On April 3, the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund, and the Munich Security Conference, in coordination with NATO, hosted NATO Engages: The Alliance at 70, a public town hall event at the Wharf DC. Over 400 speakers and participants from 39 countries took part in this huge public convening. Among the star-studded list of speakers were NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; United States Vice President Mike Pence; Rose Gottemoeller, Deputy Secretary General of NATO; Former Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright, and many others.
In conjunction with NATO ministerial meetings in Washington, the NATO Engages event brought together NATO leaders, European and US officials, foreign policy and defense experts, and next-generation leaders for a day of discussions on the current state of the NATO Alliance around its 70th anniversary. The town hall-style scene-setting encouraged a broader public conversation about the importance of NATO, honored and celebrated its achievements, and discussed NATO’s future at this crucial time for the transatlantic community. There were more than a hundred journalists present, and TV cameras from around the world. The #NATOEngages hashtag reached 33.2 million twitter users, and trended #1 in Washington, DC and nationally.