Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon recently announced two high-achieving members of the Australian Defence Organisation will join youth delegations at major strategic conferences in Slovakia and Singapore this year.
Their attendance is the result of a partnership between Defence and Global Voices, a not-for-profit organisation that fosters participation by young Australians in international diplomacy.
Midshipman Nam Nguyen and Jack Greig will be Defence’s youth delegates at the Global Security Summit in Bratislava, Slovakia from 18-21 April and the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June. They were selected by Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin and Deputy Secretary Strategy, Brendan Sargeant to join the Global Voices program.
“Minister Smith and I met with Nam and Jack to personally congratulate them on their selection from a very competitive field. They both have significant experience in international relations for their ages. We’re sure the high-level exposure they will gain through this partnership will further develop their capacity to analyse strategic issues,” Minister Snowdon said.
“This partnership with Global Voices is helping to develop the next generation of Defence leaders.”
Midshipman Nguyen and Mr Greig will each produce a research paper on a topic relevant to the issues being considered in Bratislava and Singapore.
This is the second year that Defence has partnered with Global Voices. Last year two Defence delegates joined youth delegations to the NATO Leader’s Summit in Chicago and the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, April 15, 2013; Image: US Navy