NATO staff members teach VB students about different cultures – WAVY-TV

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Surrounded by little hands and waving flags from countries all over the world, Lieutenant Colonel Jens Assum was one of nine NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) members who visited Holland Elementary School on Wednesday.

Assum, a Danish officer, and eight other members of NATOs ACT were able to reach nearly 300 students in grades 1 through 4 by giving cultural presentations.

Students met staff members from all over the world and learned about cultures different from their own.

Lieutenant CommanderMario Bobeth andMaster Sergeant Christopher Crowley, both from Germany, talked to the children about European currency in Germany, France, Spain and other countries.

This cultural presentation marks the last school visit for NATO ACT, and included officers and other staff members fromAlbania, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Portugal and Romania.

The visit came at the request of Holland Elementary Schools principal, Dr. Callie Richardson, whosaw NATOs close proximity as a way to provide his students with an enriching multi-national experience.

We see NATO ACT as a unique cultural opportunity for the students, Richardson said. Many people dont even realize that we have people from 28 NATO countries literally serving in our back yards, and they enjoy sharing their culture with the community.

NATO ACT plays an active role in the Hampton Roads community by sharing aspects of their culture and finding ways to help others better understand how NATO helps preserve peace and security.

Each year, NATO ACT hosts the Model NATO Challenge for high school students, which is a scholarship competition where 28 students participate in a mock global crisis simulation and confront issues facing NATO today.

This years challenge was held in March. Student diplomats discussed the Syrian civil war crisis and whether it was an issue that needed to be discussed or not, what actions needed to be taken, and voted on what actions they thought should be put into effect.

To learn more about NATO ACT, visit http://www.act.nato.int/. To learn more about the Model NATO Challenge, visithttp://norfolknatofestival.org/.

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NATO staff members teach VB students about different cultures - WAVY-TV