The Kalaris Intelligence Conference is an annual event hosted by the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. The conference focuses on an intelligence and policy perspective to national and international security issues. It brings together a wide array of professionals, including intelligence officials, policymakers, corporate leaders, academics, and students, to discuss current challenges and trends in the intelligence community.

Named after George T. Kalaris, a former senior CIA official, the conference covers topics ranging from cyber threats, counterterrorism, intelligence reform, and geopolitical risks. Its objective is to bridge the gap between intelligence professionals and academia, fostering dialogue and sharing insights on the evolving nature of global security issues.

Save the Date: The Kalaris Intelligence Conference 2025 is being organized on Wednesday, 02 April 2025. The theme of the conference will be ‘Intelligence and Democracy.’

Intelligence and Democracy

Over the course of two keynote addresses, two panels, and undergraduate and graduate poster presentations, the 2025 Kalaris Intelligence Conference will explore the relationship between intelligence and democracy. Top figures from the U.S. government, intelligence community, and academia will gather to discuss how intelligence can strengthen democracy, as well as current challenges that the field must address. With focus on misinformation and disinformation, as well as the impact of technological advances on information collection, speakers will examine how intelligence must evolve. In a society seeing increasing amounts of misleading and false information, including from foreign actors, speakers will discuss how the intelligence community can monitor, combat, and understand the spread of disinformation, particularly as it affects our democratic institutions. Further, as AI and big data dramatically alters the digital world and impacts information gathering, particularly open-source intelligence, speakers will address how these are changing the field’s landscape. They will also explore how this emerging technology can be successfully integrated into intelligence gathering. The dual focus on disinformation and technological development will lead to dialogue on how the intelligence community going forward can evolve to meet the field’s 21st century challenges and more effectively safeguard our democratic institutions. 

Looking for information about past conferences? Watch the opening keynote from 2023’s event below, and see more on our Past Events page.

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