NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg introduces the 14 NATO 2030 Young Leaders who will provide him with input to inform his recommendations for NATO 2030 and they answer to questions from Allied Heads of State and Government.

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Thank you very much, Secretary General. Now, to help you on your NATO 2030 quest, you’ve hand picked a team of young leaders to advise you on how to strengthen the alliance over the next 10 years with a view to meeting the security challenges of the next decade. Now there are 14 of thes emerging young leaders. They’ve been handpicked or nominated by prestigious youth leadership programs from across the Alliance on they’re all under 35. Let’s meet some of them. Mhm and E. I would like to hear your views to have your ideas, your proposals or have NATO can remain strong. I just don’t get French. My name is Don Cedar and I have Dutch nationality. My name is Martin Dimitrov. I come from Bulgaria. My name is Corey Fleischer. Came from the United States. My name is I’m memory methadone and I’m British. Hi. My name is Judy Johnson and I am from northern Germany. My name is Katrina and I’m from Slovakia. My name is Tania and I’m a Romanian living in Belgium. My name. I’m a European coming from Czech Republic. My name is Claudia manager and I’m from Italy. My name is Mark. I’m lucky. Hi, guys. My name is Ulrich. I’m a Danish national living in Copenhagen. My name is Kim Jong, and I’m a proud 31 year old Canadian, so thank you very much. Has Secretary General tell us why was it so important for you to have this young leaders initiative in the first place? So I’m actually very delighted to be able to present the NATO 2030 young leaders group today. Andi, I appointed a group because I want attempt to help me to assist me in making sure that NATO is fit for the future. So I’m very much looking forward to their ideas. Their proposals on I’m extremely grateful that are all joining us today. Well, I can see them up on the screen now, and I know you have many questions for them, so we’re going to get put a couple of them to them now. Would you like to ask your first question? Yes. My first question is actually about climate change because we know that climate change has security implications on therefore, we also need to address and discuss what is NATO’s role in responding thio climate change. I’m gonna Ask Katarina Kurdish over toe Ask. Answer this question. Thank you, Secretary General, and I’m really happy that we are starting this discussion with the focus on climate change, which I considered to be one of the most profound challenges facing the alliance today. I think that politically, the two degrees debate should be as significant as the 2% debate we’ve been having. I think that NATO should dedicate more attention to climate related security risks in its strategic communication strategy. Uh, let’s just imagine that we have a two degrees campaign that would be as widespread and a successful is that we are NATO. Campaign has bean. We have toe. Remember that today member states approaches to the relationship between climate change and security vary, and this has prevented the alliance from being able to reach a consensus on the matter. On It’s not just the Trump’s administration’s climate you turn, but it has also been the case, uh, in various central and Eastern European countries. So I think that while the election of Joe Biden presents an opportunity to ring reinvigorate transatlantic cooperation climate change, NATO also needs to get central and Eastern European countries more engaged and to really lead by example and encourage all member states to advance emissions reductions. Uh, on adaptation investment. And I think operationally we can do more both on the prevention and on the response side. So just to give you one example dealing with the root causes more effectively will require the alliance to increase organizational foresight. It’s waas to improve its analytical and risk and situation and threat assessment capabilities. And I think that also, when it comes to the military’s in the field, we can go beyond their contribution to emissions reductions because they can also seek to reduce their impact when it comes to water and food. And I think just to conclude, we have to remember that climate change is not just the transatlantic issue, it is a global issue and that NATO needs toe work alongside not just you but also other security and military institutions as well as agencies in the field. And I think that sharing of expertise and training for locally engaged personnel is crucial. Thank you very much. Thank you, Katarina, on our next question, please, Secretary General, my next question is about the terrorism NATO has bean at the forefront in the fight against terrorism for many years. But that fight continues. Just recently, we have seen terrorist attacks in France, in Austria and Afghanistan and also in other countries. So the question is, how can they tow further strengthen its role in the fight against terrorism? On that question goes to Corey Fleischer from the United States. Thank you for the question, Secretary general. As we all acknowledge, addressing terrorism is complex, and NATO has made considerable strides in the last few decades to advance its counterterrorism efforts, mostly through education, engagement and capability development. I think these efforts will continue to be central to the alliance, but offer to shifts in NATO’s role with partners to fight terrorism in the future. The first NATO should work with its partners to examine new means of employing existing military capabilities to build the legitimacy of security actors and strengthen the relationships among local populations. These efforts should focus on eroding support for terrorist activity while demonstrating the security sectors role in upholding human security. The second is to prioritize engagement with women in youth as critical stakeholders in preventing and countering terrorism. These groups are not monolithic or homogenous, and they possess diverse perspectives that are instrumental to building community level resilience to terrorist activities. Women and youth are attuned to the local drivers of support for terrorist groups, and their deliberate and meaningful engagement is also necessary for strengthening the relationship between the security sector and civil society. So native has a key role to play. Here is the military alliance thes two shifts and NATO’s role with its partners, I think can build on NATO’s previous counterterrorism efforts. But they will also allow the alliance to adapt to the evolving nature of terrorism in the future. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Cory. Now, Secretary General, this is so important to you that you haven’t just kept your questions to yourself. You’ve also asked current NATO leaders or leaders of NATO allies to put their questions to the young leaders as well on. We’re going to hear from a selection of them now, starting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the door. Motown dizzy and is not to use my name on the trans Atlantic Ocean on Groban’s doesn’t and outside and there on fanning me grows Zorn bright offend. That ended up on your undergoes house following and brick by admission for dressing here on the front with a foreign, it kinda is on a foreign tied a rope around. Developed in Austin Vest quarters ended described increase provided, um, ignition that ended from with wrong. So much. Decrease the guard off Aruba’s house to terrorismo Santi. Pretty quick steering. Ah, foreign Neue and Fortune Fashion stand Big Long Nick slits and two with the scream of Arnold’s Can Rush CIA. 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It’s Hardy grade, and it’s quite a remarkable animal. Tardy grades are really one of the most resilient animals out there. They survived all five mass extinctions. Andi are over 500 million years old. I don’t know if NATO will live to see it’s one million year old, but I do think the tar degrade can teach it some survival lessons. So how does the tar degrees survive all possible environments from radiation to outer space? Well, it not only adapt, it’s super adapt. Now NATO also knows a thing or two about adaptation. But right now NATO needs to adapt not only on one front but on multiple fronts. For one, NATO needs to address new social demands, from increased polarization to shifting priorities. NATO needs to also address invisible threats from pandemics. Two bods. A NATO also needs to fortify alliance cohesion at home. But maybe most importantly, NATO needs to get creative about how it uses its power so they don’t not only needs to become a creative super adapter, But I also think that NATO could use something called the damage suppressor. Now, ironically, this is not something that NATO officials came up with, but rather it’s the unique protein that has kept the tar degrade alive all these years by basically keeping its DNA intact. When facing all these threats. NATO’s DNA is made of its values and its made of solidarity. So NATO. Let’s adapt. But let’s make sure our DNA also stays intact. Thank you. Thank you, Tanya. On our next question comes from Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. Hi, everyone. Bonzo, It gave you some androgynous outta the milk count. Institutional collisions Impossible money leader. The man who said Asia the leader does from the security implications of climate change to combating disinformation and now dealing with the threat of the cove in 19 pandemic Your voices, your opinions and your leadership arm or important than ever before. So thank you for getting involved and stepping up on some overbought ceremony. Pursue richest representatives if epidemic Now today I want to discuss disinformation and the threat that it presents to democracies around the world. As you all know, the spread of disinformation has drastically increased in the past decade. Social media, while contributing a lot of good to our daily lives, has also increased the amount of false, misleading and inflammatory disinformation that our citizens see every day, which is contributed to an erosion of trust in our democratic and international institutions. So my question to all of you is this. How can institutions like NATO and democratic countries help in the fight against this information so we can ensure countries can build back a better society for everyone on that question goes to Kevin for one. Well, thank you, Mr Prime Minister. As you know, NATO as a collective is a force to be reckoned with. We’re 30 countries that will be home to nearly a billion people by 2035. And if NATO was the country today we have the third largest population and the second largest economy with GDP per capita has nearly 2.5 times the global average. So let’s leverage our collective power for our collective defense. Against this information, there are NATO standard rounds that their militaries use, and we do that to maximize interrupt ability. So let’s create a transnational standard that can guide companies, governments, perhaps most importantly, the citizens of democratic countries to fight this information. In the absence of this, we leave it up to various companies, as we’ve seen on social media to set their own and these inconsistencies, our vulnerability that can be exploited by our adversaries. So, Mr Prime Minister, hope that you and other leaders will stay tuned for the robust set of recommendations that my peers and I will prepare over the next couple of months for combating disinformation and how we can build back better together. Thank you, Kevin. On our next question is Boris Johnson, prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Hello, everybody. And thank you to Jens Stoltenberg for inviting me to speak at this NATO youth summit and all of you for taking part today. You’re going to hear about the amazing work that