SECURITY FORUM
The Security Forum served as an important platform for debate on security challenges in the Central and Eastern European region, with particular emphasis on the role of local authorities, international cooperation and the resilience of states and societies to crisis situations.
The Forum’s programme comprised eight main thematic panels and a strategic simulation running in parallel, involving representatives from public administration, the military, expert communities and international organisations.
The first day of the Forum featured three expert panels and a strategic simulation, focusing on issues of military, infrastructure and border security. The discussion was opened by a panel on the future of the security architecture in the Baltic Sea region (“Baltic 2035”), during which participants analysed trends in the development of defence capabilities and international cooperation. Key speakers included, amongst others: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dr Jarosław Gromadziński – President of the Defence Institute; Vice Admiral Przemysław Karaś – Deputy Commander of COM DORSZ; Kacper Płażyński – Member of the Sejm; and Lars Brännström – Vice-President of SAAB Kockums AB.
Key areas of discussion included the cyber resilience of municipal infrastructure and border security, as well as the role of public administration and the security services in ensuring the stability of the state. Participants in this section included, amongst others: Tomasz Zdzikot – Deputy Chair of the Security and Defence Council to the President of the Republic of Poland, Maciej Siciarek – Director of the CSIRT Division at NASK, and Marek Goluch – Chairman of the Management Board of LPEC. Speakers at the panel on border security included: Oleh Kuts – Consul General of Ukraine in Lublin, Colonel Norbert Loba, and representatives of the administration and security services.
A strategic simulation run in parallel provided an opportunity to practise, in a practical setting, how local authorities operate in crisis situations, which was an important element in building operational capabilities.
The second day of the Forum comprised five panels and debates, focusing on the social, organisational and infrastructural resilience of the state and its regions.
The programme included, amongst other things:
- a panel discussion on strategic resources for the population
- a debate on security funding (in the form of a fireside chat)
- discussions on civil defence and crisis management structures
- an analysis of how regions function when cut off from key resources
Key participants included, amongst others: Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka – Chair of the Three Seas Business Council; Senior Fire Officer Dr Mariusz Feltynowski, Eng. – CEO of the International Advisory Institute for Strategic Analysis; and Krzysztof Golubiewski – Chairman of the Management Board of Koleje Lubelskie.
In the panels on civil defence and the functioning of regions in crisis situations, foreign partners, including representatives from Ukraine, made particularly significant contributions: Khrystyna Zamula – Vice-Chair of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Violeta Labazyuk – Chair of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council; and Vadym Shkarivskiy – Deputy Chair of the Odesa Regional Council.
In total, the Forum featured over 14 hours of expert debates, which demonstrates the programme’s high intensity and the wide range of topics discussed.
The event was attended by representatives of central and local government, security experts, representatives of the defence sector and international partners. The Forum provided a platform for the exchange of experiences and best practices in the context of real-world security challenges, thereby strengthening regional cooperation and crisis response capabilities.