Martin Nesirky OSCE Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Information

Model OSCE - telling the story

Each of you who took part in the Model OSCE conference devoted time and effort to learn about the OSCE and to study all aspects of security through the three scenarios at the heart of the event. Each of you played a specific part, either as a member of a national delegation different from you own nationality or in a special position, such as the High Commissioner on National Minorities. This is already a terrific achievement. But it is not the end of the story, nor is it even the beginning. You also play an additional, vital role, not just having been ambassadors at the Model OSCE, but as ambassadors for the OSCE, helping to bring the Organization’s important message to an emerging generation that will have to face tomorrow’s security-related challenges. Everyone who took part has already helped, back home, to spread to the word about the OSCE's work and significance through classroom discussion, competitions and other events, from Armenia to Kyrgyzstan. And now the Vienna event is over and you have returned home, perhaps after your first trip abroad, you will continue to be inspired and motivated to spread the message that the OSCE is both a forum for the dialogue you have experienced and a platform for practical action. Why is all this important? Well, the OSCE faces a dilemma. We are the world's largest regional security organization. We seek to provide stability, prosperity and democracy to the more than one billion people who live in the OSCE area, a region wrapping itself around much of the northern hemisphere and encompassing 56 countries. We have 19 missions of one kind or another -- from Central Asia to South Eastern Europe -- and three institutions involved in specific aspects of security, such as media freedom. We have more than 3,000 staff dedicated to all these tasks. We often work at grassroots, making a difference to individuals and communities. Yet the OSCE is not always well known for the good work it is doing. In part, this is because we can do our best work behind the scenes. It is also arguably an achievement of the OSCE and its participating States that security is not always in the headlines, that many of us have the good fortune to live without fear or threat to our stability. However, it is vitally important that the OSCE’s message of co-operation is not lost, that we continue to work together towards a ‘Europe whole and free’. That’s where you come in. The Model OSCE represents our boldest attempt so far to reach out to the next generation, the future of the OSCE region. Your participation, your interest, and your willingness to devote so much of your time and effort to engage in the security challenges that we face will help to spread the OSCE ‘word’ even further, giving fresh impetus to our efforts to build a secure future for the region.