NATO does, aunt, How for more than 70 years, this alliance has acted a za giant shield of solidarity protecting a billion people in Europe on DNA North America. And yet, if NATO is going to guarantee our peace, liberty and prosperity further next 70 years, we must respond to emerging threats and challenges. One of the biggest is the way new technologies air transforming every aspect of our lives. So there are two questions I want to put to you. How can the alliance best use technology to help create a safer world on what more can we do together to stop others from exploiting our own growing dependence on technology? Addressing those two questions will, I believe, helped to ensure that NATO continues to keep us safe in the future. I wish you every success with today’s event. On those two questions, go to Yan Lu Custovic. Thank you for those questions, Mr Johnson. Let me answer them for the first questions. There are multiple areas where technology can help us create a safer world. What’s name? A few, Uh, I think we should use the newest AI and big data technology tools to make data driven better and swift decisions. Swiftness appeared to be very recently during the Covic 19 crisis around the world crucial deciding element. Moreover, these tools can help us tackle ongoing information hybrid war. Secondly, we should focus on new domains such as cyberspace, actual space, which provide us with opportunities to expand our knowledge, technology, scientific and military advantage. Last but not least, I would put stronger empathy on elementary and applied research and technology transfer NATO membership states have a huge know how and brain pool, which can bro brilliant and useful solutions we may need in future To answer your second question. I think we should focus on education. It is a great paradox that more were dependent on technology, the less we understand it as an alliance, we should changed it. Technology shouldn’t be a black box which allow people to be manipulated and confused, especially in this disturbing world with chaotic information. NATO should help provide solutions and tools that will help us educate people to be independent, informed and a lot lot harder to be manipulated. And yet still, thank you very much. Yan and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General is still with us in the studio. Yes, tell me, what is it that you’ve picked up on so far from the discussion that you find interesting? It was in one way I think the most important message is that there are so many different issues. NATO has to dress at the same time from technology. This information you collected defense, climate change, terrorism and many other issues on there are different. But they have one important thing in common and that is that for NATO to succeed, we need to be able to change so kind of permanent change. Permanent adaptation is the key to NATO success, and that’s also the main purpose. Off NATO 20 thirties is to make sure that we are changing on that. We’re listening to young people as we are becoming fit for the future. Thank you very much. We’re not going to go to our next question, which is Margarita, the prime minister off the Netherlands. This year, my country celebrated 75 years off peace and freedom. Since the end off the Second World War, Children have been able to grow up peacefully in the countries that make up the NATO alliance. Today, you might wonder, Do we still need NATO? And the answer is yes, we do because we cannot take our freedom for granted. It’s true that since the end off the Cold War, freedom and democracy has spread further around the world. But the free and liberal societies of NATO’s member countries and there’s many partners across the globe are not immune to outside threats. Today’s dangers are different from those the world’s face during the Second World War, or the decades in which your parents grew up. Nowadays we have to defend ourselves not only against guns and bombs, but also against new threats, threats that are often invisible and can easily cross national borders. Your phone, your computer, your email and your social media can all be hacked and used against you. To counter those threats, we need to work together. We need to work within NATO. But NATO also needs to work with other partners like the you. And of course, we need to work with you. The younger generation. We need your technical expertise, your knowledge and your networks. So let me be frank and ask you with this, What can you do? And someone with specific knowledge and skills to make sure we can live in freedom after 2030? I hope we can count on you. Thank you. On that question goes to goody Jenson. Thank you very much. Prime Minister Aziz, the chair of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the German Bundestag. My experience taught me and take a continues to teach me every day that freedom needs to be defended, both on a smaller and a larger scale. For the smaller scale, it is fighting for the release of one single prisoner. It is demanding justice for a kill journalists because of his or her work. Or it is supporting and work and in action, people who are fighting for the future of freedom in Belarus, in Hong Kong or elsewhere. Because these small things they matter every square inch we can take back off the shrinking space for civil society worldwide matters for the sake of freedom and when, when it comes to the freedom in the digital age, we need to be aware that every single piece of legislation that is passed here with the rule of law in our countries it may also serve as a blueprint for authoritarian regimes. This is a sphere where I can and will continue to work for freedom with a lot of my colleagues from across other parties on a larger scale, and that is as important. We need a new emphasis and a new discussion about defending Western values our values. The NATO alliance is values. We need to talk honestly about which countries may play, Ah, long game and strategically undermining our freedoms in the world. And we need ways to approach these challenges. Off course. There are questions that fall behind in day to day politics, especially during a pandemic. So this is what I’m already doing and will continue to do, reminding my government in Germany, but also elsewhere, initiating discourse like this in the media and pressing for a position when it comes to dealing with global powers such as China or also NATO members such as Turkey. More than ever before, we are dependent on partners if we successfully want to conquer these crises. This is This is why we need to talk about how NATO not on Lee as the Defense alliance but also as a multilateral institution, can help shape and conquer these crises and challenges. I’d like to take a little part in that endeavor as well. