid technological innovation and a changing world order. ISF-Asia, organised in partnership with RSIS, was the second programme (and first outside of the United States) to be launched in the ISF programme series. Since 2022, Schmidt Futures has launched ISF-Europe and ISF-Africa, and in February 2023, ISF-Global.

The ISF-Asia Programme brings together exceptional leaders from a wide range of sectors to exchange ideas and experiences, and develop long-term relationships. Fellows will have opportunities to collaborate with their counterparts on pressing global issues with support from Schmidt Futures.

The Programme will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops. The programme will cover topics related to technological innovation and geopolitical issues, facilitated by renowned experts in the field, including scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders.

We look forward to welcoming you to the second ISF-Asia Programme in July 2023 in Singapore. Stay tuned for further updates on the programme and registration details.

Programme Chairs

Fareed Zakaria hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide and is a columnist for The Washington Post, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, and a bestselling author.

Fareed Zakaria GPS is a weekly international and domestic affairs programme that airs on CNN/U.S. and around the world on CNN International. Since its debut in 2008, it has been a prominent television forum for global newsmakers and thought leaders. Interviews on Fareed Zakaria GPS have included U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Other past guests include military officials such as Gen. David Patraeus and Adm. Michael Mullen; corporate leaders such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi; and other public figures like Bill Maher and Bono. The programme earned the prestigious Peabody Award in 2011 and an Emmy® Award nomination in 2013.

Zakaria has regularly hosted primetime specials for CNN Worldwide, such as “Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World,” “Why Trump Won,” and “Putin: The Most Powerful Man in the World.”

He frequently contributes his thoughtful analysis of world events and public affairs to CNN.com; Fareed’s Global Briefing, a daily digital newsletter; and other programming across CNN’s multiple platforms.

Zakaria is the author of three highly regarded and New York Times bestselling books; In Defense of a Liberal Education (2015), a commentary on the importance of a well-rounded education, the international bestselling The Post-American World (1st ed. 2008, 2nd ed. 2011), a discussion of the rise of non-Western powers; and The Future of Freedom (2003), a study of “illiberal democracy” in various countries, also an international bestseller.

Prior to his tenure at CNN Worldwide, Zakaria was editor of Newsweek International, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a columnist for TIME, an analyst for ABC News, and the host of Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS.

In 2017, Zakaria was awarded the Arthur Ross Media Award by the American Academy of Diplomacy. He was named a “Top 10 Global Thinker of the Last 10 Years” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019, and Esquire once called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”

Zakaria serves on the boards of the Council of Foreign Relations and New America. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a doctorate in political science from Harvard University, and has received numerous honorary degrees.

Jared Cohen is the founder and CEO of Jigsaw, which is an independent unit at Google focused on building technology to address global security challenges. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Previously, he was Google’s first Director of Ideas and chief advisor to Google’s CEO and executive chairman Eric Schmidt. From 2006 to 2010 he served as a member of the Secretary of State’s policy planning Staff and as a close advisor to both Condeleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

Cohen is The New York Times bestselling author of five books, including Children of Jihad, One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide, The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations, Business, and our Lives, which he co-authored with Eric Schmidt, Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America, and the forthcoming Life After Power. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, TIME magazine, and Foreign Policy.

He has been named to the “TIME 100” list, Foreign Policy’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers,” Fortune’s “40 Under 40,” and Vanity Fair’s “Next Establishment.”

Cohen serves on several advisory boards, including the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Advisory Board, Allianz, Stanford University’s Freeman-Spogli Institute, Rivet Ventures, FluidMarket, ASAPP, National Counterterrorism Center, and Columbia World Projects.

Cohen received his B.A. from Stanford University and his M.Phil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He speaks fluent Swahili.

For enquiries, contact the RSIS Secretariat for ISF-Asia:

• Mr Eddie Lim, Head, Outreach
• Mr Scott Lai, Head, Events
• Asst Prof Benjamin Ho, Coordinator of the China Programme and Deputy Coordinator of MSc (International Relations) Programme
• Mr Mervin Kok, Manager, Outreach
• Mr Jefferson Ng, Associate Research Fellow

Related content:

• Inaugural International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia), 24-28 April 2022
• 2nd International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia), 30 July to 2 August 2023