NATO has been collaborating with youth and young content creators across the Alliance to help them understand NATO's role in protecting their future. By providing behind-the-scenes access, opportunities to meet experts, and learn about NATO's work, the Alliance has been empowering young people to tell NATO's story in their own way.
Youth at the forefront:
follow their journey with NATO
NATO is engaging young people through its #ProtectTheFuture campaign to clarify its role and operations. The Alliance has taken content creators behind the scenes at key moments for the Organization, such as NATO summits, and allowed them to meet senior officials, including the Secretary General. Through digital storytelling and discovery-based content, their followers can experience these events firsthand and discuss issues relevant to the Alliance.
French content creators learn more about the role of French language at NATO
How present is French at meetings of the North Atlantic Council? How many languages do interpreters at NATO speak? Those and other questions came up on 21 March 2025 when the Alliance welcomed four French content creators to NATO Headquarters for the occasion of “Semaine de la Francophonie” (Week of French language and Francophonie).
The creators met the French Ambassador to NATO, had the opportunity to slip into the role of a NATO interpreter and try out simultaneous interpretation from inside an interpreter’s cabin, and learned more about NATO’s beginnings and its first headquarters in Paris during a guided tour through the current HQ.
You can follow their stories here:
In the field: Interacting with Ukrainian recruits during the UK-led Operation Interflex
Content creators from Germany, Ukraine and the United Kingdom had the chance to attend Operation Interflex in the United Kingdom in March 2025. Led by the British Armed Forces, this multinational operation has trained more than 52,000 Ukrainian soldiers between June 2022 and March 2025. The content creators observed a tactical exercise and interviewed UK Service personnel and Ukrainian recruits.
You can follow their stories here:
Creators witness a historic milestone in NATO-Ukraine cooperation
Creators were present during an important moment for NATO-Ukraine cooperation in February 2025 — the inauguration of the Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre (JATEC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland, the first joint NATO-Ukraine organization that aims to identify and apply lessons learned from Russia’s war against Ukraine. The creators attended press conferences, background briefings with military officials, and the opening ceremony with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
You can follow their stories here:
Content creators meet world leaders at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence
During the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence that took place in Brussels in February 2025, NATO hosted 15 content creators from 13 different countries including, for example, Estonia, Finland, Spain and the United States. The group attended doorstep interviews with the Secretary General and Defence Ministers, witnessed the “family photo”, and also got to go behind the scenes by visiting the North Atlantic Council room. At the end of their visit, they met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ask him more about the Alliance.
You can follow their stories here:
Steadfast Dart: behind the scenes look at NATO’s largest exercise for 2025
Yago Rodriguez – a content creator from Spain - participated in Steadfast Dart in February 2025, which tested and trained the operational deployment of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF) for the first time since its establishment in 2024. Yago participated alongside journalists and had the opportunity to observe a live fire exercise at the military training range near the border between Moldova and Ukraine.
You can follow his story here:
A “first” in NATO history: creators attend NATO Secretary General’s inaugural speech
12 December 2024 was a day with two “firsts” in NATO history: the first major speech by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and the first time that the Alliance invited content creators to an inaugural keynote speech by a Secretary General. Five creators from Czechia, the United Kingdom and the United States attended the event and got the chance to participate in a private meeting and a Q&A; session with the Secretary General afterwards.
You can follow their stories here:
NATO stands with Ukraine — marking 1,000 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
To commemorate 1,000 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, eight content creators from Europe, the United States and Ukraine were invited to NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The creators met with NATO leaders and senior officials and worked on a collaborative digital art piece “NATO stands with Ukraine”, which was unveiled in the presence of the NATO Deputy Secretary General and the Ukrainian Ambassador to NATO.
You can follow their stories here:
NATO’s Geoguessr game: engaging with young audiences through gaming
NATO hosted its first-ever Geoguessr Challenge on the live-streaming gaming platform, Twitch, in December 2024, where gaming creators @Eret and @HollyRex and a Geoguessr professional gamer, ‘Harrier’ battled against NATO staff to demonstrate their geographical prowess. The stream featured a specially created NATO map that featured 75 locations from across the Alliance: a reference to NATO’s 75th anniversary, which was celebrated throughout 2024.
Here is a short highlight video
And click here for the accounts of the involved creators:
Creators climb aboard NATO’s ‘eyes in the skies’
Three content creators from Germany, Spain and the United States travelled to Greece in October 2024 to attend Ramstein Flag24, a first-of-its-kind, large-scale live-fly exercise. During their trip, they boarded and flew on an Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane, which provides Allied forces with air surveillance and communications, and can detect aircraft more than 400 kilometers away. During their two-day visit, the creators gained exclusive access to personnel from various NATO countries and had the opportunity to explore the plane, including its operations rooms and cockpit, where they spoke with military personnel and asked questions about the AWACS and its capabilities.
You can follow their stories here:
In the spotlight: Attending the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington
In July 2024, Allied Leaders met in Washington, D.C. for NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit. Twenty-six content creators from seven NATO member countries were invited to attend the event where they had unprecedented access to specific parts of the Summit. The creators attended the public part of a North Atlantic Council meeting, met with experts, senior government officials and NATO staff, and received briefings on topics such as defence and climate change. They were also invited to various events including a culinary diplomacy tour, a reception at the French Ambassador’s residence, a gathering for Women, Peace and Security, which was followed by an Italian meal, all topped off by an exclusive visit to the White House.
