The City of Dayton is putting together the final pieces to welcome hundreds of guests from all over the world for the 2025 NATO Parliamentary Assembly Conference.
This includes security preparation for the conference, which will draw as many as 300 representatives from 32 nations, from May 22-26.
Helen Cadwallender is head of the conference’s Service Department in Brussels, said the upcoming NATO conference is significant.
"There will also be a declaration that will be adopted in Standing Committee on Monday 26th of May here in Dayton," Cadwallender said. "It will be a declaration on the Hague summit, which is the NATO summit that will take place in the Hague in the Netherlands in June this year.”
This week, Cadwallender and her team were in Dayton reviewing updates the city was making to prepare.
The NATO Village will be downtown between Monument and Third Streets. Featured locations for the assembly sessions include the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theater and CareSource.
Jason Galanes, chief of staff for U.S. Rep Mike Turner (R-Dayton), said local, state and federal agencies are ensuring the area’s security.
"We are creating a NATO Village, which will be a secure zone in downtown, limited pedestrian traffic," Galanes said. "To those who need to be here or credentialed restricted vehicle access, which will start the Wednesday prior to NATO Parliamentary Assembly parliamentarians arriving continuing all the way up to Tuesday."
City leaders say increased security will limit general transportation around the village. RTA buses and ride share options will be heavily used.
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims, Jr. said this project is bringing together leadership throughout the community to showcase the Gem City.
"It gives us a chance to show people what we really have. And so the effort of working with partners, not just here in the city of Dayton, but around the whole region and to have more and more of the business community step up because they are proud having this here in Dayton as well," Mims said.
Turner was key in bringing this conference to Dayton. It also marks 30 years since the Dayton Accords were signed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, ending the Bosnian War in 1995.
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