NTI Makes Inaugural Grant from The Robert E. Berls, Jr. Next Generation Fund

The Robert E. Berls, Jr. Next Generation Fund was established in honor of NTI’s top Russia expert and dear colleague, the late Bob Berls, to promote understanding and scholarship among U.S., European, Russian, and Asian young professionals and students.

NTI is pleased to announce that it has awarded the first Berls Fund grant of $25,000 to the Younger Generation Leaders Network on Euro-Atlantic Security (YGLN), a network of more than 60 young professionals from 24 countries across the Euro-Atlantic community who work in economics, law, public policy, journalism, and business. The grant will support their plans to launch a significant effort to examine how Euro-Atlantic security can be redefined and advanced at a time when much of the security architecture and relationships in the region have been fractured due to the war in Ukraine.

This is a particularly meaningful grant because Bob was instrumental to the founding of the YGLN, which since 2014 has been bringing together emerging leaders from the United States, Europe (including Ukraine), and Russia. The network aims to foster dialogue and understanding to rebuild trust between Russia and the West and offer fresh ideas on how to improve the Euro-Atlantic security environment.

Given current events, this work is more important than ever, and we know Bob would have been pleased to see it continue. If you would like to make a gift to the Fund, you can do so online at https://www.nti.org/donate/ and indicate it is for The Robert E. Berls, Jr. Next Generation Fund in the notes.