On Climate Change and Security: Call for Applications for the 2027 Young Leaders Summer Academy

(Deadline: 2026-12-13) German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien
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The 2027 Young Leaders Summer Academy invites future leaders from the Middle East and Europe to engage with one of today’s most pressing challenges: the climate-security nexus. Through interdisciplinary exchange, participants will develop scenarios and strategies for action. The Summer Academy will take place on 13–16 June in Hamburg. Please apply by 13 December 2026. 

The dramatic escalation of violence in the Middle East highlights the urgency of the need to seek common solutions that involve all stakeholders. It also shows that peace will only be possible if a new generation of leaders emerges who is prepared to address common regional challenges together.

With the aim of contributing to peacebuilding efforts in the Middle East, the Institute for International Cooperation, Technological Diplomacy and Communication (ICI), the Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, and the GIGA organise a Young Leaders Summer Academy (YLSA) for future decision-makers from the Middle East and Europe. The 2027 YLSA will be convened on 13-16 June in Hamburg, Germany.

The theme of the YLSA is 'Climate Change and Security'. This is a topic that challenges everyone equally in the region. The drought in the Negev Desert does not stop at the Jordanian border and the water shortage in the Sinai does not stop at the Israeli border. Short-term extreme weather events, such as storms or floods, as well as the long-term transformation of climate conditions massively effect environments and people's habitats. At the same time, a transition away from fossil fuels goes hand in hand with security policy considerations. Only a nexus between climate and security can form the basis for truly sustainable and holistic policy strategies.

The overarching goal of the YLSA is to bring together decision-makers of the future from the crisis-ridden region of the Middle East and beyond in order to provide them with the opportunity to experience that sustainable regional solutions can only succeed with each other and not against each other.

Firstly, the YLSA aims to build an extensive professional exchange and networking between young leaders and high-ranking international experts. Participants will be encouraged to work and debate together in a protected space free from domestic crises and political constraints.

Secondly, the YLSA seeks to nurture professional skills and knowledge in strategic foresight, scenario and strategy development, which the participants can draw on in their further professional lives and with which they can strategically anticipate different futures and thus learn to think about alternatives.

The YLSA aims to bring together participants from different disciplines and practical backgrounds to discuss in-depth the nexus between climate change and security policy and to develop exploratory scenarios and successful strategies for dealing with these major challenges.

The YLSA participants will receive extensive content input, as well as insights from international experts working in the field. These skills and knowledge would be essential for understanding the effects of climate change on regional politics as well as for elaborating mitigation and adaptation measures from a multidimensional perspective.

With the intention to help establish a robust, interdisciplinary network of actors who can contribute to the creation and maintenance of peace in the Middle East, the YLSA takes place on an annual basis.

Early career researchers, diplomats, journalists and practitioners from the Middle East (broadly defined) and Europe are encouraged to apply. GIGA welcomes applications from canditates coming from various disciplinary backgrounds, including social sciences, natural sciences, economics, law and history.

In order to apply, please send your CV and a motivation letter (max. 2 pages) as a single PDF file with the subject "CfA YLSA 2027 [your last name]" to Dr. Iulian Romanyshyn (romanyshyn@ici-institute.de).

The call for applications is open until 13 December 2026.

All costs related to participation (meals, travel, accommodation) will be covered by the organizers.