BUCHAREST

MODEL NATO
7th edition
7 EUSSI • 0202 REBOTCO

est. 2014 •
The BUCHAREST
MODEL NATO
Magazine

EDITOR IN CHIEF
Luca Sipoteanu

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Miruna Mihalcea

WRITERS
Luca Sipoteanu
Maria Bozga
Tudor Mihalcea

CONTRIBUTORS
Ana Fuciu
Mara Serbanescu
Daniela Bordei

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The BMNATO conference is unique in the world. Since 2015, its purpose has been to
simulate The North-Atlantic Summits, familiarizing the youth generation with military
and security problems that world leaders, members of the Alliance, must deal with.
During the four days of the simulation, participants are anchored to possible threats to
which Romania itself may be directly involved in the future. BMNATO became a source
of information and a career start point for many high-school and university students,
reaching its 7th edition in October 2020.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” –
Nelson Mandela

The Bucharest Model NATO Conference was born with such an idea in mind. Six years
ago, a bunch of then-teenagers interested in international affairs and national security
came up with a great idea. They wanted to learn about how a NATO Summit should be
conducted, but there was nothing of the sort already established. So, they took the
matter into their own hands and started planning a NATO Conference simulation. With
no experience whatsoever, one step at a time, they uncovered the ins and outs of a
such meeting- what their topics of discussion are, what committees exist, and how
delegates should conduct themselves. Working in the dark at first, they gradually
gained experience in the Diplomatic field and got used to the world they wanted to
someday be a part of officially.

Teenagers now embark on a completely different journey than the one in 2015. Since
the second edition in 2016, the board has been improving annually based on the
principle of meritocracy. This change is built on the involvement, devotion, maturity,
and profound interest in this project, all of which were proven in the previous
edition(s). Thus, an alleged legacy is formed, allowing the dedicated participants –
delegates or chairpersons – to climb their way up the hierarchic ladder and also
experience how it is like to organize such an event from scratch.

This year, the pandemic affected each and every one of us, including BMNATO. Thus,
the conference was held in an engaging online format, allowing the delegates to
participate from the comfort and safety of their homes. In spite of this change, the
board ensured that the event maintained the true essence of NATO and strived to
create the best possible experience for the leaders of tomorrow.

Therefore, we encourage you to read on the following pages and see how things have
been behind the scenes of this edition. Hopefully, we will see you next year!

Warmest regards,
The BMNATO 2020 Team

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 Roxana is the President of the Councils of BMNATO's 7th
edition. She is a senior at the German "Goethe" High School
Bucharest, who seeks to follow a path towards becoming a
medical doctor. Her ambition and care for our world are what
drove her to participating at other International Diplomacy
Conferences, which taught her how important it is to discuss
about global issues and take even the smallest action to
impact the world. As an organizer of this year's event, she is
looking forward to welcome passionate and determined
participants at the Conference and, together with them, to be
part of today's change.

Maria is the Strategy Manager of the 7th Edition. While her

interests include social innovations, computer science and
debate, she also loves coffee. Often on an espresso buzz, she
explores society’s intertwines of policy, management decisions
and economics. Her fresh, informed perspectives ignite the
thrive of her social initiatives and help her develop
academically in law and business. ‘Per Tim Harford,
cappuccino is the result of a great effort. My take on that is to
get to know the people, better the system, and find the next
Unicorn Frappuccino.

Cristina is the General Manager for the 7th Edition of the

BMNATO Conference, while a year before she was the
strategy Manager of the conference. Her main passions are
business management, leadership, and psychology; she is
particularly interested in motorsport business. Having
worked with a Formula 1 car racing team in the past, she
loves to pursue entrepreneurial projects in any field. "Records
are there to be beaten and history is there to be rewritten"

OUR
SECRETARIAT

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 Tudor is the Operations Manager of the 7th Edition. He is a junior at the
National College of Informatics Tudor Vianu, who, despite the school's
name, aspires to work in diplomacy and to change something in the world.
His persistence in supporting his ideas and opinions is what got him into
participating in International Conferences. His eagerness to be a part of the
people that can change things in the world is motivating him to come up
with ideas that are out of the box and to continuously think about
improving. He is looking forward to meeting new people and to motivate
them to take part in the project and also to convince them to participate in
today's change.

Miruna is the Chief of Media. She is a senior at the

Gheorghe Sincai National College. Her main passions
are cameras and movies, and she wants to be the next
Tarantino. Her purpose was never to answer questions
but to ask the right ones. She wants to present these
“whys” so that viewers will reflect on their own person
just as they get out of the cinema.

