During the first two days of the 58^TH ATA General Assembly, 3 – 4 February, the 17^th YATA General Assembly was also held.



The work on the YATA General Assembly started on the 3^rd in Hotel Royal Santina with the report from the YATA Executive Board for the past 2012. After the presentation, three workshops were held for the future activities of YATA.

On this General Assembly very important processes were moved with the creation of the first working group within YATA International, “YATA South – Eastern European Working Group”. The working group was signed by seven countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Turkey). This working group was initiative of Mr. Ilija Djugumanov from the past General Assembly in Tirana.

After the signing of the Joint Declaration, the work of the GA proceeded with the annual elections for the YATA Executive Board. This YATA GA re-elected Mrs. Kristin Durant and Mr. Joao Freitas and Mr. Sami Tekat as President, Secretary General and Vice President for Communication of YATA International. Furthermore, Mrs. Bojana Antunovic and Mr. Iztok Stefanic were elected as Vice President for Finance and Executive Vice President. For the position of Vice President for Public Diplomacy, Mr. Ilija Djugumanov from YATA Macedonia was elected.

The General Assembly continued on 4^th February in the NATO Defense College for an intense day of conferences and forum discussions on topics related to NATO and its agenda for the immediate future, with a special focus on the new generations in the broader Middle East.

The day was opened by the opening remarks of Prof. Antongiulio De Robertis, Vice President of the Italian Atlantic Committee, and of Mrs. Kristin Durant, President of YATA International, who both provided a platform for the opening address of Mrs. Antonella Cerasino, from the NATO Public Diplomacy Division. Mrs. Cerasino introduced the audience to the topics that currently drive NATO’s agenda, and explained how the Alliance will address future threats and challenges. In this respect, the Connected Forces Initiative and Smart Defence play a key role in NATO’s strategy; the enhancement of dialogue and cooperation with partner countries also remains a fundamental long-term objective.

The first panel of the day was entitled “The new generation and the future of the broader Middle East”. This session afforded the young audience the opportunity to interact with the Chairman, Dr Peter Stania, Director of the International Institute for Peace, and the lecturers. They were Mrs Amira Mekheimar, from the EU-Egypt Association Agreement Program, Mrs. Nabila Ramdani, journalist and political commentator, Dr Amer Al-Sabaileh, from the University of Jordan, and Mr Sultan Al-Qassemi, columnist and social media commentator. The speakers provided their insightful perspective on how the younger generations in the broader Middle East see and interpret recent and current developments on the political scene, both national and international.

The second session was focused on the future of NATO partnerships. The panel was chaired and introduce by Mr Bruno Lete, from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and was composed of Dr Antonia Colibasanu, from Stratfor, Mr Tommy Steiner, from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Mr Elkhan Mehtiyev, Director of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Center of Azerbaijan, and Mr Haseeb Humayoon, founding member of the “Afghanistan 1400” political movement.

The third and last part of the day was dedicated to the Youth Programs, with an introductory speech by Mr Graziano Gallitto, President of the Consules Association. A presentation of the Reports on New Transatlantic Relations Course 2012-13 was followed by the remarks of Mr Emiliano Stornelli, from the Italian Atlantic Committee. Proceedings were closed by Mrs Kristin Durant, President of YATA.

After the finish of the YATA General Assembly, all YATA Delegates joined the 58^TH ATA General Assembly.