Page 6 - SyI Quarterly 9 final

Know your Institute
Know your Institute

Our 2021 Annual Conference:

Focusing on ‘Influential

Security’ at our first ever

hybrid event!

After a break in our usual Annual Conference
proceedings due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
we were thrilled to finally return to a
physical version of our Conference on the
28th October 2021. This year was also a first
in introducing a hybrid element to the
conference, which gave attendees the option
to join the conference virtually as well as
in-person on the day. This followed on from
a successful virtual Annual Conference in
2020 where we were excited to be able to
offer our event to members further afield
and overseas too. The Royal Society of
Medicine was the fantastic venue for this
year’s 13th annual conference, ‘Influential
Security’. The conference was opened by the
Institute’s Chief Executive, Rick Mounfield
CSyP FSyI, who welcomed everybody and
began to set the scene for the day’s
proceedings and introduce this year’s theme.
The day was set to discuss many interesting
topics surrounding the idea that Influence is
the conundrum in security. The ability to
influence impacts almost every aspect of
what a security professional aims to achieve.
To deter is to influence. Leadership imparts
influence to promote compliance, awareness, actions, and reactions. Influencers can
convince and coerce, inspire, and improve the social circle around them. In the security
profession we use a variety of concepts to influence such as crime prevention through
environmental design, psychological campaigns such as “see it, say it sorted”. However, our
adversaries do the same, to radicalise and inspire violence. To create fear in a population
and even use our media and social media to deliver deep fake, epistemic risks that
influence populations to follow a path without question. During this hybrid conference, we
explored aspects of influence that will develop a deeper understanding of how attendees
may improve their influential abilities whilst considering how threat actors may be
manipulating us.
Rick’s introduction was followed by delegates being given a warm welcome by the Chair of
the Security Institute, Peter Lavery FSyI. Peter built on Rick’s introduction, but not before
acknowledging the retirement of the Security Institute Project Manager, Di Thomas Hon
FSyI, after many years dedicating her time and efforts to the growth of the Security
Institute and Register of Chartered Security Professionals. Peter also touched upon the
successes of the EY Foundation Secured Futures programme, welcoming the graduates in
attendance. He also took this opportunity to announce the five new strategic aims of the
Institute, as well as the responsible Directors for each aim.

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