Join us in the Nordic House on May 23 for the 4th annual ACONA Conference. This year’s theme, “Negotiating the New Frontier: Technology and Conflict in a Changing Geopolitical Order,” will bring together leading experts and emerging voices to explore the critical intersections of technology, security, and diplomacy.

The one-day event is open to the public and will feature speakers including Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs; Christine Keung, General Partner at J2 Ventures, and Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie China — among others.

The conference will take place at The Nordic House in Reykjavík on Friday, May 23. For those unable to attend in person, the event will also be streamed live.

Click here for in - person registration

Click here for online participation

09:00 - 09:20 Opening Remarks

Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector, University of Iceland

Arvid Bell, Chair, ACONA Executive Board, CEO, Negotiation Task Force

Pia Hansson (Chair of the Conference), Member, ACONA Executive Board, Director of the Institute of International Affairs, University of Iceland

09:20 - 09:30 Spotlight Session: Private Sector and Arms Control

Christine Keung, General Partner, J2 Ventures

09:30 - 10:45 Panel: Tech for War or Tech for Peace? Science, Innovation, and Emerging Technologies in a New Geopolitical Era

Christopher Ford, Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Missouri State University’s School of Defense and Strategic Studies, Christine Keung, General Partner, J2 Ventures, Erlingur Erlingsson, Defence expert and former Icelandic diplomat, Sibylle Bauer, Director of Studies, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Moderator: Christopher Daase, Member, ACONA Executive Board, Deputy Director, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:45 Panel: ACONA Innovation Roundtable

Mariana Budjeryn, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School and Sascha Hach, ACONA Associate, Researcher, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

TBA ACONA Fellow '25 (Negotiation Award Winner)

TBA ACONA Fellow '25 (Policy Memo Award Winner)

Commentator: Darius Rahimi, Head of the Nuclear Arms Control, Non-proliferation and Disarmament Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany

11:45 - 12:00 Conference Address

Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Foreign Minister, Iceland

12:00 - 12:45 Lunch

12:45 - 14:00 Panel: Lessons Learned from History: The Path Toward Cooperation During the Cold War

Togzhan Kassenova, Senior Fellow, Center for Policy Research, University of Albany, Rósa Magnúsdóttir, Professor of History, University of Iceland, Pavel Palazhchenko  Member, ACONA International Advisory Board, Head of the International Relations and PR Department, The Gorbachev Foundation, Nicholas Wheeler, Professor of International Relations, University of Birmingham

Moderator: Mariana Budjeryn, Member, ACONA Executive Board, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School

14:00 - 14:30 Coffee Break

14:30 - 15:45 Politics Panel: Negotiation, Leadership, and Trust in Times of Crisis

Philipp C. Bleek, Professor in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Darius Rahimi, Head of the Nuclear Arms Control, Non-proliferation and Disarmament Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany, Nikolai Sokov, Senior Fellow, Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Tong Zhao, ACONA Associate, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for Peace, China

Moderator: Nicole Deitelhoff, Executive Director, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

15:45 - 16:00 Closing Remarks

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland (2016–2024), Professor of History, University of Iceland, and Chair of the Board, Institute of International Affairs

16:00 - 17:30 Closing Reception