Nordic Resilience Summit in Riga to focus on the region’s practical preparedness for crises

With a focus on practical solutions to strengthen regional resilience, the second Nordic Resilience Summit will take place on 10 September at the National Library of Latvia. The Summit will bring together experts, business leaders, public-sector representatives, and defence professionals and practitioners from the Baltic and Nordic countries. 

This year’s programme will focus on three key themes: leadership and societal resilience, the role of business in strengthening preparedness, and cooperation between the military and civilian sectors. The Summit aims not only to share experience, but also to identify practical solutions that can help communities, businesses, and public institutions better prepare for crises, respond to them more effectively, and recover faster.

“When it comes to crises, the question is not if they will happen, but when. That is why preparedness must be more than slogans – it must translate into practical action. The Nordic Resilience Summit brings together people with experience and new ideas that can be put into practice to strengthen our resilience. By sharing experience and bringing different perspectives to the table, we can challenge existing assumptions and find better ways to prepare for future crises,” says Jānis Vanags, Board Member of the Nordic Resilience organisation CIREN.

The Summit will feature Edward Lucas, founder of the Baltic International Security Centre; anthropologist and applied behavioural scientist Helelyn Tammsaar; Elisabeth Braw, expert at the Atlantic Council and journalist; Meelis Kitsing, Rector of Estonian Business School; defence expert and military-industry entrepreneur Jānis Garisons; Erling Eriksen, CEO of Norstat; Rūta Ežerskienė, Chair of the Board and CEO of Citadele Bank; Kristiāns Brēdermanis, advisor at Brasa Defence Systems and others. The Summit will also be streamed live from 09:00 to 13:00 on the Delfi TV platform in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The Nordic Resilience Summit will conclude with a workshop presenting the expert-developed handbook Preparing Businesses for War in Frontline Countries, designed to help organisations across Europe strengthen their resilience in the face of war-related threats.

The Summit is organised by the Nordic resilience organisation CIREN. As a non-governmental organisation, CIREN’s mission is to strengthen the resilience of communities across Northern Europe by improving their ability to mitigate risks and prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, terrorism, hybrid and gray-zone threats, military activity, and other man-made crises. CIREN works across the business, civil society, and public sectors to strengthen preparedness, response, continuity, and recovery.

The event is supported by Brasa Defence Systems, Citadele, and LMT Defence. Summit partners include DELFI, Norstat Latvia, Visual Media, and the National Library of Latvia.

Event details:
Nordic Resilience Summit 2026
September 10
9.00-13.00
National Library of Latvia, Mūkusalas st. 3, Riga, Latvia
Website: https://ciren.ngo/nordic-resilience-summit-2026/