Luca is the Chief of Press and a determined senior at Dinicu Golescu

National College in Campulung. He is passionate about politics and
writing, thus combining the two in his work at BMNATO. He previously
participated in two editions of the conference as a delegate and a
chairperson, taking on the NATO experience from multiple
perspectives. His participation resembles the perfect example of
dedication and perseverance at BMNATO. He enjoys meeting new
people and creating meaningful connections. that last and puts love
into all of his projects and ambitions.

OUR
SECRETARIAT

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 SPECIAL GUEST

MIRCEA GEOANA

M ircea Geoană became NATO Deputy

Secretary-General in October 2019, after a
distinguished domestic and international career. Mr.
Geoană is the first Deputy Secretary-General from
Romania and the first from any of the countries that
joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War.

Previous to his political career, Mircea Geoana had a successful diplomatic activity. Appointed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States of America at age
37, in February 1996, he was the youngest ambassador in the Romanian diplomatic corps. From
2000 to 2004, Mircea Geoana served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. Mr Geoană is a
strong advocate of transatlantic integration and has held a number of international positions,
including OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in 2001 and personal representative of the OSCE
Chairperson-in-Office for Georgia in 2005. He is President and founder of the Aspen Institute
Romania and has published extensively on domestic and international affairs.

He also was a NATO fellow on democratic institutions in 1994. He lectured on foreign policy,
transitional economies, and globalization at major universities and think - tanks: Sorbonne,
Harvard, Georgetown, Yale, CSIS, Atlantic Council, GMF, Chatham House, Policy Network and is a
contributor to important Romanian and international publications, like The New York Times,
International Herald Tribune, The Atlantic, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Mircea Geoana is the author of several books: “Romanian foreign policy at the beginning of the
XXIth century -The road to Europe and the transatlantic world”, „America, Europe, and Romania’s
modernization: bases for a Romanian societal model”, „The Romanian social model: the way
towards a new Romania”, „Trust”. He is co-author of a recent book dedicated to the multiple 2019
NATO anniversaries: “Open Door: NATO Enlargement and Euro-Atlantic Security in the 1990s” by
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Brookings Institution Press.

In 2000, he was made a Commander of the National Order, The Star of Romania. He has also been
awarded the French Legion d’Honneur and the Italian Stella della Soliedarita.

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 SPECIAL GUEST

RALUCA TURCAN

R aluca Turcan became the Vice Prime Minister

of Romania in November 2019 after a prominent
domestic career in politics. Mrs. Turcan has been a
Member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for
Sibiu County since 2004.

She studied in the Faculty of International Economic Relations at the Bucharest

Academy of Economic Studies, graduating in 1999. She was also enrolled at Moscow's
Pushkin Institute from 1996 to 1999, and earned a degree in commercial Russian. In
2006 she began work on a master's degree in political marketing at the National
School of Administration and Political Science of Bucharest, and that year she also
began a doctorate at the Transylvania University of Brasov. Raluca Turcan also
completed specializations at the American Council for Young Political Leaders, the
University of Vienna, the Fellowship German Marshall Fund, and the Kokkalis Program
of Harvard Kennedy School.

From 1999 to 2000, she worked as a public relations consultant for Tofan Grup. She
was then a parliamentary expert at the Romanian Senate from 2000 to 2004, and
from 2000 to 2006 was an associated professor at Transylvania University and at the
Romanian-German University of Sibiu.

From 2012 to 2016 she was Secretary of the Commission for Education, Science, Youth,
and Sport and Vice President of the same Commission from September 2016 to
December of the same year. Raluca Turcan has remained a Member of the
Commision and a Member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies for Sibiu County.

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 SPECIAL GUEST

ALEX ȘERBAN

M r.. Serban has dedicated over 20 years to

promoting and enhancing transatlantic relations,
working in the ATA world and with think tanks on
both sides of the Atlantic. He is a dedicated
communication and public affairs specialist, active in
fundraising and event management, and committed
to promoting transatlantic cooperation.
His position in government, business and media have included advisor to the Prime Minister of
Romania, corporate and entrepreneurial roles, academic work, interviews with heads of state and
government and work with charities. As the founding President of the Euro Atlantic Council of
Romania, he developed the national ATA chapter as an umbrella organization, opened to many
and reuniting think tanks, research institutes, NGOs, and universities. He is also one of the longest
serving members of the ATA Council, where he also held the position of Vice President.