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Gouda on our next question comes from Estonia on President Kirsti Kallio lied. Hello, Future leaders off NATO New technologies have already changed the face off conflicts. Andi warfare, for example. We already see how the use of drones have shifted. The band’s not only in a symmetric conflicts, but now also in conventional warfare. But it doesn’t stop here. Artificial intelligence may well undermine the technological age of the West. What will we do if our adversaries ai turns out to be smarter than ours? In the past, it was usually the state on the military that dropped technological innovation. Nowadays, innovation is shifting more and more to tech companies. We already see how some of our global competitors are effectively combining state and private sector resources in a I development. Hence my question to you. What could NATO do so that the West won’t end up as the biggest loser in this new technological race? On that question goes toe Andrea Garcia Rodriguez. First of all, I would like to amuse myself and then thank my impression of Estonia for the question. I believe that NATO should first of all, anticipate the next technological revolutions. And I’m not only speaking about AI, which is something that is already having an impact in our life in our security, but also on the new emerging technologies, which is quantum computing, that is, if not now, will definitely disrupt our security environment. And second of all, I would like Thio response saying that we need to strengthen our cooperation and we need to strengthen NATO in order to be able to face the new challenges arise. And as Madame President of Estonia set before and this cooperation strengthen passes not only for like creating a new defensive capabilities but also pulling resources and certainly create a new offensive capabilities in certain domains, such as the cyber domain. We cannot guarantee defense if we do not feel offensive capabilities as well. Thank you very much. Thank you, Andrea. So, Secretary General, you’re still with us is well, could you cut? What are your thoughts on the technology race, in particular? Artificial intelligence and how it’s going to change the landscape in the run up to 2030. But what also you think NATO should be doing to get ahead of that technology race? So I very much think that a new disruptive technologies as artificial intelligence, but also many other technologies, they are now fundamentally changing the threats and the security challenges we will face. Actually believe that these technologies are changing the nature warfare as much as the industrial revolution changed the nature of warfare a couple of centuries ago on. Of course, NATO has always had the advantage off having a technological technological edge on all other potential adversaries or or competitors, and we need to be able to make sure that we keep that technological edge when you now see such profound changes taking place. This is partly about investing partly about one of the reasons why we need to invest more in our securities. Eso We have the resources to develop new technologies on day to keep this edge, but it’s also very much about being able to work together governments on private companies And one of the big advantages we have in NATO is that we are 30 open free societies with dynamic, competitive economists, and I think that’s actually is one of the best basis is we have for being able to develop a new technologies. Thank you. We’re not going to go to Spain for our next question and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in 2022 Spain will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. This represented the first milestone off our new democracy, rejoining the international community and the studying point off on increasing responsibility in the international arena, always based on multilateralism on rules based order. Much has happened in these 40 years, and the world has deeply changed. Globalization is the whole mark off our times, and we have always believed that NATO that unites democracies that share common principles and values must be a driving force off stability also in our neighborhood. That is why my country, Spain, has always stripped for sound partnership policy. For instance, with our military in partners, we believe that securities two way street so that the more resilient our partners are, the better we can ensure security in our society’s today. More than ever, we depend on each other. So I would like to know how we can deepen this association programs from multilateral perspective in order to improve what we do on how we work together. Thank you. On that question goes toe Ullrich Troll ish Med Thank you very much, Prime Minister, for the question and thank you, Secretary General, for inviting us to be here today. I think my answer for how we work abroad should start at home. Is NATO an institution or community? If we merely see as an institution, we will bury our values in the administration. But if we see NATO as a community of democracies, we have opportunities for adoption. It’s time maybe to say what we stand for at home and band together