On 9 April 2020, the NATO Defense College (NDC) celebrated the graduation of the 23rd NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-23). The guest of honour was the Italian Magistrate Franco Frattini, Justice and Chamber President to the Italian Supreme Administrative Court.
Today, the NDC’s first ever virtual graduation ceremony took place over the internet, with some 120 Course Members from the NRCC, Senior Course 136 and NDC staff connected online to follow the ceremony. In her address, NDC Commandant LGEN Chris Whitecross emphasized the adaptability and resilience of all Course Members to the current challenges in order to continue with the academic programme remotely.
NRCC-23 started on 17 February, and was composed of 32 participants from 17 different countries. Given the exceptional circumstances related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Italy, the scheduled NRCC-23 ‘official’ programme was cancelled on 17 March 2020. Nevertheless, 12 Course Members from 8 countries regrouped into a single committee (Committee 9) to continue with an adapted programme, which included modules from the NDC’s Senior Course 136.
LGEN Whitecross encouraged Course Members to maintain the network they have built here at the College, which will prove of great value in the future. She also reminded them of some of the lessons learnt, from “the ways and means to analyse a situation and the tools to find common ground for effective cooperation”, to the skills acquired during the Course to work better in international environments.
Minister Franco Frattini, gave the keynote speech on the role of NATO in the world and the importance of sharing knowledge and information with our partners. Mr Frattini, who is also president of the Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (SIOI) stressed the importance of NATO engaging more in geopolitical strategy and stated that “the role of NATO is evolving because the world is evolving”, and that standing together, and understanding each other has never been so important.
As part of the high-level strategic education delivered by the NDC, the NRCC plays a key role in developing a common collective security culture between NATO and partner countries. This is a tailored programme with a special focus on the MENA region, which relies on academic preparation to discuss politico-military issues, but also on the building of strong lasting relationships between participants.
For further information about this course, please check here.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Laura García Pesquera, ESP C)
NATO Defense College