Mr. Serban served on the “Next generation” advisory board of then SACEUR Adm. Jim Stravridis,
and in recent years worked with former SACEUR Gen. James Jones on diverse issues and
geographies of importance to NATO. He was decorated by the President of Romania with the
National Order for Merit in the rank of Cavalier for his work on behalf of Romania’s NATO
membership and attends international conferences representing Romania’s civil society and
think tank community, both as speaker and organizer. His work over the years with the Atlantic
Council of the US and various European think tanks have ranged from security and defence
initiatives focusing on the Black Sea region, education and energy programs in the Balkans and
recently on digitization and Three Seas Initiative.

In the private sector, Mr. Serban works across a broad range of industries (energy, health, telecom,
defence and aviation) focusing on foreign investment and business development and also in the
national security policy areas. Mr. Serban is a founding partner at Serban Musneci & Associates, a
public affairs consultancy with international partners and affiliations.

He holds an MA from Columbia University (NY), a BA in Social Studies from Wresleyan University
(CT), and has attended courses at the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies (Germany)
and at the National Defence College of Romania.

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 SPECIAL GUEST

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS
SPOKESPERSON
OANA DARIE

T he Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the

institution of central public administration
which implements the foreign policy of
Romania, in accordance with the legislation in
force and with the Government’s Program.

The MAF is responsible with implementing the strategic guidelines of

Romania’s foreign policy, elaborating the action plan for the implementation of
the Government Program, and contributing to the creation of the legal and
institutional framework that governs the carrying out of strategic objectives in
its field of activity. Moreover, the MAF is representing the Romanian State in
relation with foreign governments and in international organizations, running
the diplomatic service in the headquarters, diplomatic missions and consular
offices, and managing the historical heritage of the Romanian diplomatic
service.

Oana Darie, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, congratulated the

young participants for getting involved in the world of foreign affairs and held
an inspiring speech on the importance of communication. She warned of
misinformation and fake news that spread continuously and placed an
emphasis on the lookout for reliable information. Mrs. Darie also encouraged
the audience to continue their involvement in order to become active actors, to
be the voices of today, and to shape the world tomorrow.

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 COMMITTEE
BREAKDOWNS

NORTH ATLANTIC
COUNCIL
Day 1
The delegates were eager to discuss the
first topic and, in time, the debate
became more and more energetic. We
discussed several topics and ended the
day with a few surprise speeches. The
question of biological weapons was
thoroughly analyzed by the committee
and everyone is happy with the results!

Day 2
During the second session of the NAC,
the delegates discussed the rising power
of China and came up with ingenious
ideas.
“All of the representatives proved to
be very active and we hope to see
them again next year, even more
eager to debate the intricacies of
NATO policies!”

AVIATION COMMITTEE
Day 1
In the Aviation committee, we started by tackling the RAM initiative. The delegates were
extremely cooperative and the flow of the debate was extremely efficient. We also
managed to find various solutions regarding improvements of the initiative, like creating
fast lanes or hubs, and therefore aiding the entire NATO Community.

Day 2
Today, the Aviation Committee focused mostly on writing the resolution on the first topic
regarding the RAM initiative. Though, we did not have enough time to start tackling both
topics, the delegates were extremely productive and managed to create a comprehensive
document. The flow of the debate was a smooth one, and all of them were very
communicative.

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 COMMITTEE
BREAKDOWNS

MILITARY COMMITTEE
Day 1
We began with a mock session since
there were a lot of first timers in our
committee. The new online concept was
a bit difficult to get comfortable with,
but the amazing staff assisted us in the
difficulties that we have encountered
and we managed to finish this day
graciously by achieving significant
progress towards a resolution.

Day 2
The debate started off very well, finishing the resolution from the previous day. We entered
the second topic and the majority of delegates were very active. After this, we started
working on our second resolution, on which the delegates communicated very well.

“Even though most of the first-timers started out calmly, it did not take long for
them to gain confidence and engage in an intense debate.”

CRISIS COMMITTEE
Day 1
The delegates worked together in order to manage the crisis by closing their borders and
sending military and navy troops where needed. Each of the delegates was committed to
helping the alliance and finding efficient solutions in record time.

Day 2
In spite of certain obstacles, the delegates managed to eventually reach a consensus, just in
time to work on the treaty. As a result of thorough debates and reasonable solutions, the
delegates managed the crisis gracefully.

