Franklin Student Discovers the Transatlantic Community
12/05/2011
A conference was recently hosted in Tirana, Albania, by the Atlantic Treaty Association, a networking facilitator that works in conjunction with NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. This annual conference, which brings together Atlanticists (people such as students, young professionals, academia and practitioners of international relations dedicated to improving ties among nations of Western Europe, the United States and Canada), was held during the 57th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association. Thanks to the notification and support received from Franklin alumnus David Kirk ‘03, Director of the Young Atlanticists Program at the Atlantic Council of the United States, Stephen Rakowski '13, a student at Franklin College, applied to attend the conference and was accepted. His participation was sponsored by the Franklin College Student Government Association (SGA).
Stephen spoke about the impression the conference made on him: "Knowing nothing about this community of dedicated Atlanticists, I was blown away by the truly international makeup of the conference. Being a student at Franklin College, I believed that I knew diversity, but the conference took that concept to another level. There were people from such diverse places as Macedonia, Albania, Germany, Afghanistan, Denmark, Russia, Iceland, Tunisia, Italy, Portugal and Armenia. Each person was incredibly intelligent and motivated to have his or her ideas shared."
The conference, which was entitled "Tackling New Security Challenges with Partners," dealt with a broad range of key issues such as Afghanistan, Libya, EU-NATO relations, and the future of Atlanticism. Each presentation included a panel discussion with experts followed by a Q&A session. Stephen continues, "For me, the most profound part of the conference was the speech given by the Honorable Madame Shukria Barakzai, a parliamentarian, journalist and Muslim feminist from Afghanistan. (The title of this particular segment of the conference was Beyond Afghanistan: the Future of the International Coalition.) It is easy to see that she is a force for good in the region. When a member of the audience asked if the Afghani government was too corrupt to accomplish a positive mission and if the mission of sustaining individual liberty, security and the rule of law was unattainable, she replied: ‘Twelve years ago I was nearly beaten to death in the streets of Kabul by the Taliban. Now I am the chairwoman of the Defense Committee of the Afghan National Parliament – not because I knew anyone important, not because I had lots of money to give, but because the opportunity arrived. I represent a growing number of women in Afghanistan. We cannot go back.’"
Stephen says, "This had a profound effect on me because before the conference I would have argued that not only was the mission in Afghanistan impossible, but that the reasons we were fighting had become unclear. However, after hearing Madame Barakzai’s inspiring speech, I have a much clearer vision of what the international community must do in Afghanistan. This was just one of the many things I was able to take away from the conference. In addition, I would like to personally thank the Student Government Association (SGA) of Franklin College for funding my trip to Albania. Without their support, it would have been unlikely that I could have paid for the trip. By giving me this incredible opportunity, SGA has proved that it is truly committed to investing in the student body."
