NATO Summit Behind the Scenes Podcast

With the summit in the rear-view mirror (and summer on the horizon!), Bruce and Mariana wrap up the podcast series by testing their knowledge of the key decisions that NATO Leaders took at the summit. They also share their favourite anecdotes from behind the scenes of Behind the Scenes, reminisce about funny and inspiring moments from the previous episodes, and we finally discover whether they actually know all 79 points of the Brussels Summit Communiqué by heart (spoiler: they don’t). Don’t say adiós, say hasta luego! 

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In this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to Güldener Sonumut, a Turkish journalist who has covered Summits for over 20 years. He gives insights into how he decides what questions to ask and explains the process from preparing for a summit to publishing a finished article. We get a look at what it is like to be among the hundreds of journalists who attend summits and find out why it is important to ask all the questions. 

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In this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to those who are on the right track to become NATO-experts in the future – the interns and the temps. Together, they reminisce about their own intern experiences, the path towards becoming a temp (someone with a temporary contract) and their volunteer experience at the Summit. From awkward wave-exchanges with the leaders to feeling very important talking into a wrist microphone, we get an idea of what it feels like to experience a summit as a young professional at NATO. 

In this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to Benedetta Berti, the head of the Policy Planning Unit and a NATO 2030 expert. Benedetta walks us through the NATO 2030 agenda that was endorsed by the leaders at the Summit and explains NATO’s actions to fight climate change. Bruce and Mariana share their Summit memories, including a personal encounter with President Biden, and take a look at the decision-making processes in the North Atlantic Council. 

Manneken Pis in a NATO outfit

The Summit Communiqué

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A facility manager, a security officer, an interpreter and a technician walk into a NATO summit – and the punchline is that you never notice how much work they put in, only the flawless flow of this major event! In this episode, Bruce and Mariana talk with a variety of people who keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. We learn what’s on the menu for NATO Leaders, how NATO security staff imagine all sorts of wild scenarios and how they make sure that everyone is safe. Et à la fin de l’épisode, nous parlons un peu en français, pour découvrir comment les interprètes de l’OTAN traduisent des idiomes particuliers. 

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In this episode, Bruce and Mariana talk with Paulina Brunn and Veronika Datzer, who both study International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin. They were on the winning team of NATO’s first Policy Hackathon, which brought together over eighty students from ten universities across the Alliance in a ten-day competition as part of the “New Ideas for NATO 2030” online event. Paulina and Veronika walk us through their winning idea and tell us why they were interested in getting involved in this NATO challenge.  

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In this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to Tania Lațici, a policy analyst at the European Parliamentary Research Service (the in-house think tank of the European Parliament) and a NATO 2030 Young Leader. The NATO 2030 Young Leaders are a diverse group of young professionals aged 25-35 from across the Alliance. They were appointed by the Secretary General to inform his recommendations to NATO Leaders at the 2021 Brussels Summit. In our conversation, we discuss all the work that went into the NATO 2030 Young Leaders report, as well as Tania’s perspective on NATO-EU cooperation and why NATO should be in more movies!  

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On this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to Dylan White. Dylan is a Press Officer and occasionally steps in as NATO’s Acting Spokesperson, speaking on the record for the Alliance. We find out how NATO’s press office works with hundreds of journalists from dozens of countries attending a summit, and what it feels like to speak for 30 NATO member nations. Dylan also shares valuable tips for young professionals about how to make your voice heard as the youngest person at the table, and tells us about the time he wished he was a chameleon at his very first summit in Warsaw.

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On this episode, Bruce and Mariana speak to Steve Derden, who works on protocol and events at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. Steve has worked at NATO for more than nine years and has been involved in the past five summits. 
He answers all our questions and explains when summit planning starts, what happens on the actual day and how he makes sure that the show runs smoothly. 
He also tells us about his unusual career path (including working as a bodyguard for the Belgian royal family) and shares one of his favourite summit memories. 

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Welcome to “NATO Summit Behind the Scenes”, the show where we pull back the curtain and explore all the backstage machinery that goes into a NATO summit. 
In each episode, your hosts Bruce and Mariana will speak to guests from inside and outside of NATO about all the work they do surrounding a NATO summit. We’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look into the preparations and discover how the decisions taken by NATO’s Heads of State and Government will affect our everyday lives in the future. 
On 14 June 2021, Heads of State and Government from all 30 NATO member countries will come together in Brussels to discuss the future of NATO. So, if you’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a fly on the wall during one of these big official meetings of world leaders, then this is the podcast for you.

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