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 COMMITTEE
BREAKDOWNS

C3 BOARD

Day 1
The key to the agreement of the C3
Board was standing by each order's side
and supporting each other's ideas as a
real alliance. We believe the committee
sessions were extremely productive, the
delegates finishing the day with great
progress on the resolution.

Day 2
The second and last day of debate captured the delegates having more courage to
speak up and empower their stance. They have finished writing their resolution
successfully, moving to the next topic. Even though a complete resolution was not
realistic, they dived into the topic with even more courage than in the previous day.

NUCLEAR PLANNING GROUP

Day 1
Today the NPG committee has started working on a resolution that will fix the problems
created by the tensions between Iran and the Alliance. We believe the committee sessions
yielded fruitful debates that make a strong stepping stone for a future when nuclear
threats are obsolete.

Day 2
On Sunday, the Nuclear Planning Group tackled the Alliance's nuclear deterrence and
prevention policy, updating it to fit the current times. The delegates engaged in rewarding
debates and worked together towards writing the resolution, which brings necessary
changes to the current policy.

“We believe that our delegates are on a bright path to becoming exceptional
diplomats.”
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COMMITTEE
BREAKDOWNS

CIVIL EMERGENCY
PLANNING COMMITTEE

Day 1
CEPC discussed and planned the steps towards the mitigation of the effects of Natural
Disasters that occur during the COVID-19 pandemic. Delegates were introduced to a
natural disaster crisis taking place in the Azores and Canary Islands and Madeira.
Through this lens, they were able to begin the drafting process of a more general
Internal Action Plan to be applied by NATO's response corpuses in the future, as well as
to solve the situation introduced.

Day 2
The second day of committee sessions oversaw a cyberterrorist attack that caused the
energy network in Eastern Europe to collapse. By the end of the day, an integral Internal
Action Plan and a corresponding Communique had been passed by unanimous vote,
addressing both of the topics and working towards the security of the Alliance in such
turbulent times. Overall, the delegates of the CEPC displayed impeccable behavior and
were highly engaged in debates, resulting in a very memorable experience.

“The delegates of the CEPC challenged themselves and applied their skills in
debate and diplomacy to reach a clear consensus.”

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 INTERVIEWS
How did you find out about BMNATO? What convinced you to join us?

I found it through an organization called student counseling and I decided to join

because I thought it would be an excellent academic experience
I have taken part in this conference since its fifth edition. What convinces me to join
every year is the open atmosphere, the fact that you are encouraged to participate by
debating, questioning, learning, and the opportunity to make new friends.
Recommendation from a friend - as I would wish to grow professionally in this branch,
it was obvious to me that BMNATO would be a great opportunity.
I found out about BMNATO through Instagram and I decided to join because I was
curious to see how different it is from MUN conferences.

What expectations did you come with?

The same as the last year: to meet new people, to debate on NATO-related topics, and
to gradually overcome my fear of speaking in public.
My friends’ experiences at the conference the previous year determined my
expectations to be very high – these were completely fulfilled.
I expected to debate and have fun, and this is exactly what happened.

How has this experience shaped you?

This was an incredible opportunity to grow as a public speaker and as a delegate. It

showed me the importance of research, but especially that of creativity and critical
thinking.
I learned how to work in a team where everyone has their own agenda. Compromising
has been the leading factor in our committee.
In spite of having the least experience, the positive feedback given by my fellow
delegates determined me to gain confidence.
It showed me that I can do it and that I don't have any reason to not speak up and trust
myself. Comparing this to any of my past experience, BMNATO was a pleasing
lightnining bolt.

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 BUCHAREST
MODEL NATO
7th edition
Thus, another chapter in our story ends, but this beautiful
journey continues, waiting for the next board and delegates to
set sail on the BMNATO ship. As we close the last page of the
7th edition, we are not nostalgic. Rather, we feel pride at
succeeding to bring such talented, motivated, and passionate
group of young individuals together once more. For four days,
you’ve been able to prove to both us and yourselves, that there
is a viable future for diplomacy, and that we will be ready to
step up, to take responsibility when the time calls for us to do
so. If you participated as a volunteer, chairperson, or delegate,
you’ve shown that you are determined to better yourself
academically, professionally, and personally.

We’d like to thank everyone for making BMNATO 7th edition a

reality, and especially for proving that a pandemic cannot
stand in the way of our success. As such, we look forward to
seeing you for the 8th edition, hopefully in-person. You’ll hear
from us soon.

See you next year,

The Bucharest Model NATO Team

SPECIAL THANKS TO: