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02-06 June 2025 | Azores, Portugal

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About the course
The V Maritime Security Course, organised by the Atlantic Centre, in partnership with the Luso-american Development Foundation (FLAD), the National Defence Institute of Portugal , the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute, in Accra, the Policy Center for the New South, in Rabat, will take place from 02-06 June 2025, on the São Miguel Island, Azores, under the topic "Climate Change and Security Challenges in the Atlantic".​​​​


To participate in the V Maritime Security Course, please fill in the following form.



Please contact the Atlantic Centre at atlantic_centre@defesa.pt in case there are issues with the registration process.

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Please note that the files you need to upload must have different names.

Documents to be submitted:

​​​• Curriculum Vitae

• Application/Motivation letter from the candidate

• The required documentation should be submitted on the registration form.​​

​The course aims to provide the appropriate conceptual tools to better grasp the complexity of multidimensional maritime challenges, as well as to explore how to best strengthen capacities and foster regional resilience, while promoting solutions that enhance social cohesion and advance respect for international law, human rights, and dignity in maritime-bound contexts.


The following eligibility criteria should be abided:

  • Staff officers from all services of the armed forces (OF3-OF5) or civilians equivalent, including high-level public officials, researchers, academics, NGO and IO staff and practitioners.
  • Nationals from or working in an Atlantic country.
  • Proven relevant experience in the field of maritime security and related areas.

The Atlantic Centre strongly encourages a balanced participation of men and women in its activities.


Documents to be submitted:​

  • CV
  • Application/Motivation letter from the candidate
  • The required documentation should be submitted on the registration form. The organizing committee, composed of one representative of each partner entity, will have the final decision regarding every participant.
  • The course will be taught entirely in English and the target audience will include military personnel, public servants, and high-level officials from Atlantic countries, with a previous background on maritime security issues or ongoing professional responsibilities related to such issues.


A total of 30 slots will be made available. Support will be provided to participants in terms of accommodation and meals, throughout the duration of the course. Travel expenses and formalities to and from São Miguel Island, Azores, will be of the responsibility of each participant.

​Trainers and guest speakers will be recruited and invited from partner countries and institutions, with different professional backgrounds to ensure diversity of profiles.


Climate change currently manifests as a multidimensional challenge, encompassing political, legal, economic, and security risks. Its transnational nature underlines its status as a "de facto" Whole-of-Atlantic threat, demanding cooperative efforts to address the associated security risks effectively.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2024 was the “warmest year on record while upper-ocean heat content experienced a record high”. Despite what this data suggests, while climate change (CC) is often linked with “global warming” like previously thought, in fact, global warming is but an example of a vast array of anthropogenic induced disruptions that fall under the umbrella of CC.

Likewise, in 2024, as an example, Spain was hit with record-breaking rainfall which resulted in flash floods and dozens of casualties, while the Amazon rainforest in Brazil was struck by worst forest fires in two decades, affecting indigenous communities and biodiversity alike.4 Additionally, a testimony to the transnational nature of CC, the people of the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions are enduring contrasting weather events. Climate Change is indeed a phenomenon of extremes. Frequent droughts but also floods, which some authors argue are fuelling ethnic violence due to climate-induced migration, shows a political side of CC.

CC is certainly political. In the Atlantic, recent attention has been given to the North, namely the Arctic. Arctic Sea Ice is steadily decreasing, with data suggesting that the Arctic is both warming, Sea-Ice is thinning while its extent is also decreasing. These changes in geography simultaneously reflect the introduction of political interests in the region. The Arctic is rich in mineral resources such as zinc and nickel, and it also contains significant hydrocarbon deposits. In addition, due to Sea-Ice shrinkage, new Maritime trade routes (North Sea Route and the Northwest Passage for example) and fisheries areas will be accessible, which has the potential for human clashes.

Other relevant data suggests that by 2050, over a billion people living in low-lying coastal cities and towns shall face increased risk from climate-related hazards including sea-level rise, tropical cyclones, and coastal flooding.CC is thus forcing states to respond to extreme weather events by adapting coastal critical infrastructure, such as ports, power plants, dams etc.

From an international legal perspective, CC is urging States to collectively address what is perceived as a common challenge. The Paris Agreement is in that respect , a key achievement, and international legal understanding is developing to encompass a novel interpretation of State responsibility in relation to CC. Small Island developing states (SIDS) are taking the lead in rethinking international law due to the existential imperative that CC poses on their territories and livelihoods.

Furthermore, while legal knowledge constructs, paradigms, principles, and practices are changing, so is military doctrine and force planning. CC is also pressuring States’ armed forces to adapt to extreme weather events and to respond and support the hypothetical human aftermath (such as climate induced displacement).

Climate Change possesses three components that make it a noteworthy topic to be addressed: Multidisciplinary, transnational and unequal. The Atlantic Community faces these and other climate related challenges on a yearly basis, and, in order to continue to deliver timely courses and research that delves into the concerns of the Atlantic basin community, after having gathered the feedback of all 25 member-states, the fifth edition of the Atlantic Centre Maritime Security Course (V MSC) will be dedicated to the topic of “Climate Change and Security Challenges in the Atlantic”.

This edition will be organised by the Atlantic Centre in partnership with the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), the National Defence Institute of Portugal, the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute, in Accra, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research among other partners.​


Download the complete Concept Note here​


Please download here​ the current draft of the Course Schedule




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