2nd EuroISME Annual Conference
14–15 June 2012
Joint Services Command and Staff College, UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham
Conference Report
The 2nd annual Euro-ISME-conference was co-organised by Dr. David Whetham from the King's College of London (KCL) and Prof. Henri Hude from the French Army's Research Center of Saint Cyr. The Conference was generously hosted by the UK Defence Academy / JSCSC in Shrivenham.
The conference theme "Military Ethics and the Responsibility to Protect: A Statement of Universal Values or Ethical Imperialism?" attracted more than 80 experts and touched on multiple areas, including how technology is affecting military operations, which impacts has the new age of austerity, common ethical approaches to crisis management interventions and especially how ethical issues away from home may be (or appear to be) different to those at home.
As a prelude to the conference, a touristic excursion was organised to the Royal Navy Dockyard at Portsmouth to visit Admiral Nelson’s famous flagship, HMS Victory, flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar 1805.
The conference also provided the occasion for the first “Ordinary General Assembly” of the incorporated members. They unanimously approved the reports of the interim chairman and of the treasurer and they elected former interim directors to the statutary Board of Directors. Brigadier General Benoît Royal from the French Army, newly elected president, observed that this first AGM and the election of a board of directors marked a decisive step forward in the development of the society. He thanked the members present for the trust they have accorded the board of directors and announced the preparation, for the autumn, of an action plan of initial initiatives for thematic research and of an outline communication policy for the society.
In conclusion, he asked for the support of all members through their ideas to allow further development of the society, in particular for the recruitment of new members. He invited all members present to adopt a proactive information strategy towards their personal and professional contacts about their own involvement in EuroISME and to approach potential new members.
Conference Items
The opening speech was given by General Jean-Louis Georgelin former Chief of the Defence Staff ("Chef d'état-major des armées", CEMA) of the French Armed Forces and than Great Chancellor of the French national order,
the Légion d'honneur.
Keynote speeches were given by his Excellency, Msgr Luc Ravel, catholic bishop of the Diocese of the French Armed Forces since October 2009, the French Lieutenant General Michael Yakovleff, Vice Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Professor Martin L. Cook, Admiral James Bond Stockdale Chair of Professional Military Ethics at the United States Naval War College and George R. Lucas, Jr., owning the Distinguished Chair in Ethics in the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Impressions from the Conference