with other democracies abroad. We’re no longer bound by the Cold War in Europe. It’s time to recommit, recommit to free institutions for the 21st century that we use. And we use it to bind us together as allies at home and then stand in solidarity in the face of authoritarians challenges two free peoples abroad and to the challenges that they might have. So what can we do? Well, first of all, for the southern neighborhood, we can bring the African Union closer. Second, we can give the you a seat at the table off the North Atlantic Council. Third, we can consider letting other democracies, maybe even ally with NATO or join NATO, Japan, Australia, Mexico. It’s bold ideas, but if we don’t dare talk about innovation, we will avoid potential tension. But we will also risk losing our economic foundation, security and values in the long term. Thank you. Thank you, Hillary, On our final head of state question goes from comes rather from Susanna Chaput over the president of Slovakia. I find it highly important to engage our young and bright as one day. It will be used setting the course and taking the decisions. One of the key topics we have been discussing in recent years is how toe make our alliance politically stronger because to truly adapt toe the dynamics off ever changing world is not only about increasing military power, it is equally about investing in our unity and credibility. And this comes from the ability to act as one and swiftly were needed to protect our freedom, democracy and the rule of law to defend our peoples and to maintain the trust off our citizens in our efforts. That’s my question to you. Is this in 2030? But we are truly politically strong. Alliance look like What must we do today to make it happen? Thank you. And I wish you fruitful discussions on that question goes to Don Cedar. Thank you so much. President as the world’s most powerful Defense Alliance of Politically strong alliance is crucial for the future and continuation of not only the NATO for ensuring a stable world as we grasp this moment to reflect on where we see our alliance 10 years from now and how it will continue to keep us safe. I would like to contribute three quick points that we need to look toe today to enhance the appliance. First of all, it will require reassessment off the NATO’s core values not only the times but also the threats and interests have shifted. And it is crucial to, while keeping the diplomatic ties intact, reassess why the NATO should be more relevant than ever and what it truly is that binds us. Shared values, create trust, strength, a sense of belonging. And and it is crucial that that we re examined openly and agree for the future on what basis the NATO countries should strive to move the alliance. Ford, Second of all, we need to raise awareness among the citizens of the NATO alliance countries. It is essential that we engage the community so that the alliance maintains, adapts and grows a strong democratic support in all the alliance in all of the countries of the off the alliance and dirt, and lastly, to uphold its mission to strengthen the transatlantic cooperation. We need strong societies. We need to invest in each other in democratic processes, but also in combating this information to make sure that we as individual NATO countries, can be stable and therefore can provide for a stable and strong NATO. I truly believe that by sowing a seed today, we will be able to reap the harvest off a strong NATO in 2030. As the NATO young leaders, we will try to provide the NATO the next couple of a couple of weeks with some wealth taught at advice. Thanks so much. Thank you, Don, Secretary General, Just to wrap up in this discussion, what would a politically strengthened alliance look like in 2030? And what did you think of what Don had to say on that matter? So, first of all, I think that it’s a bit early to conclude because the whole purpose of NATO 2030 the the work off the young leaders grew pond. The whole process is toe actually get some proposals, some ideas, some input, uh, to help us shape on gun change, NATO. So we are fit for the future on. But we are ready to also be a strong alliance in in 2030. So this is a starter process a bit early to conclude the process. Are looking forward to the proposals from, for instance, the the only leaders group. Having said that, I think there are some key, uh, issues that has that have to characterize NATO in 2031 is that there has to be military strong, uh, because we face a new and more challenging threats on duh on the evolving security challenges on. Therefore, we need to invest both in military capabilities, but not least also to keep our technological edge. Then we to strengthen NATO as a military now as a political alliance. And that’s exactly about how do we work with partners or all over the world in Europe, but also globally on it is about how we address differences between NATO allies. There is no way to hide that sometimes NATO allies disagree, but then we need to be able to sit down and find solutions, ways, ways to deal with our differences. On the third aspect which I think is extremely important for NATO, is that we should remain a region alliance, Europe and North America. But we need tohave, um, or global approach taking Thio into account the fact that, for instance, the rights of China is changing the global balance of power on that matters for NATO. And we see that China is coming closer. Does investing in our infrastructure This is about resilience in the Arctic, in Africa on, of course, in cyberspace. So we need Thio respond to the fact that more and more of the challenges we face are global and therefore NATO needs a global approach. Thank you very much. Thank you to our young leaders for your answers. Thank you very much to the current NATO leaders. For your questions stay with us because after the break we’ll be doing a scenario building exercise on what the world in 2030 will look like. But please stay tuned after the short video