Connections NL 2023 will be held on Monday 13th November 2023 at the The Hague University of Applied Science (Haagse Hogeschool) in The Hague.  The program will be in English.

 

Cost: free admission and participation

 

Program

 

Morning program: 09:00 - 12:00
  1. Introduction - welcome and warming up (no burpees): Hans Steensma - location: Speakers Corner
  2. Keynote 1: Colonel Bart Hoeben, NLD Multi Domain Warfare Education Centre - Speakers Corner
  3. Keynote 2: Alexander Nieuwborg on gaming resilience - Speaker Corner
  4. Explanation and details on game sessions (afternoon) - Speakers Corner

Lunch: 12:00 - 13:00 (lunch at your own expense) - location: cafetaria

 

Afternoon program: 13:00 - 16:15
Game demo's you can play. Two sessions of 1.5 hours each. Locations: separate rooms, room numbers to be announced in the morning session.
  • WISE-AEGIS: wargame about resilience
  • Teamwork: tactical wargame for engineers
  • Command: wargaming software used by the Belgian MoD
  • OWS: Operational Wargame System for contemporary and future conflict
  • Alliance of Arms: a MoD game for the five domains of warfare
  • Cyber Combat: tactical superiority within the cyber domein.

Wrap up and Connections NL trofee award ceremony: 16:15 - location: Speakers Corner

 

Drinks: 16:30 Grand Café Xieje (5' walk from Connections location) http://www.xieje.nl/

If you have any questions, please contact Bas Kreuger.

 

On the games:

 

Teamwork (by Swen Stoop): Teamwork is a tactical wargame designed in 1997 in collaboration with the Training Center for Engineers (OTC Genie), Royal Netherlands Army. The purpose of the game was to offer engineers the opportunity to explore and experience the role of engineers on the battlefield. Teamwork has been applied in the classroom and in combination with battlefield tours.

In 2015 at Connections UK a Canadian Professor, who had observed combat operations in Libya, remarked that events in Teamwork closely resembled events as they unfolded during combat in Libya. The wargame remained true to its purpose: providing a relevant learning experience to its players.
WISE - AEGIS (by Diederik Stolk): On behalf of the NATO, CIMIC Centre of Excellence (CCOE) will demonstrate the WISE-AEGIS wargame. This game is about resilience at the national level. In teams participants need to come up with simple Courses of Action (COAs) to mitigate and deal with shocks. Diederik Stolk will demonstrate the workshop version of WISE-AEGIS. It is a shortened and simplified version of the two-day version of the game as originally developed by the Joint Warfare Center and the NATO CCOE.
Command (by Maxime Deprouw, Belgian MoD) Command is a software program both offered as a game and as a tool for professionals. Maxime Deprouw will demonstrate how this is used by the Belgian military to train personnel and analyse scenario's and platforms.  
OWS (by Ivo de Nooijer): The Operational Wargame System (OWS) is a board game series covering contemporary and future conflict. The design centers on plans and decisions at the high tactical to operational level of war across all warfighting domains. It integrates multiple map scales and includes cyber and space capabilities.
The core of the OWS game system is the use of coloured multi-sided dice to reflect scalable capabilities, lethality, and combat modifiers. OWS was designed by Tim Barrick at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare, Marine Corps University.
Alliance of Arms (by Lowna van Hekezen): Alliance of Arms (AoA) is a functional MDO wargame. The teams consist of 4 players: 1 Commander-in-Chief (CINC) and 3 Generals representing the 3 physical domains of Land, Air, and Maritime respectively. The CINC has also control over Space and Cyber assets. In the combat phase the 2 teams place their unit cards in their respective domains on the abstract “Combat Space” map. With each team’s elaboration of their operation regarding the scenario and the strength of the unit cards, the facilitator will come to a resolution. The goal of the game, regardless of which side wins, is to employ a term we have coined as the Triple C – cooperation, communication, coordination, to effectively showcase the importance of multiple domains working together and improve the communication between current and future leaders.
Cyber Combat (by Natalia Wojtowitz): Cyber Combat Game is a 2-4 player card game of tactical superiority within cyber space. It collected the experience of using cyber capabilities during the Ukraine War (2022-) and translated it into a battle- and campaign-level capture-the-flag challenges. The game includes deck-building reflecting capability build-up. Player with the best development and capability set will be the winner. Cyber Combat Game is in an advanced prototype stage of development.

Registration - Want to attent Connections NL 2023? Send an email to the organisation at bas@kreugerinkultuur.nl or contact us through the contact page.

There is no admission fee for Connections NL 2023, but lunch and drinks are at your own expense.

The venue

 

Haagse Hogeschool (The Hague University of Applied Science). Johanna Westerdijkplein 75 The Hague.

 

By car: there are several parking garages nearby. See Maps below for more information.

By public transport: by train, tram or bus to The Hague Hollands Spoor station. From the exit Laakhaven it is a three minute walk to the entrance. There is also a bus stop line 26 at the entrance of the HHS.

At the entrance of the building, there are signs to the lecture rooms where the conference will be held.