Beyond the Frontlines: Security, Tech, and Society with Minister Kristina Kallas on the Paikin Podcast
Thu, Aug 20
|KESKfEST FestivalTent
Enjoy a gourmet lunch and food for thought too, with a live recording of the Paikin Podcast, with Minister Kallas and acclaimed political journalist and best-selling author Steven Paikin.
Time & Location
Aug 20, 2026, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
KESKfEST FestivalTent, 8 Madison Ave, Toronto, ON M5R 2S1, Canada
About the event
Beyond the Frontlines: Security, Tech, and Society with Minister Kristina Kallas on the Paikin Podcast
Join us for The Paikin Podcast, with Steve Paikin, acclaimed political journalist and bestselling author, in conversation with Estonia’s Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas. This luncheon chat is a live recording of The Paikin Podcast, as Steve takes a look at Estonia's blueprint for maintaining sovereignty in the digital age. Minister Kallas will share how her administration deploys technology and AI to combat sophisticated misinformation, bridge deep societal divides, and safeguard democracy from the ground up.
Living on Europe’s frontline, Minister Kallas champions a vital premise: true sovereignty requires military might, but it is ultimately anchored in a united society, a shared language, and "education as defense." This approach posits that a country’s ultimate security is found in the cognitive and digital literacy of its population.
Estonia's Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas is responsible for the targeted and effective development of education, research, youth, and language policies, and coordinates to ensure the high level of R&D excellence and competitiveness. Dr. Kristina Kallas leads implementation of the historic transition to unified Estonian-language instruction across all public schools. She spearheaded digital education initiatives integrating generative AI into classrooms, and advanced national research funding. She has degrees in history and a Ph.D. in political science from Tartu University and her distinguished career spans academia, institutional leadership, and strategic international consulting for the OSCE across Eastern Europe. She is known for her drive in educational innovation advocating building future-ready learning ecosystems.
For more than four decades, Steven Paikin has been producing fact-based, public-interest
journalism. He's the host of TVO Today Live and the Paikin Podcast, and the co-host of the #onpoli podcast. He is also a columnist for TVO.org and the Toronto Star, and has published ten books. . For 19 seasons, he hosted The Agenda with Steve Paikin on TVO, the Ontario public broadcaster’s flagship nightly current affairs program. The Paikin Podcast is a weekly offering focused on national and international affairs, plus one-on-one interviews. Steve’s strictly non-partisan approach to covering politics has resulted in his having moderated four federal election leaders’ debates and five Ontario provincial election leaders’ debates. Steve was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of Ontario, both in 2013. He is the recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). In 2025, the Public Policy Forum gave him the lifetime achievement award for excellence in journalism.
Come for a gourmet lunch; leave with a masterclass in how a tech-forward nation uses AI to protect its people.
*dietary considerations such as vegetarian, gluten free and vegan will be provided for.
Tickets
Lunch with Kallas & Paikin
Enjoy a gourmet lunch and food for thought too, with a live recording of the Paikin Podcast, with Minister Kallas and acclaimed political journalist and best-selling author Steven Paikin. We take a look at how technology is shifting the boundaries of national security.
From $35.00 to $60.00
$60.00
+$1.50 ticket service fee
$35.00
+$0.88 ticket service fee
Total
$0.00