Chris Abbott is a security specialist, social entrepreneur and author.
Chris has spent his career protecting others. He worked with frontline environmental defenders in Latin America and Southeast Asia in the late 1990s, and then spent a decade working at the policy level protecting civilians in conflict during the 'war on terror'. He now helps NGOs and other social change agents understand and manage their security risks.
Chris is the founder and executive director of Open Briefing. Open Briefing is a social enterprise that provides holistic security and duty of care support to at-risk human rights defenders and humanitarians working in violent or repressive environments around the world.
Chris is both a practitioner and a researcher. He was the deputy director of the world-renowned Oxford Research Group until 2009. He has been an honorary research fellow in the Centre for Governance and International Affairs at the University of Bristol and in the School of Social and International Studies at the University of Bradford. He is the author of two popular books and over 50 influential reports and articles, many of which are required reading in defence colleges and universities around the world. He is particularly well known for his work on remote warfare and sustainable security.
Although he now works largely behind the scenes, for over a decade, the international media widely reported on Chris's work and frequently called on him for expert comment and analysis of global security events. His work has also been endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dame Anita Roddick and Brian Eno, among others, and has three times been raised in the UK Houses of Parliament.
Chris is also a highly experienced trainer. Last year alone, he run security workshops for over 50 human rights defenders and humanitarians. Over the last 15 years, he has taught approximately 100 military personnel on UK Ministry of Defence courses, lectured to 500+ senior law enforcement officers from across Asia, and briefed policymakers in the House of Commons and Downing Street on several occasions.
Before his career in the NGO sector, Chris was an expedition leader and survival and resilience instructor. He has travelled or worked in every continent except Antarctica.
Chris holds a Level 7 Certificate in Security Management from Oxford Brookes University, a master's in social anthropology from the University of St Andrews and a degree in psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London. He also holds certificates in Psychological First Aid and Mental Health First Aid and the security industry standard advanced first aid qualification (FPOS-I).
Chris has spent his career protecting others. He worked with frontline environmental defenders in Latin America and Southeast Asia in the late 1990s, and then spent a decade working at the policy level protecting civilians in conflict during the 'war on terror'. He now helps NGOs and other social change agents understand and manage their security risks.
Chris is the founder and executive director of Open Briefing. Open Briefing is a social enterprise that provides holistic security and duty of care support to at-risk human rights defenders and humanitarians working in violent or repressive environments around the world.
Chris is both a practitioner and a researcher. He was the deputy director of the world-renowned Oxford Research Group until 2009. He has been an honorary research fellow in the Centre for Governance and International Affairs at the University of Bristol and in the School of Social and International Studies at the University of Bradford. He is the author of two popular books and over 50 influential reports and articles, many of which are required reading in defence colleges and universities around the world. He is particularly well known for his work on remote warfare and sustainable security.
Although he now works largely behind the scenes, for over a decade, the international media widely reported on Chris's work and frequently called on him for expert comment and analysis of global security events. His work has also been endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dame Anita Roddick and Brian Eno, among others, and has three times been raised in the UK Houses of Parliament.
Chris is also a highly experienced trainer. Last year alone, he run security workshops for over 50 human rights defenders and humanitarians. Over the last 15 years, he has taught approximately 100 military personnel on UK Ministry of Defence courses, lectured to 500+ senior law enforcement officers from across Asia, and briefed policymakers in the House of Commons and Downing Street on several occasions.
Before his career in the NGO sector, Chris was an expedition leader and survival and resilience instructor. He has travelled or worked in every continent except Antarctica.
Chris holds a Level 7 Certificate in Security Management from Oxford Brookes University, a master's in social anthropology from the University of St Andrews and a degree in psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London. He also holds certificates in Psychological First Aid and Mental Health First Aid and the security industry standard advanced first aid qualification (FPOS-I).
