News

The morning part started with an interesting lecture of Eliška Hašková Coolidge on the diplomatic protocol and etiquette. The delegates were taught how to dress properly during diplomatic events and what bad habits to avoid in order to look self-confidently and representatively.

After the lecture, we were provided with a presentation of a true expert and an eye-witness of the war in the Middle-East, who shared with us some of the highlights of his experience in this field. Later, the opening remarks for Model NATO were presented to the honorable ambassadors and the unique fictional NATO crisis took place. The scenario was founded on a terrorist attack at Turkey near the borders with Syria, which was blamed on aggressors. The ambassadors handled the situation well, presented valuable arguments.

So although the Council has not reached a single statement, the participants engaged in productive that further developed their argumentative skills. Last but not least, the ambassadors were provided with information regarding moral choices, and we hope that the resulting feelings were only positive.

The whole programme commenced at 9 o’clock by a welcome address of the Secretariat together with Model UN and, for the first time, also Model EU. This was followed by a speech of Prof. Tomas Halik, who discussed Religious Fundamentalism in the Today’s World with the delegates.

At approximately half past ten, specialized diplomatic seminars started. Sessions focusing on different aspects of international relations were led by six guests, each of them being an expert in their respective area of interest.

At noon, the individualized Model NATO programme started by a presentation on English in debating, given by Richard Gracla. Next on the program was a game called “The Balloon”. The delegates had to pick a famous personality and give reasons why they should not to be thrown out of a falling balloon.

Just after the game, Mr. Jakub Kulhanek provided the delegates with information useful for the upcoming negotiations on NATO – Russia relations in an hour-long presentation. After a short break and a basic introduction to the Rules of Procedure, intense negotiations started. The aforementioned topic was discussed together with an ambassador of the Russian Federation, who was invited to join the session. The delegates performed very well, delivering strong arguments and direct speeches.

Stay tuned for information regarding the fourth workshop with even more room for negotiations!

We will start, as usually, with Model UN by a presentation on the topic of Religious Fundamentalism in the Today's World, followed by 6 diplomatic seminars led by renowned experts. They will cover a wide range of topics related to foreign policy and international relations.

After a brief workshop introduction, which had been common for the whole Prague Student Summit, Model NATO left the lecture hall to attend its own program. Firstly, the ambassadors were divided into working groups, each consisting of 4-6 persons and led by one of our chairs. In these groups, each ambassador had to present his/her own country, based on the questions given as a homework.

In the next program part, the ambassadors had to say several interesting facts about their respective countries and the others had to guess which country they represent. The reward was gaining a permission to use country name cards during the procedure.

Following a short break, Mr. Sindelar from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Zlatohlavek from IC NATO delivered excellent and interesting presentations about the real NATO and how it actually works.

At approximately 1 PM the Minute Waltz game started. Each ambassador was given a topic to speak about for one minute. As the topics were mostly of funnier nature, the results were very interesting, and it can be said that all the ambassadors handled their tasks extraordinarily well.

The last activity was a presentation on the Rules of Procedure including the ambassadors' interaction, so they could see the Rules in practical use.

We hope you enjoyed the second workshop and you're looking forward to the third one, which will take place on December 17th, 2011.

Look forward to great presentations and more teambuilding. We'll start with working groups to get to know NATO as much as possible, continue with information about the real NATO by a true expert, and finish with learning how to act appropriately during negotiations. It would be a big mistake to miss these.

They came to the evening session after the joint program with a lot of expectations. After reviewing the organizational information, they had the opportunity to discover new things about each other through the ice-breaking games, a NATO Quiz and a negotiation game. To fill the ice-breaking games with a little more attractiveness and action, the Model NATO team played along.

In the first game, they needed to express key things in their lives and explain their choice to their peers. In the following game, they worked in pairs or groups of three and tried to guess the meaning hidden behind three words symbolizing important moments of their colleagues’ lives. The third game revealed some more about their mind agility and creativity as they engaged in word football.

The break gave the ambassadors a little rest, but soon the NATO Quiz followed. It showed that the ambassadors are well prepared and ready to start a serious discussion. And they did get the chance as the last game focused on negotiations came up. So the ambassadors submerged into the discussions about a fictional situation of an alien vessel in the year 2500 sending an SOS signal to earth. Their task was to decide whether to let the vessel land or destroy it in a limited amount of time, provided that they needed to reach a consensus. Unfortunately they did not decide fast enough and the whole planet got destroyed, but they proved their ability to express opinions and hopefully they will be able to reach a consensus on the pressing topics of today’s real world.

To sum up the ambassadors are ready to start exploring NATO and negotiate on the topics that might even be on the agenda of the final conference. The time has come to begin.

