The Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program at the Monterey Institute hosted its second annual student-driven conference on March 6-7. This year the focus was on terrorism and counter-terrorism in Africa with several panel discussions with noted experts in the field as well as students, and a keynote address by former Congressman Jim Kolbe.
The conference is organized by a group of students from the Institute’s graduate program in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies, with academic supervision and support from Brig. General Russ Howard, director of MonTREP, and financial support from the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point, the Lynde and Harry Bradly Foundation, McGraw Hill Publishing and the Monterey Institute.
Over a hundred people participated in the conference, held at the Institute’s Irvine Auditorium. On Thursday, March 6, five Monterey Institute students presented on a student panel moderated by Colonel Danial Pick. On Friday, March 7, Brig. Gen. Howard kicked off the conference, which started with a panel discussion on “Terrorism in Africa: a Regional Perspective” before moving on to a discussion about “Counterterrorism in Africa: a Whole of Government Approach.” After lunch there was a Monterey Threat Analysis Platform (MTAP) demonstration before the discussion turned to “Illicit Trafficking in Africa.” The conference ended with a closing keynote address by former Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe. The student organizers all agreed that the conference was exceeding expectations and that it was a great learning experience.