Photo: MSC/Simon
Munich Young Leaders 2021/22
The 13th cohort of Munich Young Leaders (MYL) is the first group to get to know each other in a digital kick-off session before the Munich Security Conference in September 2021.
In February 2022, the MYL 2021/2022 then took part in the main programme of the 58th Munich Security Conference and met with high-ranking conference participants for background discussions.
Participants
Digital Kick-Off Meeting
We welcomed the new class of Munich Young Leaders in a digital kick-off session on 29 September 2021.
After a short virtual get-together, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, drawing on her vast experience as former Nigerian Minister, former Vice President of the World Bank and co-founder of Transparency International, discussed the future of multilateralism with the Munich Young Leaders. The discussion revolved, among other things, around necessary reforms of the multilateral system and lessons learned - both positive and negative - from the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Ezekwesili stressed the importance of young, committed people and their visions in moving individual countries as well as the international dialogue forward.
Due to ongoing pandemic, a personal welcome to the new class at the Munich Security Conference in February could not take place. In 2022, the new cohort of Munich Young Leaders will gather at the conference in Munich.
Munich Young Leaders at the 2022 Munich Security Conference
The 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) took place from 18 to 20 February under the pandemic conditions prevailing at the time. This meant fewer guests, fewer media representatives and smaller delegations, as well as additional digital and participatory formats that complemented all traditional activities. This also resulted in an adapted programme for the MYL.
The programme featured exclusive background discussions with high-level conference participants. Among them were Ng En Hen, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Singapore, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Finland.
Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Finland all photos: MSC/Simon 
Munich Young Leaders with Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference 
Munich Young Leaders 
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian opposition leader with Alisa Vogt, Körber-Stiftung 
Munich Young Leaders 
Munich Young Leaders 
Munich Young Leaders with Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Finland 
Munich Young Leaders 
Ng En Hen, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Singapore 
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian opposition leader
The twelfth cohort of Munich Young Leaders came together at the 56th Munich Security Conference. On the agenda were meetings with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of the Republic of India, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, the German Minister of Defence, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Fu Ying, Vice Chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China.
In February 2019, the eleventh cohort of Munich Young Leaders met with Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia, and Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President of the United States of America, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Rosemary DiCarlo, Undersecretary General for Political Affairs and Peace Operations at the United Nations, among others, at the Munich Security Conference.
For the tenth time, young foreign and security policy makers met at the Munich Security Conference from 15 to 18 February 2018. Among others, the MYL discussed with H. R. McMaster, National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Emirate of Qatar, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO Secretary General and Tzipi Livni, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister of Israel.
The MYL were welcomed at the 53rd Munich Security Conference and had meetings with German Federal Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, Dr Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Defence of Norway, and Alexander Grushko, Ambassador of Russia to NATO.
