Chicago will be hosting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit this coming weekend, May 19-21. Are you wondering why this is a big deal? Or what this means for Chicago? Or what this might mean for you? Or even more basically, what is NATO anyway? You can find answers to these questions and more on the following websites:
The Official Host Committee Website for the Chicago NATO Summit: http://www.chicagonato.org/
This site is a great resource for general news about the 2012 summit, related events happening in the Chicago area, and information about security and how that will impact neighborhoods and commutes.
United States Mission to NATO: http://nato.usmission.gov/nato_chicago_summit.html
Provides extensive reading on the issues that will take priority at this year’s summit, and outlines the role and positions of the United States within this organization.
NATO Homepage: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm
Information about NATO, the member countries, structure of the organization, priorities, and mission can be found here.
With this gathering of international leaders there will be a significant amount of media attention focused on Chicago. This attention provides an international stage for protestors to give voice to issues that may often be overlooked by mainstream media outlets. For more information about protest issues and activities happening around the NATO summit, take a look at the local movement Occupy Chicago: http://occupychi.org/. Their calendar of events details the actions that will be taking place the weekend of the summit, and they provide a list of other organizations that will be participating.
Keep your eyes on local, national, and international news for all of the details about this historic event.