The delegates also became acquainted with regional geopolitic challenges through talks with a number of experts and were initiated into the mysteries of international politics during interactive programs prepared for them in the bodies of the simulated Model UN and in Model NATO.

You cand find the Information Package about the first WS in your mailbox. After the join programme we will continue together in the Model NATO room, where you will receive all the information about Model and real NATO. So get ready and do not forget – we begin this Saturday!

This year we (in fact you) cut the record of the amount of sent applications! Now the members of the team are going to analyze all the answers and essays. The results will be available during the next week. Thank you for your involvement and we wish you good luck!

If you are a high school student and you want to meet new interesting people while improving your skills in english and your knowledge of international security, do not hesitate to apply to Model NATO of 2011/2012.

Fill in the Application Form and become the ambassador of your country! At first, think carefully which state you would like to represent and add your reasons. Secondly, fill in answers to two questions about NATO's history (a good searching tool will make this part of application form supereasy!). In the end just choose one of three topics and write a short essay. Formulate your thoughts clearly! And of course, everything is in English!

The very last thing you must do is to send us your application form (model.nato@amo.cz). You can become a diplomat in 45 minutes! Your time is running till 20 October! Do not waste your life chance!

Find more information here.

After seven months full of interactive educational activities, meetings with distinguished guests and above all the simulating of diplomatic negotiations of UN, NATO and EU has come this year of the project to its end.

Since the last fall hundreds of students have been devoted to the current global issues during the preparatory phase as well as during the Final Conference. On Monday the four days long Final Conference, with Martin Palouš as an honorable guest of the closing ceremony, the former Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Czech Republic and the patron of General Assembly of Model UN, who gave an inspirational speech to the students, ended.

We would like to thank everyone, who participated in this year of the Prague student summit and made it such successful. We would also like to wish all of our participants all the best in their future endeavors!

The Final Conference is held under the auspices of Bohuslav Svoboda, Mayor of Prague.

Karel Kovanda, the former Deputy Director General for DG RELEX, has became a patron of Security Council. Martin Palouš, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Czech Republic, has accepted the patronage of General Assembly. Fedor Rosocha, Vice-President of the Human Rights Council, will be overseeing as a patron activities of Human Rights Council. And the patron of World Trade Ogranization is none other than Pascal Lamy, the current Director-General of WTO.

The meaning of the institut of patronage lies foremost in supporting the educational activities of Prague student summit. Further negotiations about other patronages are currently being discussed. 

Thank you for your support and we are looking forward to you in 2011.

Since the same day have been able also all high school students from the Czech Republic to send their applications. The deadline is the last day of September. The preparation phase of the Model EU, which is intended for university students, is just finishing and almost ready to kick off later in fall, as traditionally.

There, again, will be time for your questions, and that’s why we bring you little overviews of the guests.

Radek Špicar
He graduated from Charles University and from the University of Cambridge. He is the former Deputy of the economic government vice-chairman Martin Jahn. Now he works as a Director of Outer Relations at Škoda Auto. He gives lectures at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophical faculty of Charles University, and he also teaches at the Diplomatic Academy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. He pursues subjects such as economic diplomacy, social awareness of companies, or the contribution of think-tanks and NGO’s.

Pavel Kohout
He is an economic analyst, member of the former National Economic Executive Board of the Government. Currently he works at and is a co-founder of a company called Partners. In the past he worked as an advisor of Ministers of Finance, Bohuslav Sobotka and Vlastimil Tlustý, or as an analyst at PPF. He is the author of several books that deal with economic policies and you can find his commentaries in most of Czech newspapers.

Michal Kučera
He is a graduate of law; he got his doctorate degree in 2008 at Charles University in law theory. Now he studies philosophy at the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University. He worked as a representative of the editor of the economic section of Lidové noviny. Now he works for the economic magazine EURO. He likes good food and enjoys travelling. Among other countries he also visited Japan and India.
 

Social networking websites develop communication between participants and Summit organizers through unstudied and for young generation completely natural form. Become a Summit fan on Facebook and share your experiences, impressions and photographs with others. Keep track of the Summit's latest news on Twitter. Watch our videos on YouTube, maybe you will find your friends or yourself in them.

Among other things, you will find out how to apply for Model UN and Model NATO, what the participation will give you and who organizes the Prague Student Summit. More about Chronicle.

We are launching a fourth year of the Prague Student Summit. High school students from across the Czech Republic can apply for Model UN and Model NATO until October 11. Model EU, designed for college students, will be launched later on during autumn. For more information visit our web page. Possible questions address to summit@amo.cz.