Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (June 11, 2015) – The Partnership for Peace Consortium (PfPC) is holding their 17th Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria, from 1-3 July. In light of ongoing turmoil in Ukraine and elsewhere, some 120 experts from around the globe are gathering to help make sense of the world’s turbulent times and provide constructive recommendations on how to reduce conflict through cooperation.

Austria’s Minister of Defense, Gerald R. Klug, is scheduled to kick off the conference on 2 July at the Austrian National Defense Academy, followed by a keynote by Dr. Anthony Cordesman, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Four thematic panels will be featured: 1) Ideological Challenges of 21st Century Conflict, 2) Geopolitical Aspects of Conflict in the Euro-Atlantic Region, 3) Technological Risks and Opportunities in 21st Century Conflict, and 4) Defense Education and Capacity Building in Support of Security Policy.

Presenters and moderators include Thomas W. Ross, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Cooperation; Major General Igor Tolok, Director, Department of Military Education and Science, Ukraine Ministry of Defense;Professor Julian Lindley-French, The Institute for Statecraft, London; Michael Moodie, Assistant Director, Congressional Research Service; and Glenn Schweitzer, Director, Program on Central Europe and Eurasia, National Academy of Sciences.

The conference format is designed to identify concrete steps that defense educators and policy makers can take to better adapt to a 21st century conflict environment.