The pilot course was organised by the Italian Centre for Higher Defence Studies (CASD) under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and can be considered an important step forward in addressing such an important topic as cognitive warfare, which is an emerging challenge for the European Union.
The three-day course provided in-depth learning and a constructive exchange for sixty-five participants with military, diplomatic and civilian backgrounds from eight EU Member States and EU institutions.
The course started with a keynote speech delivered by Prof Malcom Dando, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, who set the scene, giving his audience an overall picture of the advances in science that could be of concern in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), and what might be done to mitigate these risks through awareness-raising and the education of associated personnel and scientists.
The course continued with input from a number of highly qualified speakers, policy officers, scientists and high-level personnel, who covered topics related to cognitive manipulation in human computer confluence, the current state of neuroscience, features of the cognitive dimensions of the competition, the Italian national conceptual document on cognitive warfare, and many more. A representative of the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Beatrice Catena, was invited to talk about cognitive security in Europe and the interplay of hybrid threats and FIMI.
Apart from lectures and discussions, the course on cognitive warfare also provided food for thought regarding the general risks and challenges associated with future scenarios involving cognitive warfare and the need to carefully and effectively devise new options and strategies.
We would like to thank all speakers for their excellent input, all participants for their active contributions, and last but not least the CASD and the personnel involved in the planning and execution of this important pilot course. We are already looking forward to the next one!
Cognitive warfare in the new international competition: an emerging challenge for the EU PILOT Course
“In cognitive warfare, the human mind becomes the battlefield. The aim is to change not only what people think, but how they think and act. Waged successfully, it shapes and influences individual and group beliefs and behaviours to favour an aggressor’s tactical and strategic objectives. In its extreme form, it has the potential to fracture and fragment an entire society so that it no longer has the collective will to resist an adversary’s intention. The aims of cognitive warfare can be limited, with short time horizons. Or they can be strategic, with campaigns launched over the course of decades.”
With these words, Prof Robert McCreight, a retired US Army Special Operations veteran, explained to course the importance of acquiring technological options to detect, deter and/or mitigate the threat from Neurostrike weapons and cognitive warfare.
The pilot course was organised by the Italian Centre for Higher Defence Studies (CASD) under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and can be considered an important step forward in addressing such an important topic as cognitive warfare, which is an emerging challenge for the European Union.
The three-day course provided in-depth learning and a constructive exchange for sixty-five participants with military, diplomatic and civilian backgrounds from eight EU Member States and EU institutions.
The course started with a keynote speech delivered by Prof Malcom Dando, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, who set the scene, giving his audience an overall picture of the advances in science that could be of concern in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), and what might be done to mitigate these risks through awareness-raising and the education of associated personnel and scientists.
The course continued with input from a number of highly qualified speakers, policy officers, scientists and high-level personnel, who covered topics related to cognitive manipulation in human computer confluence, the current state of neuroscience, features of the cognitive dimensions of the competition, the Italian national conceptual document on cognitive warfare, and many more. A representative of the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Beatrice Catena, was invited to talk about cognitive security in Europe and the interplay of hybrid threats and FIMI.
Apart from lectures and discussions, the course on cognitive warfare also provided food for thought regarding the general risks and challenges associated with future scenarios involving cognitive warfare and the need to carefully and effectively devise new options and strategies.
We would like to thank all speakers for their excellent input, all participants for their active contributions, and last but not least the CASD and the personnel involved in the planning and execution of this important pilot course. We are already looking forward to the next one!
The pilot course was organised by the Italian Centre for Higher Defence Studies (CASD) under the aegis of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and can be considered an important step forward in addressing such an important topic as cognitive warfare, which is an emerging challenge for the European Union.
The three-day course provided in-depth learning and a constructive exchange for sixty-five participants with military, diplomatic and civilian backgrounds from eight EU Member States and EU institutions.
The course started with a keynote speech delivered by Prof Malcom Dando, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, who set the scene, giving his audience an overall picture of the advances in science that could be of concern in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), and what might be done to mitigate these risks through awareness-raising and the education of associated personnel and scientists.
The course continued with input from a number of highly qualified speakers, policy officers, scientists and high-level personnel, who covered topics related to cognitive manipulation in human computer confluence, the current state of neuroscience, features of the cognitive dimensions of the competition, the Italian national conceptual document on cognitive warfare, and many more. A representative of the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Beatrice Catena, was invited to talk about cognitive security in Europe and the interplay of hybrid threats and FIMI.
Apart from lectures and discussions, the course on cognitive warfare also provided food for thought regarding the general risks and challenges associated with future scenarios involving cognitive warfare and the need to carefully and effectively devise new options and strategies.
We would like to thank all speakers for their excellent input, all participants for their active contributions, and last but not least the CASD and the personnel involved in the planning and execution of this important pilot course. We are already looking forward to the next one!
