24 February 2025
Students reflect on 'incredible experience' at Model NATO event
A group of King’s students enjoyed unique insights into the role and operation of a major multi-national organisation as participants in the annual Model NATO initiative.
Taking part in this year’s event, held on 19 February, were Austin Rumball, Olivia Van Apers, and Ewan White, all undergraduate students in the Department of European and International Studies.
The trio were allocated the role of Latvia for the day and were tasked with responding to a major international crisis scenario. The task required them to work with delegates representing NATO nations around the world to plan, mitigate and respond to the crisis, taking account of national and international factors and organisations.
Model NATO is hosted in London by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office with the support of the British International Studies Association.
Ewan, Austin and Olivia were provided with briefing sessions before the day commenced to outline the task, and were required to supplement this with their own background research to help understand the context of their allocated nation.
By the end of the Model NATO event, all delegates had to have agreed a package of measures summarised in a NATO declaration.
They said: “We thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Model NATO. It was an incredibly informative experience that opened our eyes to the practical workings of international relations. It highlighted both the similarities and differences between how NATO works in practice and our understanding of it from academia and theory.
“Gaining this valuable experience in a setting as prestigious as the Foreign Office was a great privilege, and we are very grateful to King's, BISA and the FCDO for the opportunity. We would also like to thank Professor Ramon Pacheco Pardo and Dr Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova for their help and advice in preparing for the event.”