I’m at a conference in The Hague on National Safety and Security. The conference has just been opened by Guusje ter Horst, the Minister of the Interior & Kingdom Relations, in the Netherlands. It’s a good speech and I’m chuffed when she begins to talk about how important it is that we move away from the traditional ‘need to know’ approach and begin to think about the ‘need to share’ on issues of national security (they really buy into the report we launched last year).
Last night I managed to sit next to Peter Schwartz, the former Head of Scenario Planning at Shell, who was asked a question about climate change. He pauses (for effect), looks at the guy and says… ‘of course climate change is a big risk but there is something bigger round the corner.’ I drop my fork (for effect).
Last point (before Guido Bertolaso finishes his talk on international cooperation). No one I’ve spoken to can remember when ‘National Security’ became a conference topic. Sure, there have been lots of conferences on aspects of national security but none that have focused on ‘national security’. One interesting trend I’ve noticed recently is the number of governments pursuing their own national security strategies at a time when the discourse is focused on ‘global risks’, and ‘international cooperation’. The Dutch Government, Norwegian Government, and Canadian Government have all published one in the last few years. The Australian and French Governments are about to start (they’re all here too); and of course the UK Government is about to publish their strategy imminently. I have my own ideas but I think I’m going to ask our speakers… they must know the answer.