You can follow their stories here:
Full speed ahead: Visiting Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier
In April 2024, five content creators from across the Alliance were given the opportunity to embark on France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The influencers witnessed aircraft take-offs and landings, met with military officials and got to see the inner workings of this naval colossus.
You can follow their stories here:
Marking the milestone: Visit to NATO Headquarters for the Alliance’s 75th anniversary
Nine content creators were invited to the Brussels-based Headquarters of the Alliance for its 75th anniversary celebrations in April 2024, which coincided with a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. During their two-day visit, they met with the Secretary General and their national delegations, attended senior leadership briefings and got to learn about NATO’s core role as a political and military alliance working to protect 1 billion people. Creators also learned about the organisation’s work on climate and security, innovation and hybrid threats, public diplomacy and more.
You can follow their stories here:
You can stand under our umbrella: NATO unveils street mural in Lithuania
In the first days of 2024, Paulius Mikolaitis, a Lithuanian content creator and a YouTube star, together with his furry friend Sushi, went on a walk to explore a very special artwork located in Vilnius Old Town: a 'Protect the Future' mural. Created by the Lithuanian artist Žygimantas Amelinas in January 2024, the colourful artwork celebrates the Vilnius Summit held in the city in 2023 and presents a profound image of a peaceful, united and free future protected by NATO.
Watch the Reel » Read more about the project »
Ready, set, play: players unite at NATO Gaming Tournament
The gaming tournament in Warsaw brought together young people from across the Alliance around a game of Party Animals and discussions on how to counter disinformation.
The event was co-hosted by Polish actor Maciej Musial and NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Marie-Doha Besancenot, and on Twitch streams by different gaming talents such as GrabaGra and Seto from Poland and ZeRoyalViking and Mischascrossing from the United States. Reaching an estimated 20 million people, the tournament was also an opportunity to raise awareness about disinformation and provide tips from NATO experts on how to avoid being misled by disinformation on social media and in real life.
Read the article »You can follow their stories here:
Land, sea and air: how does NATO protect its eastern flank?
In the summer of 2023, content creators discovered how NATO is keeping its one billion people safe during several military exercises. The USS Mount Whitney hosted influencers on board during its departure from Tallinn, as the command ship of #BALTOPS23. In the Polish seaside city of Gdansk, influencers witnessed amphibious landing drills. Finally, our creators saw for themselves the full power of the Lithuanian Air Force while flying over the Baltic States in a C-27J Spartan aircraft. Through exercises like Ramstein Alloy, Allied air forces can train together to safeguard NATO skies."
You can follow their stories here:
In the room where it happens: Participating in the NATO Summit in Vilnius
Content creators went behind the scenes of the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to meet Allied leaders, explore where the Heads of State and Government gather, and better understand how policies to protect the future of the Alliance are made.
You can follow their stories here:
A meet-and-greet: 2023 Protect the Future content creators at NATO HQ
If you were given the chance to ask NATO experts anything about the most pressing security issues, what would it be?
In May 2023, content creators from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland met NATO leaders and experts, including the Secretary General and the Latvian Prime Minister, as part of their visit to NATO Headquarters. The group put their questions to the specialists, who explained what the Alliance is doing to protect and defend its citizens. Over the coming months, the creators will be going behind the scenes at NATO to better understand how it operates. They will be sharing what they have learnt with their followers and explaining how the Alliance is working to Protect the Future.
You can follow their stories here:
NATO through the artists' eyes: Launch of NATO's first graphic novel
What are the issues and challenges we face and how can we tackle them together? Those are the questions that are answered in NATO's first graphic novel, which was launched in December 2022 as part of the #ProtectTheFuture campaign.
A unique collaboration of six young artists from Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States explores through original artwork how international cooperation can help us deal with the current challenges.
Read the graphic novel » Instagram reel »
NATO on-air: #ProtectTheFuture Podcast
Dive deeper and explore the big global and social challenges that affect our lives and influence our future. Join the podcast host Pilar Nalwimba and discover what NATO experts have to say about climate change, cyber security, disinformation and the global impacts of the Russian war against Ukraine.
Game on: NATO playing 'Among Us'
What is the role of cyber security in protecting our future? What are the current information threats? And how can we tackle disinformation?
Watch NATO's first-ever gaming event that brought together NATO information expert Robin El Kady and young influencers and gamers to talk cyber, countering disinformation and what it is like to work for NATO.
Watch on YouTube »NATO's 'eyes in the sky': Taking part in an AWACS flight
What does it take to protect NATO's skies?
A group of content creators travelled to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in Germany to join the crew of AWACS – NATO's Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning & Control System aircraft, which provide air surveillance and support NATO's efforts in air policing, situational awareness and other tasks.
You can follow their stories here:
All aboard: Visit to the USS George H.W. Bush ship
Observing NATO exercise Neptune Strike 2022 on a US aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea? Steering the ship with more than 80 fighter jets and over 5,000 personnel on board?
That was the reality for the content creators in October 2022 when they visited the USS George H.W. Bush carrier to see what NATO does to protect the Euro-Atlantic area.
You can follow their stories here:
At the negotiating table: Participating in the NATO Summit in Madrid
Meeting Heads of State and Government, discussing current challenges and witnessing history in the making – that was the participation of young content creators in the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain.
You can follow their stories here:
How it began: Visit to NATO HQ
How does NATO protect its one billion citizens? And what does the Alliance do in various areas, such as cyber security and climate change?
In May 2022, content creators visited NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium to meet the NATO Secretary General for an interactive Q&A session and discuss key challenges with NATO experts.
You can follow their stories here:
What is NATO?
A quick overview of NATO, its role, activities and members in various languages.
