The last of the three seminars focused on information warfare, defense planning, and industrial readiness, as well as resilience from the perspective of the Olomouc and Ostrava regions. Over the course of four days, participants met with Ivo Zelinka, commander of the 91st Information Warfare Group of the Czech Armed Forces, Ivo Zelinka; with representatives of the Šternberk-based company EXCALIBUR ARMY as part of a discussion on the defense industry; and with Miroslav Feix, director of the Capability Planning Department at the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic and former commander of Cyber Forces and Information Operations.
The meeting in eastern Czechia was preceded by equally important seminars in Prague and Berlin. While the most recent seminar focused primarily on European security from an industrial perspective, participants in Berlin concentrated on how the Czech Republic and Germany can specifically contribute to strengthening European security and resilience.
Participants in the Berlin discussions included Ronja Kempin from the Wissenschaft und Politik foundation, which focuses on the changing geopolitical situation in Europe, as well as experts on civil preparedness and societal resilience: first Leon Eckert (Alliance 90/The Greens) of the Bundestag, and later Barbara Gessler, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Germany.
From the Media to Diplomacy
A look back at this year’s event would not be complete without mentioning the first seminar, which took place in Prague. Journalist Ondřej Kundra from the weekly magazine Respekt discussed Czech security policy with the participants, while Jan Paťava, former head of the communications department at the Ministry of the Interior, spoke about crisis communication. Last but not least, CGYPP participants were also able to discuss security policy from a bilateral perspective with Petra Dachtler, the deputy to the German ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Thanks to a visit to the T-Mobile data center, the discussion also turned to digital services; later, the young professionals had the opportunity to meet with Jan Polák from the civic initiative “Weapons to Ukraine Fund,” Linda Štucbarcová from the organization “Self-Defense for All,” Richard Šmejkal from the Red Cross, and Irena Kalhousová from the Herzl Center for Israeli Studies, who together provided all participants with new insights into European security policy.
Thank you to everyone who participated, we look forward to next year’s event!
CGYPP is co-organized by the Europäische Akademie Berlin. The program was launched and is funded by the Czech-German Fund for the Future. The seminar in Prague was organized in cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation in the Czech Republic.
