Beyond the GCSP – Recent Alumni Highlights

The Alumni & Community Engagement Office’s 2026 has started with new hubs, changes in leadership, engaging publications, and insightful events. We launched new Hubs in Cameroon and Saudi Arabia and had changes in leadership in Belgium and Austria. Alumni from our Hubs in Iraq, Ethiopia, and Egypt released an array of Alumni Notes. We also held a mix of in-person and online events with our Hubs in Jordan, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Sweden – with more upcoming in North Macedonia, Ethiopia, Kenya - and Geneva as we celebrate some key anniversary milestones for the GCSP (40th for the LISC, 30th for the ESC, and 10th for the GANN).

Around the Network

• Austria: In May, our Hub bid farewell to Brigadier General Michael Janisch (ITC, 1992), one of the Hub Leaders. We thank him for his dedication to our Hub in Austria and excellent collaboration over the years!
• Saudi Arabia: Recently, we opened our 37th global Hub in Saudi Arabia, led by Ms Lamyaa Abdellateef (Alumna, Senior-Level Peacebuilding Course 2022) and Mr Ayman Alkhalifah (Alumnus, Cybersecurity Courses 2015).

On the Bookshelf

• In May, Yomna I. Ahmed, from our Egypt Alumni Hub, examined the growing strain on nuclear restraint in the Middle East amid escalating regional conflicts and the erosion of key diplomatic agreements through an Alumni Note. Read more about it here.

Alumni in Action

• Ethiopia: On 7 May, the GCSP Alumni & Community Engagement Office in partnership with its Ethiopian Hub convened some 90 GCSP Alumni from around the world for a virtual discussion entitled “Africa Today – New Geopolitics and Global Impact”. Some takeaways are available here.
• Senegal: On 11 May, our Alumni Hub in Senegal joined an Alumni Reception hosted by the Swiss Embassy in Dakar. Participants and organisers of our Defense Attaché Course in Dakar along with representants from embassies and think tanks were invited to this networking event.
• Sweden: On 19 May, the GCSP Alumni & Community Engagement Office in partnership with the Swedish Defence University and the Embassy of Switzerland to Sweden organised its first Strategic Security Policy Seminar in Stockholm on the strengthening of security systems. Link to article if ready in time.

Upcoming Alumni events

• North Macedonia: On June 19, 2026, the GCSP will host a panel during the first Skopje Security Conference, organised by our Hub Leader for North Macedonia, Dr Ardijan Ismaili, and the Center for Security Studies (CSS-Skopje).
• LISC/ESC Anniversary: The GCSP will celebrate jointly the 40th Anniversary of the LISC (formerly ITC) and the 30th Anniversary of the ESC (formerly ETC) on 18 September 2026.
• GANN 2026: This year will also mark the 10th anniversary of the GANN. Save-the-date of 5 November.