The Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium was back this year in a new virtual format for the first time since its launch in 2018.

Twenty-one expert speakers were present at the third edition of this three-day, three-module Symposium, which gathered 49 participants from across the globe from 1 to 3 September 2021. Speakers included:

• Ms Christina Orisich, Deputy Director and Head of Executive Education, GCSP
• Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan, Head of Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme
• Mr Niklas Hedman, Chief of Committee, Policy and Legal Affairs Section (CPLA) of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Vienna, Austria
• Mr Xavier Pasco, Director, Foundation for Strategic Research, FRS, Paris, France
• Dr.-Ing. Carsten Wiedemann, Senior Scientist, Institute of Space Systems, Technische Universitäg Braunschweig, Germany
• Mr Thomas G. Roberts, Adjunct Fellow (Non-resident), Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA
• Dr Alain Dupas, International Expert, Aerospace & High Technology Sectors, Paris, France
• Dr Michael K. Simpson, Director Emeritus of Secure World Foundation, Professor of Space Policy and Law at International Space University, Senior Fellow of IISC, USA
• Dr Lennart Maschmeyer, Senior Researcher, the Center for Security Studies, Zurich, Switzerland
• Dr Mark Madsen, Project Leader in ICT, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Dr Markus Schmidt, Founder and Team Leader, Biofaction, Vienna, Austria
• Professor Marc Pollefeys, Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich and Director of the Microsoft Mixed Reality and AI Lab in Zurich, Switzerland
• Dr Neil Renic, Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH), Hamburg, Germany
• Captain James E. Fanell, Government Fellow, Global Fellowship Initiative, GCSP
• Professor Gerrit Glas, Professor of Philosophy of Neuroscience, VU University, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Dr David Gallardo-Pujol, Associate Professor, University of Barcelona, Spain
• Professor Shane O’Mara, Professor of Experimental Brain Research, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Dr Marcus Holmes, Associate Professor of Government, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, USA
• Dr Georg Northoff, Canada Research Chair in Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, ELJB-CIHR Michael Smith Chair in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Research Unit Director, University of Ottawa, Canada
• Professor Joseph LeDoux, Professor of Neural Science, Psychology, Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University; Director of the Emotional Brain Institute at NYU, New York, USA
• Dr William Casebeer, Senior Science and Technology Advisor, Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab, Boston, USA

During the Symposium participants embarked on an interactive online journey covering the multiple dimensions of global security, including outer space security and its relationship to terrestrial security, transformative technologies, and the relevance and uses of neuroscience across a wide range of security policy issues.

The Symposium’s programme was carefully crafted for online delivery by Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan, Head of Geopolitics and Global Futures at the GCSP. It included keynote speeches, lectures, Q&As, and interactive exercises that empowered participants to assess the impact of current and future challenges to global security and propose creative solutions. The module on outer space security featured a groundbreaking immersive experience that enabled participants to understand the dynamics of a space security crisis and work together to draft policy recommendations.

Many thanks to all the distinguished speakers and participants who attended the Symposium! Based on the positive feedback received, another edition of the online Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium will take place in October 2022. The exact dates will be confirmed shortly.