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	Learning by being: A look at Model NATO in the United States by Carmen K. Iezzi, US Atlantic Council February 23 – 25, 2005, Washington DC — More than one-hundred and fifty students from eighteen colleges and universities across the United States and Canada descended on Washington DC to simulate the North Atlantic Council ( NAC), the Political Affairs Committee, Defence and Nuclear Planning Groups, and the Political-Military Steering Committee of the Partnership for Peace (PfP). This year, participants were fortunate to hear Mr. Michael Rühle, Head of Policy Planning and Speechwriting Section at NATO Headquarters, and Brigadier General Antonello Vitale, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Policy and Interoperability at Allied Command Transformation. Four of the gentlemen closely involved in the creation and operation of the National Model NATO agreed to give an interview as they celebrated the 20 th year of the conference. Michael Nwanze (left), Professor of Political Science at Howard University, Mark Rubin, Director of the Center for International and Comparative Programs at Kent State University, Lawrence Chalmer, Director of the NATO Staff Officer Orientation Course at the National Defense University, and Frank Munster, student at Muskegon Community College and 2005 Model Secretary General, discussed the challenges and rewards of such an endeavor. What were your motivations in creating this model? Nwanze : Soon after the formation of the United Nations, American universities and universities all over the world began to simulate the proceedings of the U.N. as a means of raising awareness about the duties and responsibilities of that organisation. Though NATO was created in 1949, just a few years later, there was no systematic effort [that I know of] to simulate the proceedings of NATO. Therefore, about 20 years ago, Howard University and Kent State University decided to create a simulation of the NAC and various committees. The reasons behind this were obvious. It was to raise awareness and create knowledge about the role, activities, and functions of NATO. It was designed to demonstrate the patterns of cooperation and conflict that characterise NATO diplomacy. In addition, it was also necessary to point out the various economic, political, and social security issues that confront the transatlantic alliance; and, of course, it has become very important to alert the younger generation about the transformed NATO ; that NATO is not just a defence and security organisation, but also an organisation that is actually beginning to resolve some of the very key issues facing the transatlantic alliance. I think it’s very important that this generation get to know and understand NATO ; and one very good way to do this is really through simulation, because it’s learning by being and by doing. It’s an experiential kind of learning, one we hope they never forget. Because they are these countries; they are NATO; and, they come to internalise [it ] in a way that’s very different from just being taught in a class project in a university or high school. This is really the objective of the whole thing: you begin to see the world through the eyes of the nation that you represent. And this is what gives the simulation its very character. And it’s a very interesting experience for the students, [because they represent] the views of other nations. It enables them to understand in a much deeper way their own nation’s policies. How do you deal with the challenges of NATO expansion, enlargement, changes in the command structure through transformation, etc? What do you think that does to the participants’ experience? Nwanze : In many ways the changes that are coming about in NATO actually spur greater participation. There’s something new every year that NATO has done in terms of transformation, enlargement, the command structure... and this is new material that [students] can use for the conference experience. I’ve heard so much about new ideas for “Berlin Plus”, new ideas for ESDI, new ideas for the NATO Response Force. They’ve taken the materials that have come out of NATO and they want to expand on them and make them better. I think if the Alliance was still stuck at some point in the ‘80s as a defensive alliance [you would not] see as much creativity. Rubin : Fairly early, after the creation of the Partnership for Peace, we incorporated that into the simulation. But the Partnership for Peace was not always a satisfactory mechanism, [because], as they are in the real world, [Partners] are very limited in their participation. Now as those countries move from Partnership for Peace to full membership, they become engaged and the greater diversity makes for a more interesting simulation. Of course it also makes, as it does in the real world, for some greater difficulty on regional consensus issues. Chalmer : The vitality of the model comes from the vitality of the men and women from the colleges. They’ve been working with their faculty members for perhaps a semester… they’ve been studying the issues from a political science or international relations perspective, or both. They come in armed, interested, enthused, and, certainly, informed on issues. That makes our job in