"Here in Istanbul, a city that bridges two continents, we have reaffirmed our commitment to the Alliance [and] we have strengthened the Alliance’s ability to deal with the threats and challenges of an ever-changing world."

Thus concludes the model NATO communique issued by the future foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance. For five days, 204 students from 37 countries in the Euro-Atlantic area discussed and debated the future of international security. Organized by the Atlantic Council of the United States and the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA), in association with the Community of Volunteers Foundation (TOG), NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (PDD), and the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the second Pan-Atlantic Student Summit (I-PASS) was held in conjunction with NATO’s official summit in Istanbul. Students interacted with numerous policymakers, including NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. I-PASS built on the success of the Prague Atlantic Student Summit (PASS), which brought together 185 students for a meeting in association with the 2002 Alliance summit. Students were recruited through ATA member organizations or through a national call for students. Selection criteria included leadership ability and political, military, and community service. In preparing for I-PASS, many delegations had the opportunity to seek guidance from officials in their ministries of foreign affairs and defence and, in several cases, heads of state and government. Based on these personal interviews and independent research, delegates collaborated to write a position paper on their national objectives and strategic goals during the conference. Many leaders of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA) also attended as observers to solicit ideas about future programs. Even before the conference began, thirty-four students from six Balkan countries cultivated their sense of community by participating in the Balkan Bus project.

Inspired by the Baltic Bus’ journey to the 2002 Prague Summit, the Euro-Atlantic Club of Macedonia organized the road trip from Skopje in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, Zagreb, Croatia, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tirana, Albania, and Sofia, Bulgaria. After a public rally in each location, the bus carried participants to Istanbul. (For more information on the Balkan Bus, see the box on page four.) Students from throughout the Euro-Atlantic region arrived on Saturday, June 26 and were welcomed with an evening of socializing and sandwiches at Koç University. Located in the outskirts of Istanbul, Koç’s scenic campus transplanted the students out of their daily routine and brought them together as a community. At the opening session the next morning, Troels Frøling, Secretary General of the ATA, Jean Fournet, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Kerim Paker of TOG, Attila Askar, Rector of Koç University, and Fran Burwell, Director of the Council’s Transatlantic Relations and Education programs welcomed the participants. Commander Russell Pegg and Dick Bedford of Allied Command Transformation (ACT) then briefed the students on the NATO Response Force (NRF). The students next travelled to the site of the official summit. After watching the change of command ceremony for the NRF, participants listened to a sequence of distinguished speakers. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer kicked off the afternoon by discussing the importance of NATO’s shared ideals and the methods employed to promote those values “from Vancouver to Vladivostok.” Introduced by model NATO Secretary General Kristina Ober (Slovenia), he outlined a theme that would dominate both the official summit and the student conference: the transformation of the Alliance. "The key feature of this new NATO,” he said, “is its readiness to build stability where it matters... We simply can no longer protect our values without addressing the potential risks and threats that arise far from our homes." Students pressed the Secretary General to defend the North Atlantic Council’s decisions in regard to Iraq, Serbia and Montenegro, and Afghanistan. In reply, he described his ideas for peacebuilding in Europe and beyond, particularly the need for complementarily between member states’ forces. Secretary General and Mrs. de Hoop Scheffer then posed for a photo with the students.

Paula Broadwell (USA), who played SACEUR in the model NATO, next introduced General James L. Jones, the real Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He observed the changes that have occurred in the military, in NATO, and in the understanding of security since he started his career. For him, the most remarkable aspect of the Istanbul summit remained that "in times of great change, [NATO has] the courage to change." After discussing the new role for the military and the high expectations that citizens should have for their Alliance, General Jones answered questions about the NRF and its capabilities. Next, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia reprised her speaking role from the first PASS. Introduced by Lazar Elenovski of the Euro-Atlantic Club of Macedonia, she took a moment to congratulate the Balkan Bus participants by saying "the Balkan Bus is a beacon of hope for [your countries] as they hope to follow the same path as [Latvia] - to develop and thrive." President Vike-Freiberga’s comments focused on the fundamental connection between NATO members, old and new. After taking questions about the changing relationship between Latvia and Russia, she emphasized the need for open debate that advances the mission of the Alliance. Students then heard from Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani about the technical and structural changes in the Alliance, and Romanian President Ion Iliescu about the history of the seven new members. Finally, they listened to U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who commented that he "[had seen] Fulda become just a lovely place in a unified Germany" and noted the corresponding geographical shift of the Alliance. Addressing questions about Iraq, the future of NATO, and the role of the United States, Secretary Powell remarked that "[the United States] needs NATO because it glues North America to Europe.…[It] allows the Euro- Atlantic community to be one whole organization of values that the world can look to for inspiration and peace."

