{"id":988829,"date":"2022-10-12T10:13:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T07:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rigaconference.lv\/?page_id=988829"},"modified":"2022-10-20T16:21:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T13:21:53","slug":"side-events","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rigaconference.lv\/side-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Side Events"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The R\u012bga Conference 2022 is a dynamic hybrid event. It blends a traditional face-to-face meeting with remote streamlined interactions both among speakers and participants, in Latvia and abroad.<\/p>\n

The Conference will take place in an intriguingly designed, high tech urban competence site – the National Library of Latvia. It will be held over two consecutive days, October 21 and 22, but please note that the side events will already begin to take place on October 20.<\/p>\n

Hybrid event blends traditional face-to-face with remote streamlined interactions among speakers and participants in Latvia and abroad.<\/p>\n\t

October 20, 2022<\/strong> (Thursday)
\nThe National Library of Latvia<\/h4>\n\t

10:30 – 12:00<\/strong><\/h3>\n(GMT+3)
\nSIDE EVENT – SPECIAL SESSION
\nAUTUMN STAGE\n\t

RUSSIA`S NUCLEAR MESSAGING AND DISINFORMATION<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 has not resulted in nuclear use. And yet, nuclear messaging has been an integral part of the war since its very beginning. Some of the most pessimistic predictions about this war, such as that it would result in direct military confrontation between Russia and NATO, have not materialised. However, Russia’s use of tactical nuclear weapons as a response to Ukraine’s recent military successes cannot be ruled out because Vladimir Putin has time and again issued thinly veiled threats that Russia is ready to use all means at its disposal to achieve the goals of the ‘special military operation’ and to defend its territorial integrity. This panel discussion addresses Russia’s nuclear narratives and nuclear deterrence messaging techniques. It also deals with the pertinent issue of how NATO should respond to Russia’s nuclear threats.<\/p>\nDr Tomas Jermalavi\u010dius<\/strong>, Head of Studies, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security
\nJessica Cox<\/strong>, Director of Nuclear Planning Directorate, NATO HQ (online)
\nChris Riley<\/strong>, Head of Strategic Communications Unit, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO HQ (online)
\nDr Ieva Karpavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117,<\/strong> Senior Adviser of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Department, Ministry of National Defence, Republic of Lithuania\n

Moderator: Dr Toms Rostoks<\/strong>, Director of the Centre for Security and Strategic Research at the Latvian National Defence Academy<\/p>\n\t

12:30 – 14:00<\/strong><\/h3>\n(GMT+3)
\nSIDE EVENT – SPECIAL SESSION
\nAUTUMN STAGE\n\t

SEAT AT THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL: IS IT WORTH IT?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Ironically, nowadays, the weakest link in maintenance of global peace and security is the world’s most powerful institution that authorises the use of military force. Latvia has put forward its candidature to the non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2026-2027 at the election in 2025. In this light and at the present moment, when Russia is waging war in Ukraine and the UNSC has failed to respond to it, three main questions will stand at the core of this discussion. First, is it worth to strive for the UNSC non-permanent seat when the UNSC demonstrates inability to take decisions and act? Second, how to get elected to the UNSC – what strategies and components make the lobbying and election campaign of small states successful? Third, how to use the short UNSC two-years term in a most effective way?<\/p>\nElizabeth McCullough, <\/strong>UN Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland
\nSimon J Draper<\/strong>, Former Director General United Nations, Human Rights and Commonwealth Division, New\u00a0Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade
\nDr Kristi Raik<\/strong>, Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the ICDS
\nH.E. Steven McGann, <\/strong>Founder of The Stevenson Group
\nH.E. Sanita Pav\u013cuta-Deslandes<\/strong>, Ambassador, Head of the United Nations Security Council Task Force\n

Moderator: Dr Gunda Reire, <\/strong>Adviser to the Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia<\/p>\n\t

14:30 – 15:30<\/strong><\/h3>\n(GMT+3)
\nSIDE EVENT – SPECIAL SESSION
\nAUTUMN STAGE\n\t

SECURING EUROPE’S ENERGY FUTURE: CANADA, WHERE ARE YOU?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the West barrels towards renewable energy sources, it suffers in the near term with its dependence on critical minerals and gas from authoritarians. Allies have now seen the disruptive impact of unanticipated cuts in supply and price increases on their economies with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With a limited supply and inadequate infrastructure, there is currently no capacity to backfill against Russian oil and gas, meaning that authoritarian governments will continue to hold sway over energy-dependent democracies unless allies come together and quickly innovate to address their energy needs in a principled and strategic way. North America and Europe are experiencing the consequences of misguided energy policies that have undermined efforts to change the geostrategic landscape in the West’s favour. However, recent geopolitical events have resulted in a wholesale, material re-evaluation of Western energy policies with consequential new directions to restructure energy infrastructure and trade in both Europe and North America. What role do Canadian natural resources, from LNG to hydrogen to critical minerals, play in this new rethinking? How can Canada support its European allies in achieving energy and resource security, and why has this not happened yet? This panel will bring together leading experts to help chart the way forward for Canada and its allies in securing energy and resource independence from authoritarian adversaries.<\/p>\nSt\u00e9phane Dion<\/strong>, Canada’s Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the EU and Europe
\nAlan Riley, <\/strong>Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center
\nAndris Piebalgs, <\/strong>Professor at the Florence School of Regulation in the European University Institute. He is the Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the International Methane Emissions Observatory
\nShuvaloy Majumdar<\/strong>, Senior Fellow and Foreign Policy Program Director at the Macdonald Laurier Institute
\nDr Heather Exner-Pirot,<\/strong> Senior Fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute\n