building a crisis scenario and working with them, much easier than if we were looking to give them basic grounding in NATO organisation and function. They have that when they arrive — that’s the vitality that I speak of; they bring an interest and an enthusiasm that is delightful to see. It’s a pleasure for us to work with them. As NATO has changed to what we have today versus what this model saw twenty years ago, so too have these young men and women grown in their discussions at their own universities and colleges to be more comfortable in, as I would call it, “wrestling with the issues” that their nations would either see currently or expectedly with the next administrative cycle. Frank, why did you get involved in Model NATOto begin with? What did you want to gain from this experience? Munster : It’s the only conference that I know of [where] our education on NATO isn’t in a book. This is in your face; you have to deal with it; you have to cope with the situation around you. You do it, so hopefully you can teach it. We have a lot of students who are here for the second, the third, in some cases the fourth year. It takes on a life of its own; it evolves to where you have schools that literally come back year after year. They build on this; this is the capstone of everything they do for their classes. What has the experience of playing the Secretary General been like? Munster : There really haven’t been many pitfalls for being Sec Gen. It’s made me see where my strengths are in terms of dealing with people, my weaknesses. It’s made me learn quickly. I’m probably one of the luckiest people at this conference. I have talked to [almost] every delegate in under a day … they all want … some insight from me, but they also want to share with me, which makes this experience well rounded in the fact that I will always remember these individuals for what they had to say to me and what they had to share with me. What advice would you give somebody who is seeking to set up a Model NATO? Nwanze: [I believe that you need to look at the assets that you have. The first of which is] the presence of people like Professor Chalmer, who is in charge of the NATO officer orientation course. He brings the reality of the training of NATO officers into the model situation… And of course we have about 20 faculty members from various [disciplines, universities, states, and nations who] are available to advise, teach, and, in fact, enrich the simulation experience. The second asset, of course, is the embassies. The NATO member states have been very useful in this part, because the very first official duty of the student is to go to their embassy for briefing. Some of them have been briefed by an Ambassador, a Deputy Chief of Mission, or a political military officer; so, the students come to the simulation armed with the proper policy postures given to them by the representatives from their countries. Rubin: The embassy briefings are crucial for us as a draw, because it really helps the students] to act in character. The representative of the embassy where I took one of my groups yesterday was the Minister Plenipotentiary, the Deputy Chief of Mission. He spent the greater part of his time simply talking about things in general, with a very obvious view toward showing them how [Slovenia] would feel about things that they are likely to encounter. He tried to help them get inside the skin of his countrymen and know how they and the government would react in situations. It’s absolutely invaluable. There are lots of venues [where] we might be able to attract people from a wider radius, but none of them can provide the embassies. This is the only place that can and that is absolutely crucial. Chalmer : Significant contributors to this model for some years have also been our colleagues at NATO headquarters, our colleagues within the Atlantic Treaty Association here in the United States, and our colleagues from Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, VA. We’ve been very fortunate to have the head of the speechwriting division within NATO headquarters, Michael Rühle, again the keynote speaker this year, as well as from Allied Command Transformation Brigadier General Antonello Vitale, Italian Army, who spoke with the students about concerns of military appreciation on the challenges facing NATO, the transformation in which NATO is currently engaged. Final thoughts? Nwanze : I’m very pleased to see that we have generations of people who have worked with this matter. I’ll give you two examples. Just a very few years ago, a young woman from one of the local high schools, Virginia Wilkins, worked with us as a student intern. She is now here as a delegate as a college student, representing one of the NATO nations. Similarly, a Canadian colleague, Jeff Reynolds, came here as an undergraduate student and is now on the staff at the Allied Command Transformation. These two examples are but just a few that make it so rewarding for us to see these people develop into well-reasoned individuals who see NATO and the world of international affairs as something in which they can engage. It’s very much a pleasure to see that. Carmen K. Iezzi is the Education Coordinator for the Atlantic Council of the United States. She can be reached at ciezzi@acus.org.