After a thought-provoking day, the students were ready to relax on a boat trip up the Bosphorus. Back at the official site, Monday, June 28 proved equally intense. Meeting only two floors above the North Atlantic Council (NAC), students greeted Alliance leaders immediately after the official arrival ceremony. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the delegates and talked about Turkey’s role at the crossroads of Europe. Fielding questions from Armenian, Greek, Turkish, and other students, he discussed his hopes for Turkey’s future as a member of the European Union and a leader in the region.

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, introduced by former ATA president Theodossis Georgiou and current ATA president Robert Hunter respectively, commented on the changing nature of security and the promotion of democratic values. After listening to a panel of journalists chaired by Jamie Shea of NATO, students connected with their last speaker of the day, British Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Jack Straw, who stated that the Alliance is "as important as ever." The students returned to Koç University to begin their own 'ministerial meeting.' One of the major activities during I-PASS was a model NATO which exposed delegates to the challenges of expanded membership and consensus decision-making in the NAC. Simulating a NATO ministerial, the students sought to develop guidelines in the form of a communique for the Alliance’s out-of-area operations. Prior to arriving at the conference, each delegation had selected a foreign minister, permanent representative, and, in most cases, a chief of defence and deputy permanent representative. In order to give everyone the experience of being in NATO, time fast-forwarded to 2007 and all delegations were treated as full members. While having 37 countries represented created some special challenges, this inclusive arrangement allowed everyone to develop a better understanding of the values, policies, and decisions that are the foundation of Alliance cooperation. Kristina Ober (Slovenia) led the NAC as Secretary General and was ably assisted by Audun Halvorsen (Norway) as Deputy Secretary General, Paula Broadwell (USA) as SACEUR, Martti Setälä (Finland) as Deputy SACEUR, Larissa Neubauer (Germany) as Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Andrew Ninios (Greece) as Chair of the Military Committee, and Sorana Pascariu (Romania) as NATO Spokesman. During the discussion, a crisis erupted in the fictitious Red Sea nation of Corona. After lively debate that lasted until Wednesday, June 30, delegates consented through the silence procedure (in which the measure is adopted if no objections are raised) to send the NRF to make peace on the island and came close to finishing their communique, with only a few points unresolved in brackets. As the final event of the conference, students heard from Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül about the outcomes of the official summit. He spoke about the benefits of the debate in which the Alliance had engaged and commented that "the true test of any organization lies in its ability to keep the interest of the next generation...[NATO] has passed this test... I-PASS has carried the Alliance into the future." The minister took questions covering a range of subjects from EU accession to U.S.-Turkish relations. He charged the students with carrying the message of peace to their home countries and encouraged them to strive to make a difference. Throughout I-PASS, students enjoyed numerous opportunities to voice their opinions to the international media, including a town-hall meeting on CNNTurk hosted by Mehmet Ali Birand. News services, including the Anadolou Agency (Turkey), Idividi Press (Macedonia), Nine O’Clock News (Romania), Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NTVMSNBC, Politika (Serbia and Montenegro), Radio Television Luxembourg (Germany), and SkyTurk, also interviewed students. Delegates took advantage of two special events to socialize with each other and to network with their NATO counterparts.

On Monday, June 28, I-PASS participants were invited to an official summit party at the Swisshotel in downtown Istanbul, where they engaged their official counterparts, and later danced the night away. On Tuesday, June 29, Attila Askar, Rector of Koç University, hosted a dinner and dance party. Bonding over barbeque, students celebrated all evening in what many described as the best part of the conference. After five whirlwind days, the students returned home and set to work strengthening the ties that bind them together and building bridges between the current leaders of the Alliance and the communities in their countries.

"You are [now] ambassadors for NATO... it will be hard work in the streets, [but]... you can play your part in making sure that NATO remains for you what it has always been for me: an indispensable instrument to protect and promote our most fundamental values and to pass them on to future generations." -Jaap de Hoop Scheffer