Allied Command Transformation’s Strategic Issues and Engagement Branch conducted a NATO Model Event at the Hertie School on March 7th, as part of its continued activities to increase understanding and awareness of NATO among the students.
On March 7th, NATO’s Allied Command Transformation conducted a NATO Model Event at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. During the simulated North Atlantic Council session, selected students acted as Permanent Representatives of NATO member states and discussed the Alliance’s posture in the High North.
Representatives from Allied Command Transformation chaired the North Atlantic Council session by acting as the Secretary General, the Chair of the Military Committee, and the Council Secretariat.
The NATO Model Event is designed to introduce students to the unique inner workings of NATO by exposing them to a wide range of security challenges affecting the Alliance. By exercising their diplomatic skills and judgement, student diplomats at the Hertie School managed to reach consensus on NATO’s political course of action in the Arctic region.
Speaking on this experience, the student representative of the United Kingdom Dmytro S. stated, “This NATO simulation has been a very interesting experience. I loved how some of the delegations are really playing true to their countries’ positions, even if they may personally be against them”.
Following the North Atlantic Council simulation, Allied Command Transformation Staff provided detailed feedback to the students and answered general questions on NATO, its challenges, and career opportunities. Dr. Vlasta Zekulic, Head of Strategic Issues and Engagement at Allied Command Transformation, said of these conversations that “The students showed brilliant understanding of knowledge, nature, the security environment and the Arctic as the region of special importance for NATO. What we hope the students will take away is the need to discuss, to elaborate, to be clear about their ideas, their proposals and their vantage points.”
As part of Allied Command Transformation’s Academic Outreach program, NATO Model Events have become a central pillar of interaction between NATO Allied Command Transformation and future generations. In the upcoming months, Allied Command Transformation will conduct additional NATO Model Events across the Euro-Atlantic area to provide even more students with the opportunity to engage in diplomatic discussions that resemble those at NATO.
