Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada – Monday, November 27, 2023

Ladies and gentlemen, special guests and educators, and bright minds of tomorrow, thank you for participating in today's FutureSec Youth Summit 2023.

I am Goran Samuel Pesic, Chair and Founder of the Policy Insights Forum, and it's my honour to welcome you here.

Over the next couple of days, we are diving into a theme that resonates deeply with our current global landscape - fostering transatlantic cooperation in security and innovation.  

This Summit is a vibrant tapestry of ideas, with a variety of speakers and experts from Canada and beyond sharing their insights. Remember, this Summit is about you – the next generation of leaders who will guide Canada into a future brimming with possibilities.

Your presence here at the FutureSec Youth Summit marks you as an emerging leader and changemaker.

I urge you to take a moment to meet those around you - your neighbours, those in front or behind you.  

Look around; these are the faces that will shape Canada's future, govern our nation, and contribute significantly to international institutions, defining our future security, prosperity, and the world we bequeath to the next generation.

Before this Summit concludes, I challenge you to meet as many fellow attendees as possible and exchange ideas.

I am certain that many of you will collaborate in the future, advancing projects of National and International significance in security, economy, innovation, and technology.

Additionally, I invite each of you to introduce yourselves to me. I am keen to meet as many of you as possible and learn about your academic pursuits and aspirations. Please share with me what you are studying and who you envision becoming in the future. Your stories and goals are of great interest to me, and I look forward to our interactions over the next couple of days.

Why are we doing this?

Let me take you back to 1995. As a student at the University of Toronto, I attended a similar meeting organized by the late Dr. Robert Spencer, a founding figure of Canada at NATO, almost 75 years ago next year.

Dr. Spencer, who passed away a few years ago, was instrumental in training Canada’s future leaders, educators, and diplomats. We honour his legacy today through our Policy Insights Forum fellowship program in his name.

I encourage you to explore this fellowship opportunity with the PIF during the Summit. Looking back nearly 30 years ago, I never imagined that NATO would become a recurring theme in my career.

But I've come to appreciate its value beyond a political and military entity. It's a platform that unites young professionals like you, offering opportunities to engage with alliance leaders.

This engagement is vital for the Western world to defend, protect, and lead into the next century. We face rising powers like Russia and China, offering a different narrative. Their path is not one of freedom but of submission to political power and economic constraint.

It reminds us that politics is not just about making choices but understanding the impact of those choices. Let's consciously make decisions guided by our Democratic principles, like the NATO symbol that points to the four cardinal directions, symbolizing our collective security, freedoms won through both war and peace, adherence to the rule of law, and the essence of democracy itself.

Today, I am joined by Aliénor Peyrefitte, the Policy Insights Forum's youth president and leader of the Transatlantic Emerging Leaders Program. Also with us are Jonas LeBlanc-Wilmink, our Secretary General, and Louis Romet, Vice President for Partnerships and Memberships. I encourage you to connect with these young leaders to learn about getting involved.

I thank NATO, YATA International, Carleton University, the Government of Canada’s participating organizations, like the Department of National Defence Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy), Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

Thank you to our private sector partners, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Samuel Group of Companies.

A special thanks goes to the educators who informed you about this Youth Summit.  

Lastly, I appreciate everyone who travelled here to be part of something significant and impactful.

Your presence and participation are what truly make this event meaningful.

Thank you all.