Leadersphere 2022 – Royal Military College Saint-Jean – 4 October 2022

Analyse, Decide, Act: Responding to Contemporary Security Challenges
4 October 2022

Leadersphere is Royal Military College Saint-Jean’s flagship annual conference. It addresses challenges facing Canadian leadership in the international environment, bringing academic research and practitioner expertise to bear on contemporary international problems.

In 2022, Leadersphere is themed ‘Analyse, Decide, Act: Responding to Contemporary Security Challenges’, with each panel framed around a key point in the strategic decision-making process. The first ‘Analyse’ panel showcases academic expertise on contemporary security challenges: democratic decline; cybersecurity; sexual violence in armed conflict; climate change; and pandemic response. The second ‘Decide’ panel is a forum for women leaders to reflect on gender in security decision-making. The final ‘Act’ panel features practitioners, who will reflect on the same challenges as panel one through an operational lens.

Schedule

8:30 | Coffee & tea

9:00 | Welcome

Dr James Groen, Academic Director, RMC Saint-Jean

9:05 | Opening remarks

Dr Marina Sharpe & Dr Élisabeth Vallet, professors, International Studies, RMC Saint-Jean

9:15 | Panel 1 – Analyse: researcher expertise on contemporary security challenges

Moderator: Ms Aphrodite Salas, Assistant Professor, Journalism, Concordia University

Democratic decline: Dr Dietlind Stolle, James McGill Professor, Political Science, McGill University

Cybersecurity: Dr Simon Hogue, Assistant Professor, International Studies, RMC Saint-Jean

Sexual violence within armed forces: Dr Megan Mackenzie, Simons Chair in International Law & Human Security, International Studies, Simon Fraser University

Climate crisis: Dr Alexandra Lesnikowski, Assistant Professor, Geography, Planning & Environment, Concordia University

Pandemic response: Dr Caroline Quach-Thanh, Canada Research Chair in Infection Prevention, Medicine, Université de Montréal

11:15 | Lunch

12:45 | Panel 2 – Decide: gender in security decision-making

Ms Madeleine Redfern, Chief of Operations, CanArctic Inuit Networks Inc.
Ms Martine Saint-Victor, General Manager, Edelman Canada
Ms Béatrice Vaugrante, Programme Director, Global Movement Building, Amnesty International

14:45 | Coffee & tea

15:15 | Panel 3 – Act: operational and practical responses to contemporary security challenges

Democratic decline: Dr Laurence Deschamps-Laporte, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Université de Montréal

Cybersecurity: Brigadier-General James Lambert

Ambassador Jacqueline O’Neill, Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security

Climate crisis: Dr Laure Waridel, Adjunct Professor, Environmental science, UQÀM & Co-founder, Mothers Step In

Pandemic response: Brigadier-General Krista Brodie

17:15 | Concluding remarks

Dr Marina Sharpe & Dr Élisabeth Vallet

17:30 | Closing

Col Gaétan Bédard, Commandant, RMC Saint-Jean