Adin T. Dobkin

Tag: workshop

  • Exiting the Comfort Zone – from the Atlantic Council’s Art of the Future

    Exiting the Comfort Zone – from the Atlantic Council’s Art of the Future

    Today, I recalled some of the lessons learned from MWG’s recent workshop that took place at Defense Entrepreneurs Forum’s DEF[x]DC conference for the Atlantic Council.

    A conflict erupting in Iran and a speech delivered to Congress on the eve of a Department of Defense shutdown. These were the stories, if only the germinated seeds, that greeted participants as they entered the recent Military Writers Guild workshop at the DEF[x]DC conference. A crowd, save one, entirely out of their comfort zones when confronted with a writing challenge that stemmed from a fictional prompt.

    When first approached with the idea of hosting a writing workshop at Defense Entrepreneurs Forum’s annual DC conference on behalf of MWG, I knew that first and foremost, the workshop should reflect the unique qualities of the organizations it was supporting. For MWG, this task meant building into the program a diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds, and writing styles. For DEF, it meant intellectually and interactively engaging some of the brightest young innovation-focused minds in the national security sphere. What better way to accomplish both these goals than a writing exercise whose only constraints were the mind of a participant?

    Read the full write-up at the Atlantic Council >

  • May 2016 Work

    As we roll into the sweltering summer months of DC, I’m fortunate enough to participate in a number of cool projects with topics that could not be more diverse (at least in the national security realm). They span theoretical, practical, and analytical topics and will hopefully pave the way for more of the same, even though wearing a suit around town will become even more miserable

    The Pen and the Sword

    Thursday, May 5th I’ll be recording the fourth episode of the Military Writers Guild podcast, The Pen and the Sword. In this episode, I’ll sit down with Dr. Ajit Maan and John DeRosa, both MWG members who sit in the academic world and examine narratives. Jiji and John both work on The Project for Narrative Braiding, a really cool project out of George Mason University with both theoretical and practical applications for the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

    DEF[x]DC

    Recently, I was asked to host a writing workshop on behalf of the Military Writers Guild for the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, a 501(c)(3) organization filled with bright, young military leaders and their civilian counterparts who seek to develop a culture of innovation within the DOD community. I’ll be hosting the workshop alongside Kate Brannen of the Atlantic Council, John Costello of New America, and Claude Berube of the U.S. Naval Institute. The workshop will focus on a set of creative prompts that both expand participants’ writing styles and experience.

    ASP Podcast

    Finally, on May 16th I’ll sit down with my friends at the American Security Project to discuss the role of the space domain in national security. I became involved in this topic while serving as the government and media affairs officer of ASP, so it’ll be nice to come back to the shop a few years later as an adjunct fellow to discuss where it’s gone since that point.