Event

16th-18th June 2023

Young Leaders Academy

Eskilstuna, Sweden

Sundbyholms Slott
635 08 Eskilstuna
Sweden

Investing in the next generation of activists, thinkers, and leaders is important – that’s why New Direction is pleased to present its latest edition of the Young Leaders Academy. For two days, students and young professionals will gather for a series of lectures and debates introducing them to core conservative and classical liberal principles – equipping them with the knowledge they need to expand the movement.

With talks on culture, the environment, security, and philosophy, the New Direction Young Leaders Academy aims to present the next generation with new ideas to take with them into the future. New Direction is pleased to be partnered with Oikos and Konservativa Förbundet for this special event on 16th-18th June 2023.

Agenda

Friday, 16th June 2023 Saturday, 17th June 2023 Sunday, 18th June 2023

Friday, 16th June 2023
Saturday, 17th June 2023
Sunday, 18th June 2023

16:00

Departure Bus 1

17:00

Departure Bus 2

17:30 - 19:00

Check in registration

19:00 - 23:00

Welcoming dinner

Short welcoming speaches by:

Witold de Chevilly, Executive Director of New Direction
Mattias Karlsson, President of Oikos
Henrik Colliander, Chair of the Konservativa Förbundet

Dinner Speech

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson MP - Former Prime Minister Iceland

10:00

Welcome remarks

Denice Westerberg, Master of Ceremonies, Journalist

10:05

Panel #1

Countering the hegonomy of left-liberal media

It sometimes feels as though centre-right voices are missing from the mainstream media, or even at times as though a certain narrative dominates the news agenda. However, in recent years there has been a growth of new publications and outlets offering the public media that better reflects their beliefs.

Harrison Pitt, The European Conservative
Paula Otero Santos, Academic Coordinator of International Relations, CEU - CEFAS
Boris Kálnoky, Head of Media School at MCC
Vasilios Zoupounidis, CEO of The Epoch Time
Brian G. Andersson, Political Commentator

11:05

Panel #2

Winning by Example – Success in the Culture War

At times it seems as though the left are winning the culture war, however there are strong examples of how the right have won. Organised groups have managed to help conservative candidates win elections, academics defend free speech, and scholars argue in debates. There are plenty of examples of conservatives winning by example.

John O’Sullivan, President of the Danube Institute
Joakim Wallerstein, Head of Communication at Swedish Democrats
Rodrigo Ballester, Head of the Centre for European Studies at MCC
Henric Colliander, Chair of the Konservativa Förbundet
Juan Soto, International Director at Disenso (Moderator)

12:00

Lunch

13:00

Book Launch

Sovereignity or Submission

John Fonte is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for American Common Culture at Hudson Institute.Here he will discuss his book ‘Sovereignty or Submission: Will Americans Rule Themselves or be Ruled by Others?’, recently translated into Swedish for the first time.

Dr John Fonte, senior fellow and director of the Center for American Common Culture at Hudson Institute
Mattias Karlsson, President of Oikos

13:30

Panel #3

Woke capitalism - A New front in the culture war?

Environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) is taking over business, being used as a means of judging a company’s success on other means than just if they serve their customers well. Does this new ‘woke capitalism’ pose a threat to the market economy?

Martin Gundinger, senior research fellow at the Austrian Economics Center
Juan Soto, International Director at Disenso
Justin Danhof - Head of Corporate Governance at Strive
Rebecca Uvell, journalist (Moderator)

14:30

Coffee Break

14:50

Panel #4

Green Conservatism

Climate and the environment are at the top of the agenda around the world, with summits and conferences calling for great action to deal with our changing climate. However, what are the conservative answers to these challenges?

Francesco Giubilei, President of Fondazione Tatarella and Nazione Futura
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Director of the Center on Energy, Climate, and Environment at the Heritage Foundation
Litkei Màté, Climate Policy Institute at MCC
Robert Tyler, Senior Policy Advisor at New Direction (Moderator)

15:50

Keynote Speech

Erik Norin - Architect

16:05

Panel #5

Dr. Jordan Petersons “A conservative manifesto”

In September 2022, Dr Jordan Peterson published his ‘Conservative Manifesto’, now translated into Swedish for the first time. In this discussion we will look at its content, and how it fits in the framework of European conservatism.

Ofir Haivry, Vice President at The Herzl Institute
Jorge González-Gallarza, Co-host of the Uncommon Decency podcast and senior fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights
Thomas Gür, businessman and writer
Catarina Kärkkäinen, Timbro
Asle Toje, writer and Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (Moderator)

17:05

Free Time

20:00

Roger Scruton Dinner

Dinner Speech by Lady Sophie Scruton

10:00

Panel #6

Nordic conservatism

Nordic conservatism is going through something of a renaissance. With a new conservative government in Sweden, the centre right reaching more than 50% in the Finnish elections, and Norwegian Conservatives set to secure first place for the first time in more than 100 years. What is behind this newfound success?

Asle Toje, writer and Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson MP - Former Prime Minister Iceland
Mattias Karlsson, President of Oikos
Hannes Gissurarson, Professor
Robert Tyler, Senior Policy Advisor at New Direction

11:00

Panel #7

Security policy in the Baltic Sea Region

The War in Ukraine has had a profound impact on security in Europe – especially in the Baltic Sea region where Russia has been active for many years. With Finland having become NATO’s newest member, and Sweden on the way, what is the future of Baltic Security?

Thibault Muzerguez, Regional Program Director for Europe and Euro-Med at IRI
Aron Emilsson, Member of the Riksdag for the Sweden Democrats party
Otto Tabuns, Director of the Baltic Security Foundation
Adam Starzyński, 3seasEurope
Arvid Hallén, Oikos (Moderator)

13:00

Lunch

13:50

Closing Speech

Charlie Weimers, Member of the European Parliament and Vice Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Member of New Direction

14:30

Departure Bus 1 and 2

Media

New Direction is registered in Belgium as a not-for-profit organisation and is partly funded by the European Parliament. The European Parliament and New Direction assume no responsibility for the opinions expressed in this publication. Sole responsibility lies with the individual authors.