ASPEN NZ SECURITY PROGRAMME
New Zealand’s place in a contested world
A year round programme connecting leaders across sectors and borders to examine the strategic forces shaping New Zealand’s security, economic resilience and future role in the world.
Building the understanding and capability New Zealand needs
Security challenges today extend well beyond traditional defence concerns. Geopolitical competition, technological change, trade dependencies and regional instability are now tightly interconnected, and have become increasingly relevant to leaders across every sector of New Zealand society.
The Aspen NZ Security Programme brings together senior leaders from business, government, technology and international partners to examine these challenges through moderated discussions. The programme is designed to strengthen understanding, surface emerging risks and support more informed decision making across sectors and borders.
"There has never been a time when national security has required such sustained attention”
-Rt. Hon. Sir Donald McKinnon, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
Sector insights. Regional perspectives. Leadership dialogue.
The Aspen NZ Security Programme runs year-round across three connected programmes:
Connecting New Zealanders
Each private Aspen-style dialogue brings together senior leaders from business, government and society to examine how geopolitical developments, technological change and global economic shifts are affecting New Zealand's future.
The discussions are designed to identify the risks, dependencies, and leadership decisions emerging at the intersection of commerce and security. Insights from each roundtable inform the Regional Security Dialogues and the annual Aspen NZ Security Forum.
Participation is by invitation. If you would like to be considered for a future dialogue, we'd like to hear from you.
Regional Security Dialogues
Connecting New Zealand to the world
Drawing on the Aspen global network, Regional Security Dialogues bring New Zealand leaders into conversation with international perspectives. These discussions explore the strategic issues shaping the globe, across security, defence, trade, technology and geopolitical stability.
Focused on strengthening awareness and regional relationships, participants include international experts and leaders from the Pacific, Europe and beyond, ensuring New Zealand perspectives are part of the discussions that will impact our place in the world.
Aspen NZ Security Forum
A national conversation with an international perspective
Held annually in Queenstown in October, the Aspen NZ Security Forum brings together senior leaders from business, government, technology and international partners to examine the forces shaping New Zealand's security and long-term future.
The forum moves across the big questions, from geopolitical risk and advanced technology to defence capability, dual-use innovation, infrastructure security, economic resilience and regional stability, with a focus on New Zealand’s long-term strategic position in an evolving global order. It draws on the insights built through the year's New Zealand and Regional Security Dialogues, and is designed to generate the kind of frank, cross-sector conversation that complex strategic questions require.
New Zealand Security Dialogues
Stronger dialogue between business, technology and national security leadership
Deeper understanding of the strategic risks shaping New Zealand’s future
Strengthening leadership across sectors
Sector perspectives connected to regional and international developments
Greater alignment across sectors on resilience and security challenges
Upcoming events
From New Zealand and Regional Security Dialogues to the annual Security Forum, there are a number of ways to engage with the programme throughout the year.
Part of a global network
The Aspen NZ Security Programme is part of a worldwide community of Aspen Institute organisations convening leaders on the strategic challenges of our time. From the Aspen Security Forum in Washington and Aspen, Colorado - one of the world's leading non-partisan forums on national security and foreign policy - to the Aspen European Strategic Forum bringing together leaders across Europe on questions of strategic autonomy and resilience, Aspen's global network provides a foundation of relationships, expertise and perspective that informs and supports our work here in New Zealand.
