Welcome to the Leangkollen Security Conference 2021!
This year the Leangkollen Security Conference will be fully digital, and we are excited to present one of the best line-ups in the proud history of the Conference. During two morning sessions over two days, we will be addressing the broad and complex security landscape that the Transatlantic alliance is now facing.
The opening speech will be given by none other than the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. He will be followed by former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. On the second day of the Conference, we will be entering the digital sphere and we can proudly present Professor Francis Fukuyama to give the opening remarks.
Professor Thomas Rid will be joining us along with our own Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide. In addition, we have a wide range of excellent Norwegian speakers to contribute to both days of what hopefully will be fruitful and though provoking discussions.
The Conference will be held in both Norwegian and English. The Norwegian parts will be interpreted simultaneously to English.
Programme for the 56th Annual Security Conference
Monday, February 1st 2021
Opening Session: NATO 2030: The Way Forward
Time: 09:30 – 11:00
Chaired by: Kate Hansen Bundt, Secretary General, The Norwegian Atlantic Committee
Faced with continuous conflicts and disputes the world of security is changing faster than ever before. Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has stressed that it is time to update the decade old strategic concept of the Alliance.
How will NATO continue to reassure its relevance on both sides of the Atlantic? Will the Alliance be able to safeguard the interests of all its 30 member states? What about the entering Biden administration – will it contribute to strengthen the transatlantic relationship?
Are European NATO members ready to take on more responsibility in defending its own interests at home? And will Europe be able to unite and set sail for a common direction?
Schedule
10:05
Rector of the College of Europe and former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (2014-2019)
Conversation with Kate Hansen Bundt, moderator

10:20
Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg
Conversation with Kate Hansen Bundt, moderator

10:25
Panel Discussion and Q&As
- Barbara Kunz
Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy University of Hamburg,
- Øyvind Østerud
Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo
- Paal Sigurd Hilde
Associate Professor, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies
- Janne Haaland Matlary
Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo and Adjunct Professor, Norwegian Command and Staff College




10:25
Panel Discussion and Q&As




11:00
End of Programme
Tuesday, February 2nd 2021
Session II: Building Resilience to Foreign Interference
Time: 09:30 – 11:00
Chaired by: Cecilie Hellestveit, Norwegian Academy of International Law
The past decade’s conventional challenges in international security have coincided with a digital revolution. This has created new opportunities for actors to exploit a variety of new means and methods, commonly referred to as hybrid threats.
These threats are designed to be difficult to detect and attribute, as they seek to create confusion, doubt, and chaos. The aim is to influence public opinion, disturb decision making and to undermine political trust and unity.
How should we confront these challenges at a local, national, and global level? Is our current model of democracy compatible with the digital era that we are entering? And how should we work to equip our society with sufficient resilience to withstand these various hybrid threats?
Schedule
09:32
Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute and Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), Director of the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy Program at Stanford
How to save democracy from technology

09:45
Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Influence operations: more active, less measured

09:55
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs in conversation with Cecilie Hellestveit, moderator
Influence operations and the threat to democracy
10:10
Panel Discussion and Q&As
- Ine Eriksen Søreide
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs - Knut Magnus Berge
News Editor, NRK News (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) - Geir Hågen Karlsen,
Lieutenant colonel, Norwegian Defence University College - Karsten Friis
Senior research Fellow and Head of Research Group on Security and Defence, NUPI




10:10
Panel Discussion and Q&As
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs | ![]() |
Knut Magnus Berge News Editor, NRK News (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) |
![]() |
Lieutenant colonel, Norwegian Defence University College | ![]() |
Senior research Fellow and Head of Research Group on Security and Defence, NUPI | ![]() |




11:00
End of Programme
atlanterhavskomiteen.no | #leangkollen2021
