International Symposium on the Development of Military Academies (ISoDoMA)
What is ISoDoMA?
ISoDoMA is a biennial international exchange forum that focuses on the training of young officers in military academies. This forum is attended by military and civilian personnel from military academies. The 2017 edition is organized jointly by the Korea Military Academy (KMA) and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.
In May 2006, around ten countries with ties to KMA (Sweden, USA, France, Turkey, Georgia, Japan, Australia, Thailand and Spain) participated in the 13th edition of the Hwarangdae International Symposium whose theme was: “What is the contribution of the military academies to the development of the armed forces of their country?” During this event participants stressed the importance of these exchanges and expressed the wish to strengthen co-operation between military academies in order to improve the quality of training for young officers. A year later, in November 2007, Korea and the Military Academy of Korea hosted the first edition of ISoDoMA.
Objectives
ISoDoMA has three main objectives:
- Build an international system of co-operation between military academies.
- Conceive exchange and co-operation programs between military academies.
- Exchange information on common challenges military academies face.
The participants
The event brought together 60 participants from 22 countries. The participants were officers, mostly of the ranl of of LtCol, Col and BGen, and civilian employees of a military academies.
Previous editions
2007 – 1st edition (SOUTH KOREA – Korea Military Academy (KMA))
Topic: “The changing environment of future educational innovation for military academies”
2009 – 2nd edition (FRANCE – École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM Saint-Cyr))
Topic: “Irregular warfare training for officers”
2011 – 3rd edition (COLOMBIA – Escuela Militar of Cadets General José María Córdova (ESMIC))
Topic: “Challenges for military academies in the training of 21st century officers”
2013 – 13th Hwarangdae International Symposium (SOUTH KOREA – Korean Military Academy (KMA))
Topic: “Leadership for military officers, theories, Applications and new perspectives”
2015 – 4th edition (SPAIN – Academia General Militar (AGM))
Topic: “Comprehensive Education for officers to face New Security Challenges”
2017 – 5th edition (CANADA – Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMC Saint-Jean))
Topic: “The development of general culture and critical thinking in the training of officers and military personnel”
