Ukraine, Syria and the Arctic – From Challenges to Solutions

This two-day international conference is organized by the Institute for 21st Century Questions (21CQ) and Global Brief Magazine, in partnership with the Canadian Forces College.

Day One will be devoted to understanding and exploring the causes of, and potential practical solutions to, the Ukraine conflict and Russia-West conflict and tensions, in both the Eastern Europe theatre and the Syrian theatre.

Day Two will explore Arctic geopolitical, economic, environmental and scientific futures, and will examine practical avenues for Canada-Russian forward cooperation in the Arctic.

Preliminary Conference Program

Day One – June 13^th

8.30 – 9.30:  Registration

9.30 – 10.00:  Opening Remarks

• Introduction: Irvin Studin, President, Institute for 21st Century Questions, and Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, Global Brief Magazine
• Welcoming words: Colonel N. Jardine, Deputy Commandant, Canadian Forces College
• Welcoming remarks: Pierre Pahlavi, Associate Professor, Canadian Forces College

10.00 – 11.30:  “What Exactly Happened?  The Ukrainian Revolution and its Consequences”

• Éric Fournier – former French Head of the Minsk Process (Quai d’Orsay, Paris) and Current French Ambassador to Hungary
• Vyacheslav Tolkovanov – Professor, National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, and former Head of the Ukrainian Civil Service Agency (Kiev)
• Andrey Kortunov – Director General, Russian International Affairs Council (Moscow)

11.30 – 12.30:  Lunch

12.45 – 2.15:  “Europe 2.0 and Other Futures: Is there a Bridge Between Moscow, Kiev and the West?”

• Yuriy Romanenko – Co-Founder of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future (Kiev)
• Igor Istomin – Lecturer, Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) (Moscow)
• Éric Fournier – former French Head of the Minsk Process (Quai d’Orsay, Paris) and Current French Ambassador to Hungary
• Vyacheslav Tolkovanov – Professor, National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, and former Head of the Ukrainian Civil Service Agency (Kiev)
• Andrey Kortunov – Director General, Russian International Affairs Council (Moscow)
• Anna Dolidze – Deputy Minister of Defence, Georgia (Tbilisi)

2.15 – 2.45:  Coffee Break

3.00 – 4.30:  “The Echo Theatres – Syria, Turkey, Nagorno-Karabakh – Causes, Consequences and Possible Exits”

• Miloud Chennoufi – Professor, Canadian Forces College (Toronto)
• Maja Catic – Professor, Canadian Forces College (Toronto)
• Stepan Grigoryan – Chairman, Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (Yerevan, Armenia).
• Zvi Magen – Senior Research Fellow, Institute for National Security Studies (Tel Aviv), and Former Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine and Russia
• Sinem Akgul Acikmese – Associate Professor of International Relations, Kadir Has University (Istanbul)
• Igor Istomin – Lecturer, Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) (Moscow)
• Anna Dolidze – Deputy Minister of Defence, Georgia (Tbilisi)

4.30 – 5.00:  Drinks

***

Day Two – June 14th

8.30 – 9.00:  Registration

9.00 – 9.15:  Opening Remarks

• Introduction: Irvin Studin, President, Institute for 21st Century Questions, and Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, Global Brief Magazine
• Welcoming words: Brigadier-General Kevin Cotten, Commandant,
  Canadian Forces College
• Welcoming remarks: Pierre Pahlavi, Associate Professor, Canadian Forces College

9.15 – 10.30:  “Arctic Futures – Strategy, Environment, Economics, Science, Indigenous People”

• Liudmila Filippova – Program Manager, Russian International Affairs Council (Moscow)
• Michael Byers – Professor, University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
• David Biette – Global Fellow and former Director, Polar Initiative, Woodrow Wilson Center (Washington, D.C.)

10.30 – 10.45:  Coffee Break

11.00 – 12.30:  “Arctic Science, Present and Future – the Briefs from Russia and Canada”

• Kimberly Strong – Director, School of the Environment, University of Toronto
• Vasily Bogoyavlensky – Professor, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)
• Christian Haas – Canada Research Chair For Arctic Sea Ice Geophysics, York University (Toronto)

12.30 – 1.30:  Lunch

1.30 – 3.00:  “Toward a Canada-Russia Arctic Agenda – What Could It Look Like?”

• Whitney Lackenbauer – Professor, St. Jerome’s University (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
• Liudmila Filippova – Program Manager, Russian International Affairs Council (Moscow)
• Michael Byers – Professor, University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
• Kimberly Strong – Director, School of the Environment, University of Toronto
• Vasily Bogoyavlensky – Professor, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)

3.00 – 3.30:  End of Conference Drinks

To RSVP (places are limited), email irvin.studin@i21cq.com