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”Where are the Boundaries of NATO’s Activities? The Road to Cardiff’s Meeting”

The Atlantic Council of Croatia in cooperation with the Center for International Studies, Zagreb, with help from the Youth Committee of the Atlantic Council of Croatia and with the support from NATO Public Diplomacy Division, Brussels, organized the 14th International Summer School titled “Where are the Boundaries of NATO’s Activities? The Road to Cardiff’s Meeting”.  It was held from June 16th till June 23rd in Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia, with fifty participants and speakers including military, government, student, ATA and YATA representatives, and university professors from Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United States of America. The main goal of the scientific conference was to discuss about the security issues of the transatlantic area as well as to analyze the role and future activities of NATO as a military and political alliance in the 21st century.

The conference started with a lecture held by Amb. Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Brussels, Belgium, referring to the role of NATO in today’s world and setting the three pillars of the summit in Wales- the new NATO, Afghanistan and transatlantic relations. Afterwards participants were honored to hear the lecture from General John R. Allen, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign policy, Brookings Institution, United States, about Afghanistan after 2014, the challenges and opportunities, and prof. dr. Dijana Pleština, Croatian Government Office for Mine Action, who discussed about boundaries and the role of security in the contemporary open and liberal world. On the second day lectures were held by Mr. Robert Hranj, Commander of the Croatian Navy, who focused on Smart Defense and NATO’s capabilities, dr. Arian Starova, President of the Atlantic Council of Albania, regarding the topic of small countries and their contribution to safety, and prof. dr. James Seroka, Auburn University, United States, focusing on the USA and the Ukraine crisis. The third day the scientific conference started with a lecture from prof. dr. Stefano Pilotto, Professor of International Relations at MIB School of Management in Trieste, Italy, who stressed the importance of Italy in regional and international security. Next was Mr. Peter Stania, Director of the International Institute for Piece in Vienna, Austria, discussing about security issues and relations between Southern and Northern Mediterranean, and afterwards Mr. Nusret Hanjalić, M.A., Ministry of Defense, Montenegro, who focused on Montenegro in the system of cooperative security. The fourth panel began with lecture of prof. dr. Nedžad Bašić, Professor of International Law and International Relations at the University of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, concerning the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Second lecture that day was held by Major General Dragutin Repinc, Ministry of Defense, Croatia, who focused on security challenges and the abilities of the Croatian military to respond to such. On the fifth day the conference began with dr. Gulshan Pashayeva, Deputy Director, Center for Strategic Studies, Azerbaijan, who discussed about relations between NATO and Azerbaijan, following dr. Arnold H. Kammel, Secretary General of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES), Austria, with focus on the security and defense policy of the European union. The last lecture was held by Mr. Jason Wiseman, Assistant Secretary General ad interim, Atlantic Treaty Association, Belgium, regarding the counterterrorism, Balkan states and Croatia. The last day of the International Summer School was reserved for the simulation of an international multilateral meeting concerning the crisis in Ukraine, for which participants were mentored by prof. dr. Lidija Čehulić Vukadinović.

(Conference pictures are in the photo gallery)