On 8 December, the ANU National Security College (NSC) hosted a panel discussion and networking event to celebrate 15 years of the College.
The event Reflections on the past to secure Australia’s future now, opened with a keynote address from Head of College, Professor Rory Medcalf AM. In the address, he reflected on the important contributions that the College has made over the past 15 years to national security policy and discourse in Australia, and the people who made this work possible. He also discussed some early research findings from NSC's Community Consulations intiative by highlighting the top priority of Australians as per the findings.
A very clear majority of the Australian community places a premium on the idea of 'peaceful and safe communities' as really a unifying force in our policy settings.
Professor Medcalf's keynote was followed by a panel discussion that brought together leading female practitioners across Australia’s national security community, representing past, current and emerging leadership. Caroline Millar, Rebecca Skinner, Afeeya Akhand and Katherine Mansted joined Deputy Head of College, Sally Bulkeley, to explore how Australia’s strategic, policy and leadership landscape has evolved over the past 15 years – and what lessons we can draw to shape the next 15. The panel also reflected on Australia's current national security framework while reflecting on resilience and preparedness for a secure Australia.
We would like to thank all the panellists, staff, alumni and friends of the College, who joined us on the night to make it a success.
Event Speakers
Caroline Millar
Caroline Millar is the former Australian Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg. She previously served as the Deputy Secretary for National Security, in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet covering national security, defence, intelligence and international policy.
Rebecca Skinner PSM GAICD
Rebecca Skinner is the former CEO of Services Australia. She has a broad background in Defence and national security.
Katherine Mansted
Katherine Mansted is a Senior Fellow in the Practice of National Security at the ANU National Security College. She is also the Executive Director of Cyber Intelligence at CyberCX, Australia and New Zealand’s largest cyber security services company.
Afeeya Akhand
Afeeya Akhand is a researcher focused on Australia–South Korea relations, climate change, tech policy and anti-racism. She is an Emerging Associate at the ANU National Security College and a Pacific Forum Young Leader.
Professor Rory Medcalf
Professor Rory Medcalf AM FAIIA has been Head of the National Security College (NSC) at The Australian National University since 2015.