he NATO Academy 2020 lecture on: “The role of ATA/YATA concerning NATO and atlanticism as a value” with Ms. Monika Begovic, ATA Secretary General and Ms. Juxhina Sotiri Gjoni, YATA President was held on Wednesday, 18th of November 2020 from 14:00h. Due to the current situation caused by the COVID – 19 pandemic, and in accordance with the government and health authorities, this lecture was held online via the ZOOM platform.



Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is an umbrella – organization which gathers 37 national chapters and since its foundation in 1954, works on promoting the euro – atlantic values on world level through analysis, trainings, education and informative activities related to the international relations and security, which are relevant for NATO. On the other side, the Youth of the Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA) represents the youth component of ATA and includes young professionals, students and researchers, which are interested in the euro – atlantic and international security policies.

The lecture began with a short introduction by Mr. Ilija Djugumanov from ATA Presidency, after which Ms. Monika Begovic addressed the participants and emphasized the role of the International Organizations and the values such as the human dignity they represent. As she said, it is important for the International Organizations to show that they protect these values, which directly affect human lives. On the other hand, the role of the International NGO’s is to promote those values.

Furthermore, ATA Secretary General addressed the new reality of the world, and NATO’s role in it. She pointed that today the security threats are no longer conventional, and that the conditions have changed, which made NATO change its way of tackling those threats. The threats that the COVID – 19 pandemic brought, once again confirmed that the security alliances, such as NATO are much needed and that without them, one cannot survive. In line with this, Ms. Begovic quoted NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg: “When we respond together, our response is more effective.”, and she quoted H.E. Angela Merkel, saying: “Future states cannot stand alone”.

During her lecture, Ms. Begovic dedicated some attention to the fake news and the problematic media, but also the role of the NGO’s in the fight against them:”… today, more than ever we see news titles from some media outlets that are very attractive, but which texts do not correspond with the title, or are based on false information. That is the moment when the NGO sector steps in critically towards the media that share unverified “explosive” news, through fact – checking, sharing the truth etc.

In the second part of this event, Ms. Juxhina Sotiri Gjoni from Albania, YATA President followed up on the topic on fake news and pointed out that YATA fights the fake news through projects and initiatives for youth education. Furthermore, she gave a brief overview on the new challenges for the Alliance, such as: the economic presence of China, Russia’s campaign on disinfo, cybersecurity and of course the COVID – 19 pandemic, and she emphasized that in her opinion, the new NATO2030 Program will have a great contribution in the Alliance’s coping with those challenges. In the context of the pandemic, Ms. Gjoni pointed that an action plan that will be also applicable for the possible biological wars is needed. In her opinion, the U.S. and Europe need to give voice to the new leaders, which represent the peace and prosperity which the multiculturalism and the cooperation brought us.

The YATA President emphasized the importance of the Western Balkan countries for NATO. According to her, what the region needs is constant dialogue and communication through which stability and security will be achieved.

After the lectures, the participants showed great interest through posing questions, and a discussion between them and the lecturers followed.

This project is supported by the NATO PDD.