Return from Brussels and Prague

On November 28, the group of 10 high school students chosen to participate in the project “Find out what is NATO in Prague and Brussels” returned home to Serbia after spending 5 days abroad. The purpose of this trip was to inform the students what exactly NATO is, how it functions, what is the Partnership for Peace program (of which Serbia is a member of since 2006) how a member state, such as the Czech Republic, chose to become a member of NATO as well as what are its current views on NATO. In Brussels, the students spent one afternoon at NATO headquarters, where they were greeted by the Czech delegation and later received briefings and presentations by international staff from the Public Diplomacy Division and the Operations Division as well as from Spanish and British permanent delegations. The visiting students had an opportunity to ask direct questions on various topics and themes of their interest. While in Brussels, the group also spent some time sightseeing and tasting the local cuisine and Belgian chocolate. After spending two nights in Brussels, the group left for Prague for the remainder of their journey. The students started their first working day by having lunch with the Mr. Ivan Poèuch, Director of Security Policy at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed by a tour of the Czech Senate and a meeting with Senator Jiøí Dienstbier, Chairman of the Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security. In the evening, the Serbian Embassy in Prague and the Serbian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, H.E. Ambassador Vereš, hosted a reception for the students. The students also had a chance to travel outside of Prague and benefit from a tour of the Èáslav Air Base. After the tour of the base, the students were taken to Kutná Hora – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to see some of its outstanding architecture including churches and the cathedral dating as far back as the 13th and the 14th centuries. The remainder of the time was filled with a number of leisure activities back in Prague. The ISAC Fund is pleased to have had this opportunity to take a group of students to Brussels and Prague. Through the kind support of the Czech Embassy in Belgrade, the students have had an exceptional opportunity to learn more about NATO by experiencing it firsthand. Due to the outstanding success of this program and the positive comments received from the participants, with the help of its donors and partners, the ISAC Fund intends to offer similar opportunities for other students in the foreseeable future.

03 Dec 2009