The great challenges ( that you didn ’ t know about ) of the NATO Summit
IFEMA MADRID SHARES THE STORY OF HOW IT MET THE NATO CHALLENGE
T he NATO Summit at IFEMA Madrid in June transformed Madrid into the centre of the world for 48 hours , offering an image of absolute organisational ability . As in the COP25 , IFEMA Madrid took charge of all the project management along with its partners and providers ( such as PRG and Servis ), this time with more preparation time ( seven months , 20 days of assembly ) but with great challenges . The organisation of the summit reminded us of the importance of collaboration ( even more with so many parties involved ), as well as the capacity for last minute responses and flexibility .
Firstly , who is who ? The event , as such , belongs to NATO , but when a country hosts it the government assumes responsibility for it . In Spain ’ s case , it was decided that the event would be organised from the Presidency of the Government , and a Coordination Unit was set up within Moncloa . This unit took charge of the organisation and global coordination , meaning that it acted as an intermediary between NATO and each of the multiple actors under it . Many people were involved in holding an event of this magnitude and the coordination unit was just the tip of the iceberg .
Ana Carrazón was the project manager for IFEMA Madrid . She was the only person in direct contact with the Coordination Unit , apart from the area of telecommunications and cybersecurity .
The creative challenge One might think that , for an event like this , you would work with a very clear briefing , but no : there were only generic guidelines on the table . “ The unique feature of the event , which made its coordination and organisation more complex , is that the requirements were not absolutely set in stone ,” Carlos Jiménez , director of operations tells us .
As with COP25 , IFEMA Madrid and its ecosystem of partners had to design the entire project : layout , planimetry , construction . The design was first approved on a national level with the
“ One might think that , for an event like this , you would work with a very clear briefing , but no : there were only generic guidelines on the table ”
Left : IFEMA Madrid : host of NATO summit in June 2022
Coordination unit ; they made a series of changes and , step by step , it was approved with the client .
Despite these general specifications and the freedom when it came to designing the project , certain features were very well defined by the client : features such as soundproofing , light intensity and temperature . The PRG and Servis partnership were entrusted with meeting this challenge .
Guaranteeing cybersecurity and resources Whether we wanted it or not , this summit took place in precarious circumstances , with an international conflict in the heart of Europe . Today , the context of cybersecurity and also the supply of materials and equipment is much more complicated than it was at the time of COP25 . This lack of resources was felt and “ resources had to be guaranteed as soon as possible ( wood , flooring , etc ), even before we had a final draft of the design , otherwise not
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