Outreach

PARIS DEFENCE AND STRATEGY FORUM

ICE and the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum

On the 13th-14th of March 2024, The Paris Defence and Strategy Forum (PDSF) was held in Ecole Militaire de Paris. This Forum, organised by the French Defence University (ACADEM), is the first event of significant scope in France focused on defence and security, with a strong European focus. It brings together French and international civilian and military subject matter experts in different formats. On the fifth anniversary of ICE, it was the occasion to publicize the new achievements of the Intelligence College in Europe, as done in the past during the “La Fabrique Defense” event.

ICE presence and actions

The Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) has participated in the event, in three main ways:

  • During the whole two days, thanks to a dedicated stand within the central agora. Well placed, it has been visited by a multitude of participants, among them, many experts and researchers, high-ranking military personnel from various parts of the world, including the Austrian Director of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), members of defence-related think tanks, security directors of public and private companies in the field of defence and security. Likewise, various French official cadres related to the issue of security were present, the most prominent being the French Minister of Defence himself.
  • On the 13 een of March, the Romanian Deputy Director of Intelligence, Mr Bizadea, has delivered, just after the former French minister in charge of the French Public Service (Mrs de Montchalin) one of the two keynote speeches kicking of the first roundtables on Human Resources entitled “War on talents”,
  • On the 14 een of March, the Director of PS.ICE has delivered the last keynote speech of the Forum on “European Intelligence & Security, Challenges and opportunities”, describing first the specific EU set-up and, then digging in on the various challenges and opportunities to be tackled in the next future. This keynote speech, followed by a Q&A phase, has allowed to detail the need of a common intel-based strategic culture and the ICE role.

The forum was an excellent outreach opportunity for ICE as the College is reaching maturity, extending its impact in the Academic domain and in Brussels, while intensifying its Public relations actions.

From left to right: - Mario Parente, AISI Director - Elisabetta Belloni, DIS General Director - Alfredo Mantovano, Delegated Authority for the Security of the Republic - Giovanni Caravelli, AISE Director
From left to right: Mario Parente, AISI Director, Elisabetta Belloni, DIS General Director, Alfredo Mantovano, Delegated Authority for the Security of the Republic, Giovanni Caravelli, AISE Director

Italian Award “A Thesis for National Security”. Conclusion of the fifth edition.

Promoted by the Italian Intelligence System, “A Thesis for National Security” is an initiative dedicated to university students, who graduated presenting dissertations on intelligence-related topics. The fifth edition (2021-2022) offered 10 prizes worth €2,500 each for the best master thesis, rated no less than 105/110, on the following topics: geopolitics and international relations; threats to national security; law, doctrine and history of intelligence; economic and financial security. The Award has seen a constant increase in the number of applications over the years. With the participation of graduates from 50 Italian universities, the last edition confirms the value of the relationship between intelligence and academia to promote a shared culture of security.

Thematic Seminar on “How to implement strategic issues in the intelligence work?”

On 31st of May and 1st of June 2023, the Belgian Security (VSSE) and CUTA, with the support of the Royal Military Academy and the Institute Egmont, organised a Thematic Seminar on “How to implement strategic issues in the intelligence work?” which attracted a very large affluence, gathering 80 participants from 23 countries and international organisations. Due to the high interest in the subject, the informal atmosphere, and its diversified setup, bringing together intelligence practitioners, academics, think tankers, and decision-makers (recipients of strategic intelligence or people involved in the prioritisation), the Thematic Seminar was both intensive and intense. During this seminar, participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and address issues related to their daily work, as well as problematics most important to them, making it particularly interactive. This first ever ICE seminar in Brussels shows also all the interest of such events, giving the opportunity to make selected EU outreach actions and to flag the high degree of cooperation within our European intelligence and security community.

Thematic Seminar - Russian Threat – the 10-year perspective

The Czech Security information service (BIS) hosted a thematic seminar in Prague on the topic of Russian threat – the 10-year perspective. The seminar took place on May 23 – May 25, 2023. The two-day seminar was divided into four blocks: first one focused on Russia as a security threat for Central Europe and Western countries in general in 10 years, the second on the future of Russian relations with the rest of the world, namely China and African countries. The third dealt with the issue of energy and its use as a Russian weapon (again with the 10-year perspective). The last block consisted of several short presentations of Czech security services and other state institutions on the main seminar topic.

International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) & IAFIE European Chapter

The Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe (College) participated in the Annual Conference of the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) held in Copenhagen from 11 to 13 September 2023, in joint AIFIE and AIFIE European Chapter format. This Conference, which was held on the premises of the Danish Defence College, was jointly organised by the Danish and Norwegian authorities (via their Defence Universities) after intensive preparation.

Update for the ICE's YouTube Channel

As part of our Let's Meet! Intelligence Together project, we added new episodes to our YouTube channel. We are honored to host mr. Arturo Relanzón Sánchez-Gabriel, Secretary General of the Spanish Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) and Professor Doctor Hendrik Hansen from the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences (Berlin) giving their views on the main threats challenging European security and how the Intelligence College in Europe can contribute to strengthen the security and cooperation culture.

Security in the Black Sea Region. Shared Challenges, sustainable future. Focus on Europe and its neighbourhood

The Security in the Black Sea Region. Shared Challenges, sustainable future. Focus on Europe and its neighbourhood event took place in Bucharest, Romania, during May 22-26, 2023. The course was organised in residential format by the “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy, under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College and with the support of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. The event comprised a large number of international lecturers and speakers, academics, EU and NATO representatives, representatives of security and intelligence state institutions, civil society organisations etc. whose contributions received overall very good feedback from the participants.

Launch of the ICE YouTube Channel

As part of the College’s Outreach activities, we are pleased to announce the launch of the ICE YouTube Channel which will allow us to upload various videos.

“Psychology in the Service of Intelligence” Seminar

Under the framework of the Intelligence College in Europe the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System (SIRP), organised on 29th November 2022, the “Psychology in the Service of Intelligence” Seminar, which was attended by 41 representatives of ICE members states and partners, as well as European academics.

Seminar on “Intelligence Services and Society”

On December 14, 2022, the Complutense University of Madrid hosted the “Intelligence Services and Society” Seminar, attended by representatives of the ICE Members, experts, academics and some EU officials. The two panels were led by experts on the topic and a group of young people, whose profiles and interests intended to contribute and stimulate out-of-the box thinking and improve the conclusions.