Boyd 2008 Conference/Colloquium in September on Prince Edward Island??
There is an opportunity to hold a short, intense seminar on the applicability of Boyd’s ideas, particularly operating inside the OODA loop and grand strategy (sustaining our own morale and attracting the uncommitted), on the weekend of September 20 and 21 at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI.
That’s Canada for all you geographically challenged wonks south of the border.
Purpose
The theme would be applying these ideas to conflict in the post-Iraq era, and more specifically to the types of diffused, networked, “open source” armed conflicts that some have called “fifth generation warfare.” We are also interested in exploring solutions, such as the role of “resilient communities” (RC), for countering them.
We envision this as a working seminar to help shape the policy agenda in the first year of the new administration.
So we’re looking for a couple dozen attendees, all of whom would either make short presentations on their areas of interest or participate in panel discussions and working groups.
We also hope that the participants will leave with their own agenda items — to improve resilience within their organizations or to prepare articles and opeds on these subjects in the months after the seminar.
Next step
If you think you might be interested, please send an email to info at d-n-i dot net.
There will be a small fee to cover the cost of the facility (quite modest on the weekend) and coffee and doughnuts. There is no obligation, but because these things involve a lot of work to set up, we would like to gauge the level of interest before proceeding.
Chet Richards
Rob Paterson
Here is what PEI is like in the fall
Looks like a picture postcard - but it really looks like this. This is my home place, Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province (140,000 people) located in the Atlantic about 8 hours drive north of Maine.
Chet and I have been thinking of how we could have a real colloquium this year - where we could deepen our understanding not only of Boyd, but of what is going on in the world today.
Where could we meet that where the costs were reasonable and where the location could provide us with the kind of space that would open us all up.
UPEI in the fall.
I have been in touch with our local university, UPEI, where I taught for 5 years. We can use a meeting room that sits 80 for about $100 a day. It is in the main residence and has access to the main kitchens and a bar. If we have a larger group there are rooms that hold up to 250. The point is that the base costs of hosting are very modest.
You also have a chance to have a special time. The fall is a wonderful time to come to PEI.
We have some great golf courses and in the fall the pressure on Tee Times is off.
PEI is a great place to bike as you can see here. We have over 400km of trails and it is easy to rent a bike.
This is what it looks like on many of the trails in the fall - you can get away from the busy world.
We have hundreds of miles of beaches. It won't be sunbathing weather but the water will be warm and again being on the beach with no one else can be special.
If you like seafood - well....
We have a full range of hotels from say the Holiday Inn Express - 5 minutes from the University at between 100 - 200 a night to many lovely B and B's from about $100 - 300 a night.
Air Travel in October is via Montreal, Halifax or Toronto. You can drive as well. There is a high speed ferry from Portland and Bar Harbour that takes a lot of time off the trip and is fun.
If you drive, you also use our bridge, one of the longest in the
