"NATO appreciate the role of the Atlantic Treaty Association in fostering a better understanding of  the Alliance and its objectives among our publics."                                                                                                                    art. 17 of the Strasbourg/Kehl Summit Declaration issued by the Heads of State and Government, in Strasbourg/Kehl on 4 April 2009.

The Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is an organization which acts as a network facilitator in the Euro-Atlantic and beyond. The ATA draws together political leaders, academics, and diplomats in an effort to further the values set forth in the North Atlantic Treaty: Democracy, Freedom, Liberty, Peace, Security, and the Rule of law.

Since 1954 the ATA has served as the leading transatlantic non-governmental organization promoting public support for the institutions that bring together people of the North Atlantic Alliance. It is the umbrella organization for the 42 Atlantic councils, which work in each of NATO’s member states and most of the Partnership for Peace countries.

In the past few years, the challenges facing the Alliance and ATA have changed and grown as the allies have sought to create a “Europe whole and free“ and as new threats and opportunities have arisen from beyond the North Atlantic area. Promoting public debate, public understanding, and public support is critical at a time when the purposes and promise of NATO, other institutions like the EU, and transatlantic relations overall are more complex and less well understood among our people.

At the same time, there is a vital need to engage a younger generation of leaders - present and future - on both sides of the Atlantic. We do this through the activities of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association, YATA.

ATA is now embarking on its 2010 program with a number of activities, organized by the national members as well as by the ATA secretariat. Student conferences, simulations, workshops, summer seminars, young researcher’s fora and national educational conferences are all part of the agenda of the YATA and its members as well as of the ATA.

For more information, call upon your national association or check the ATA Secretariat.