Previous cohorts at MSC

From 13 to 16 February 2025, the 16th cohort of the Munich Young Leaders (MYL) had the opportunity to participate in the 61st Munich Security Conference and engage in dialogue with high-ranking decision-makers and experts from around the world.

The programme began with a background discussion with State Secretary Thomas Bagger from the German Federal Foreign Office, who spoke with the MYL about German foreign policy and the discrepancy between self-perception and external perception. This was followed by a conversation with Slovenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanja Fajon, who shared her perspectives on Slovenia’s role in the UN Security Council and the state of the multilateral order.

Another highlight was the discussion with UN High Commissioner Volker Türk on the universal significance of human rights and diplomatic work behind the scenes. Equally enriching was the exchange with NATO Deputy Secretary General and MYL alumna Radmila Šekerinska on leadership, transatlantic relations, and burden-sharing within the alliance.

A particularly notable discussion took place with the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who spoke impressively about the challenges of exile and the mechanisms of repression. Similarly inspiring was a conversation with environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, who shared insights into her work with indigenous communities in Chad, the impact of climate change on migration, and the security dimensions of the climate crisis.

The renewed visit of Singapore’s Minister of Defence, Ng Eng Hen, was also enthusiastically received by the participants. He engaged with the MYL on shaping the international order and the scope of action for individual actors. During a joint dinner, Edmundo González, the exiled winner of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, provided insights into the political situation in his country.

To conclude the conference, the Munich Young Leaders met with Norway’s Minister of Finance and long-time NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who emphasised the importance of involving younger generations in shaping global politics. Representing the now more than 350 alumni of the Munich Young Leaders programme, the participants also expressed their gratitude to Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the MSC, for his commitment to integrating young and diverse voices into the conference and for three years of trustful cooperation.

In 2024, the current group of Munich Young Leaders (MYL) had the chance to participate in the “anniversary edition” – the 60th MSC. With the beginning of the first conference day, they were received by Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen, who stood ready to give insights into proceedings, challenges and goals of this year’s conference. After this, the MYL met with Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, for a wide-ranging discussion on the challenges of democratic systems, regional security issues in West Africa, and climate change. This session was followed by a talk with Wolfgang Schmidt, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks of Germany, where the group inquired about the state of the German “Zeitenwende”, the war in Ukraine as well as green energy transition. On the same day, the MYL also met with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, to discuss the “super election year” of 2024, consequences of emerging technologies such as AI and other imponderables of our time.

What is the agency of small states in the international system? How to build trust in governments? And what does good leadership look like today? On the second conference day, those and further questions were the topics of discussion with Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence of the Republic of Singapore. Good leadership as well as growing societal divisions were also key topics in the following conversation with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita, and Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. For the last part of the MYL program, the group spoke about the current situation in the Middle East with Rym Momtaz, Alumna of the program, journalist and Research Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

After the pandemic-related restrictions of the last years, in this year, the MYL were once again able to participate in the MYL programme and further sessions and panels of the MSC to the usual extent.

A broad spectrum of several exclusive background discussions offered the group a platform for exchanging ideas and gaining important insights: With Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2018 and founder of “Nadia’s Initiative”, the German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen, the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and the Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, the MYL discussed a range of topics in foreign and security policy and beyond. Furthermore, the group met the Ukrainian activists, former MPs and alumnae of the MYL programme Hanna Hopko and Svitlana Zalishchuk, who shared insights regarding the role of civil society in times of war and discussed international perspectives on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine with the current cohort.

The 13^th cohort of Munich Young Leaders (MYL) was the first group to get to know each other in a digital kick-off session before the Munich Security Conference in 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 MYL. 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.

The 58th Munich Security Conference 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 Eng Hen, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Singapore, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Finland.

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.