Moderator: Jonathan Berkshire Miller,<\/strong> Senior Fellow and Indo-Pacific Program Director at the Macdonald Laurier Institute<\/p>\n\t

16:00 – 17:00<\/strong><\/h3>\n(GMT+3)
\nSIDE EVENT – SPECIAL SESSION
\nAUTUMN STAGE\n\t

WPS: ROLE OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised in cooperation with the Embassy of Canada to Latvia.<\/p>\n

The war in Ukraine has also raised the topic of a new power represented by the participation of women in conflicts. It demonstrates that females in conflicts are not only victims and that their experiences are more complex. Women can be fighters, peacebuilders and protectors. For example, women now account for about 22 percent of the total Ukrainian military fighting against the occupant. Meanwhile, women make up about 40 percent of Israel’s conscript soldiers and about 25% of their officer corps. Yet at the same time, women are usually excluded from peace negotiations, and prevailing stereotypical images depict females as victims. In this day and age, the role of women should be advanced as equally important in all aspects of conflict resolution. How can this be achieved? What are the accumulated practices of women’s participation in conflict zones, and are there challenges and risks involved? During times of conflict, how can the empowerment of women be supported and promoted? Are there lessons to be learned from Ukraine?<\/p>\n

Special address: Irene Fellin<\/strong>, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security<\/p>\n

Special address by St\u00e9phane Dion<\/strong>, Canada’s Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the EU and Europe.<\/p>\nCharlotte Isaksson<\/strong>, Gender Adviser at the European External Action Service
\nLCol Melanie Lake,<\/strong> Canadian Armed Forces
\nLiudmyla Kulchytska<\/strong>, Ukrainian Armed Forces
\nNatalia Kalmykova<\/strong>, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation (online)\n

Moderator: LCol Leona Ahn, <\/strong>Canadian Armed Forces<\/p>\n\t

October 21, 2022<\/strong> (Friday)
\nThe National Library of Latvia<\/h4>\n\t

8:00 – 9:00<\/strong><\/h3>\n

(GMT+3)<\/p>\nCLOSED-DOOR DISCUSSION
\n(by invitations only)
\nAUTUMN STAGE\n\t

3SI DIGITAL FUTURE FORESIGHT ROUNDTABLE\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised by the Visegrad Insight in cooperation with the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation and supported by Meta.<\/p>\n

The organisers of the discussion will bring together decision-makers and policy influencers from the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) at a closed-door moderated discussion focused on practical and actionable policy recommendations from 3SI countries related to the EU-US Trade and Technology Council and democratic security.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, The Visegrad Insight Represenatives will present and discuss the recommendations and key points of an upcoming foresight report developed with the Three Seas Initiative Digital Civil Society Forum policy and civil society leaders. Supported by META, this strategic foresight project was launched in January 2022 and gathered influencers and policymakers around future-oriented policy research where they discussed the potential actions within the digital area by the countries of the region. The upcoming report maps out the outcomes of this exchange on contemporary political, economic and social challenges aimed at the decision-makers informed policy choices and areas for enhanced collaboration and development within the CEE.<\/p>\n

The introduction and report findings will be presented by Krzysztof Izdebski of the Open Spending EU Coalition and Stefan Batory Foundation and the author of the report.<\/p>\n\t

October 22, 2022<\/strong> (Saturday)
\nThe National Library of Latvia<\/h4>\n\t

13:45 – 14:30<\/strong><\/h3>\n

(GMT+3)<\/p>\nSPECIAL DISCUSSION
\nFUTURE STAGE\n\t

WAR AND EUROPE’S FUTURE. IS THE EU LOSING ITS STRATEGIC AUTONOMY?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This side event is organised by the Visegrad Insight in cooperation with the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation.<\/p>\n

As the Russian aggression on Ukraine continues despite an accelerated decay of the aggressors’ power, several other global pressure points – ranging from environmental and health to digital and demographic issues – are already converging. The tensions between autocratic and democratic governments are manifesting globally, and the subsequent effects are increasingly pronounced for Europeans. The war is a moment of clarity that verifies several assumptions about the strategic direction of the EU and Europe overall.<\/p>\n

Over the past months Visegrad Insight has collected Central European intelligence and multiple voices in a strategic foresight exercise that maps out four major scenarios for Europe. While the illiberal drive in Budapest and Warsaw has eclipsed the much-needed articulation on the future of Europe, the civil society leaders are the expression of the worried but hopeful future.<\/p>\n

At the meeting we propose to discuss two key recommendations in the context of the possible futures:<\/p>\n

Reforming EU’s strategic autonomy<\/p>\n

Transferring momentum for enlargement to facts<\/p>\n

The introduction and report findings will be presented by Wojciech Przybylski, the author of the report. Participants will be asked to comment on the findings and discuss the main challenges and proposed scenarios.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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