Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Leaders

Abby Finkenauer, United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues at the Department of State, will deliver the opening keynote. Dan Baer, senior vice president for policy research and director of the Europe program at the Carnegie Endowment, will provide introductory remarks.

The information environment is the space where people process information to make sense of the world. Conflicts within it, motivated by geopolitical tensions or enabled by emerging technologies, can challenge its integrity. How do we develop evidence-based policymaking for the governance of the information environment? How can we study and understand phenomena within it, from polarization to misinformation?

For early career researchers, these issues are particularly salient—the information we consume shapes our lives. What distinct approaches can younger scholars bring to issues of the information environment? How can we approach and navigate rapid technological change while building our policy voices?

Join our panel as they discuss the impact of the information environment, both on our world and on their own research and careers. Fiona Brauer, junior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance program, will moderate this discussion with Quinta Jurecic, a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and senior editor at Lawfare, Vishnu Kannan, advisor to the president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Samantha Lai, senior research analyst with Carnegie’s Information Environment project.

The global community has witnessed a concerning rise in youth radicalization, which has manifested across various ideological spectrums and geographical boundaries. From the violent allure of al-Shabab in the Horn of Africa, to the rise of radicalized politics among young populations in the United States and Europe, the pathways to extremism are as diverse as they are perilous.  

What drives young individuals toward extremist ideologies? How do digital platforms and social networks contribute to or combat these dangerous trends? What role can educators, policymakers, and community leaders play in preemptively addressing the factors that may lead to radicalization?  

This session will feature insights from experts including Aneliese Bernard, director at Strategic Stabilization Advisors, Doug Klain, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Sarah Yerkes, senior fellow at Carnegie’s Middle East program as they explore the contexts, implications, and potential solutions for this pressing issue. The panel will be moderated by Francesca Nyakora, junior fellow at Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance program.  

Issues like nuclear nonproliferation, climate change, and artificial intelligence (AI) share a unique mandate for international cooperation, as the risks associated with each transcend national borders. Not all issues are created equal, but learning from previous approaches to global governance is necessary for younger generations to recognize missteps and work towards new solutions.  

How can tomorrow’s leaders build on existing platforms of multilateral cooperation and deliver a brighter future? What can be learned from previous attempts at multilateral cooperation on global risks? How will new issues like AI challenge governance norms and reshape global institutions? 

Dan Helmeci, junior fellow in the Carnegie Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics program, will lead a discussion with Stewart Patrick, director of Carnegie’s Global Order and Institutions program, Milo McBride, fellow in Carnegie's Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics program, and Kylie Jones, research assistant in the Nuclear Policy program at the Carnegie Endowment.