International Security Expo has unveiled its CPD-certified educational programme at London Olympia, on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 27 and 28.
Expo organisers say they’ve been guided by the event’s 70-strong Advisory Council, of people from Government, industry and academia. Talks will happen across three theatres: Global Counter Terror & Serious and Organised Crime Summit, International Security Conference and International Risk and Resilience Conference.
The Global Counter Terror & Serious and Organised Crime Summit, sponsored by Skopenow, has a focus on the Protect Duty, a proposed legal responsibility for those running and owning public spaces for those using those spaces. Among the invited speakers are campaigner, Figen Murray, whose son Martyn was among those killed at the Manchester Arena terror attacks of May 2017; Shaun Hipgrave, Director of Protect and Prepare, Homeland Security Group (HSG), at the Home Office; and a senior member of the Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs) team, also from the Hone Office.
Another topic is international counter terror priorities. Speakers include Lina Kolesnikova, of the Institute of Civil Protection & Emergency Management (ICPEM), who will discuss key trends and developments after terror attacks on the Continent; a Senior Agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who will discuss the US’s role overseas; and a Senior Counter Terror Police officer, to give a UK perspective.
The ‘Realities of Terror’ thread returns this year, where attendees will hear from those who have had to live with the consequences of terrorism. This includes Ann Travers, Advocacy Support Worker, South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF), a victims’ campaigner whose sister Mary was killed by the IRA. Ann campaigned to ban anyone convicted of a serious criminal offence from holding the position of a Special Adviser. She will be joined at the Summit by Basheer Ahmad Omarzai, a refugee from Kabul who worked as a Senior Interpreter with The British Forces in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
At the International Security Conference, sponsored by Patriot One and Rekor, the first day will focus on Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs), the official term for ‘crowded places’. Speakers will address the practical issues surrounding PALs and the Protect Duty, wider planning, and the application of recommendations in venues such as iconic buildings and concert halls. This includes a Senior Officer from the UK official National Counter Terrorism Security Office (Nactso); and the former senior counter-terror police officer Nick Aldworth, Founder and Director, Risk to Resolution Limited, who with Figen Murray has spoken before at Olympia on the Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law).
Fellow speakers include Christian Schneider, Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) Advisor, IniBSP / Germany, HVM Advisors, who founded the non-profit forum after the vehicle ram attacks of Nice and Berlin to provide guidance to decision-makers in Germany. Lina Kolesnikova, Security Expert, Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (ICPEM) will examine the implications of heavy-handed police tactics at the State de France hosting of the Champions League final.
New Advisory Committee member Satia Rai, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the industry body the International Professional Security Association (IPSA), will join a panel discussion to debate the importance of diversity and social representation for the provision of a secure environment. This includes representatives from the Security Commonwealth (SyCOM), Optimal Risk Group, Corps Security UK Ltd, the Security Institute and ABM UK.
Day two will see panel discussions on hubs, cyber security, drones, piracy and organised crime. Speakers will address how the pandemic has altered the nature of security. Debbie Rafferty, Counter Terrorism Independent Consultant and Academic, will discuss how energy companies manage and mitigate the security risks of offshore oil and gas installations; Anita Friend, Head of the Defence and Security Accelerator – Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), who cover why innovation should be at the forefront of national security. Gary Martin, Aviation Security Training Manager, G4S, will be one of a join a panel on port and airport security.
At a new International Risk and Resilience Conference, with the business body Resilience First, speakers will focus on how we can better manage and bounce back from emerging global crises; how Government resilience planning is performed; how the UK Government’s National Risk Register is best used, and what lessons can be taken from the various international crises such as the pandemic and the climate crisis, from a policy perspective, alongside the practical implementation of resilience solutions.
Speakers on day one include Mathilda Jansson, Consultant – Operational Resilience, 4C Strategies, who will discuss the ecosystem of operations resilience and the importance of sector-wide approaches to building resilience. Katja Samuel, CEO, Global Security and Disaster Management Ltd, will discuss compliance – an often-overlooked component of resilience. She’ll explain how compliance, alongside risk management and due diligence, is crucial to building resilience. Mark Harris, Crisis Management Lead with the CrisisFit programme at Sheena Thomson Consulting, will offer perspectives on the role of media engagement in a crisis, touching on how best to approach it, while suggesting a checklist to ensure a robust, responsible and resilient response.
Day two will include a talk by Jennifer Cole, Lecturer, Royal Holloway University of London, on Critical Health Geopolitics, who will argue how geopolitical biases prevented Europe from heeding early warnings from China on the severity of Covid-19. She’ll also explore the political framing of lockdowns as extreme freedom violations rather than an appropriate threat response. Lianna Roast, Resilience Knowledge Coordinator – at the Cabinet Office’s Emergency Planning College, will set out the link between learning and resilience, and the challenges of identifying and implementing lessons, while exploring opportunities for creating more resilient learning. Steven Shepherd, OC 591SU and Head of Defensive Cyber Operations, Royal Air Force, will give a talk on the importance of planning for cyber resilience.
Rachael Shattock, Event Director, International Security Expo, said: “With an increasingly long and varied list of security threats, we’ve gone to extra lengths this year to ensure our conference programme reflects the real priorities of the security industry. A special thanks go out to the Advisory Council who have done a stellar job working with our conference team to craft this year’s programme. We have no doubt that attendees will leave the sessions feeling enriched and armed with the knowledge that will help them better understand the industry while adding value to their business operations.”
Picture by Mark Rowe; last year’s Expo.
