The 20th NISC concluded on 28th of June 2019 after eight weeks mapping new and emerging security challenges and tackling the responses required to address them. Twenty-two participants from twenty countries took part. They represented government ministries such as foreign affairs and defence and organisations such as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and Médecins Sans Frontières. 

These twenty-two participants came from countries in the Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The course placed an emphasis throughout on human and state security, the interlinkages between issues, and the value of adopting a more forward-looking approach in international security. Under weekly themes, the participants looked into such topics as:

• Global health security 
• Climate change and security 
• Violent non-state actors
• Artificial intelligence
• Synthetic biology
• Technologies, conflicts, and legal issues
• The sustaining peace agenda
• Case studies on global governance, including on space security and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Case studies on regionalism, including the transatlantic relationship & Russia and the League of Arab States

A series of skills lab throughout the course enhanced their skill-set to respond to such issues. These included sessions on crisis management, strategic foresight, strategic communication, negotiation, and dedicated modules on leadership.

This edition of the NISC was also an opportunity to celebrate the 20th year of the course. Please see here for further details.