On 16 September 2012, the NATO Defense College (NDC) inaugurated its first Senior Executive Regional Conference (SERC), in Rome.
The Course was addressed to a select group of 25 participants, composed of ambassadors, senior officers and officials, decision-makers, leaders and influential thinkers, representing the Alliance and its Southern and regional partnerships. Having an audience of this calibre affords the NDC an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the extremely high academic standards it sets, and the importance that NATO gives to such high-level events.
Participants were welcomed by the Commandant of the NDC, Lt.Gen. Arne Bård Dalhaug, who offered them a historical overview of the College and illustrated its aims and methodology. He explained that, within the overall context of the NDC’s academic activities, the SERC has been created thanks to the efforts of the resident academic staff – in particular, of the Middle East Faculty – and the specific expertise gained over the last five years through the organization of the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC).
The academic programme began with an address by Gen. Knud Bartels, Chief of NATO’s Military Committee, who spoke about the security challenges that the Alliance is currently facing in several theatres, both at the strategic and at the operational level. This is the second visit to the College by Gen. Bartels, highlighting the Alliance’s acknowledgment of the important aims and activities pursued at the NDC.
Gen. Bartels’ address was followed by the remarks of H.E. Ghabem Taha El Shebali, the Representative of the Arab League in Rome, who provided an overview of the many challenges at present faced by the Arab world, ranging from the rise of revolutionary movements to the assertive presence of terrorist movements. In his overall assessment of the current situation, H.E. El Shebali expressed his wish for the continuation of the ongoing dialogue between NATO and the Arab world.
Course Members were also addressed by another distinguished speaker, H.E. Giampaolo Di Paola, the Italian Minister of Defence. The Minister, who is an alumnus of the College, delivered a lecture entitled “NATO and the EU as global security actors”. In expressing his appreciation for the College and sharing the very positive experience he has gained from his frequent contacts with its academic environment, Minister Di Paola emphasized the close ties the NDC maintains with its former students. When he completed his address, the leadership of the College took the opportunity to mark its respect and gratitude towards H.E. Di Paola by bestowing on him the title of honorary Ancien.
The first Senior Executive Regional Conference focused on two main regions, the Mediterranean and the Gulf area, affording attendees the opportunity to meet and discuss a clearly focused agenda in an open framework, based on the Chatham House Rule. Having a forum of this sort to share evaluation of strategic matters involving the Alliance in these regions not only enhances mutual understanding, but also offers ample scope for exchange of views and opinions. Within this setting the overall focus was on the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century as a volatile environment, assessed within both multinational and regional perspectives. Every day, experts and prominent lecturers covered a general topic. There was also extensive analysis of current threats to common security, with particular attention to emerging trends such as cyber attacks, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, challenges related to demographic growth and the management of natural resources.
The Course was conceived as a vehicle through which to exchange views and assessments of common concerns without the imposition of a unilateral perspective, hence contributing to an enhanced knowledge of the Alliance and its role as a common security provider.
LtCol. Alberto Alletto, Chief Public Affairs and Protocol Officer, ITA-A
NATO Defense College 
