16 February 2012, Gender and Security: What Kind of Approach for Defence Organisations?
At the Royal High Institute for Defence, Brussels, Belgium

Recent conflicts have shed light on another dimension that highlights the role of women as actors of violence. They can join the resistance movement or act as agents of reconciliation. But they can also operate as combatants and become involved in massacres perpetrated by men. Women's complex role and place in time of war require from our political and military institutions that they integrate the "gender" dimension not only into the framework of their interventions, but even more into conflict resolution processes.

The keynote speaker will be Professor Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv (University of Tromsø). She is specialised in security theory and politics, civil-military and international relations. She regularly contributes to the research fields of gender politics and international political economy.

5-6 March 2012, Joint Women's Leadership Symposium, Washington DC, USA

The symposium's 2012 theme is "United in Service: Our Global Impact" and will focus on leadership and the role women are playing in promoting peace and security around the world. The Joint Women's Leadership Symposium (JWLS) annual symposium, which coincides with International Women's Week, routinely attracts a joint audience of more than 1,500 service women – the largest gathering of women in uniform in the world! The symposium include showcase several important speakers and panel members including General Dempsey, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Representative Susan Davis, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Vice Admiral Carol Pottenger and Commander Jan Dunmurray.

12-13 March 2012, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
hosting Expert Roundtable on the Role and Empowerment of Women in
Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism, Vienna, Austria

The OSCE Secretariat's Gender Section and Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit, jointly with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), will hold a second expert roundtable on gender and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT), with a focus on the role of women and human rights compliant strategies to empower women to successfully counter VERLT. The event will discuss good practices and lessons learnt in terms of women's initiatives against VERLT. It will also address potential constraints from a human rights and gender perspective faced by women in standing up against VERLT, and learn from women's engagement against other forms of violence.

19-20 April 2012, International Symposium "Peacekeeping in the Asia-Pacific: Gender Equality, Law and Collective Security"
at Melbourne Law School, Melbourne, Australia.

CDR Kimberlie Young (Gender Advisor, NATO HQ SACT) will be presenting a paper on "Gender Perspective within NATO: A Comprehensive Approach to Implementing UNSCR 1325".

August/September 2012 (TBD)
18th International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC) Annual Conference, Finland

The International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres was founded in Canada on July 2, 1995, at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. In October 2005, the responsibility for the Secretariat was transferred to the Centre for UN Peacekeeping in New Delhi. The aim of the Association is to facilitate communication and exchange of information between various peacekeeping training centres and/or among people responsible for, and interested in, peacekeeping training. Peacekeeping trainers and educators use this information to avoid problems already encountered by others, promote well-tested practices, and provide information to those peacekeeping countries which lack their own training centres. It is hoped that this exchange of information will allow centres to minimize duplication in their efforts, and lead to further specialization and sharing of responsibilities.

The 18th IAPTC Annual Conference 2012 will be co-hosted by The Crisis Management Centre (CMC) Finland and the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre (FINCENT) and will be held at Crisis Management Centre (CMC), Helsinki, Finland. Conference is tentatively scheduled for the month of August/ September 2012. Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) of the IAPTC is scheduled from 26 March to 30 March 2012 at Helsinki where the theme for the upcoming IAPTC Annual Conference and the decision on granting peacekeeping training award for 2012 will be decided.