American Council On Germany

CANCELLED - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-06-03 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, June 3 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Claudia Kade, Head of Politics, WELT/WELT AM SONNTAG. Claudia Kade has been the Head of the Politics Department at WELT / WELT AM SONNTAG since 2017. Before this role, she was an Editor in the Politics Department. From 2008 to 2010, she was Editor of the Financial Times Deutschland. She also was an Editor at Reuters and a Freelancer at ZDF. Ms. Kade studied Journalism and Economics in Dortmund and completed a traineeship at ZDF.

From Anti-War to Climate Justice: What’s Driving the Left in Germany and the United States?
2024-05-29 18:00 - 20:00
The ACG and the Goethe Institut in New York will host a discussion and reception with Dr. Sheri Berman, Political Scientist and Author of Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancient Regime to Present Day; and Lukas Hermsmeier, Journalist and Author of Uprising – Amerikas neue Linke. This event is part of our series Foreign Correspondent Unplugged and will be available as a podcast later this week.

A Decisive Decade: Addressing the Transformative Challenges facing Europe
2024-05-29 12:00 - 14:00
On May 29, the ACG will host a discussion and luncheon with Stefan Wintels, CEO of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau.
Stefan Wintels as been CEO of KfW since November 2021. He joined KfW as Co-CEO in October 2021. Prior to joining KfW, Mr. Wintels worked at Citigroup for 20 Years (2001 – 2021) in various leadership roles. Most recently, he was the Global Co-Head Financial Institutions Group and a member of the Global Executive Committee of the Banking Capital Markets & Advisory Division. He was also Vice Chairman of Citigroup in Germany, Chief Country Officer for Germany as well as CEO of Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG until March 2020. Stefan Wintels began his professional career in 1994 at Deutsche Bank AG (1994-2001) and left as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Development/ Group Strategy Department.
Mr. Wintels received a master’s degree in business administration from the Technische Universität Berlin and participated in a 2nd year MBA program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Stefan Wintels is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KfW Capital GmbH & Co. KG and a member of the Supervisory Boards of Deutsche Telekom AG and DHL Group.

Sustainable Financing of Healthcare Systems in Aging Societies
2024-05-28 11:00 - 12:00
The American Council on Germany and the Global Coalition on Aging have launched a series of virtual events called “The Road to Silver Economy Forum,” which will take place in the run-up to the Forum on October 15 and 16 in Berlin. The series will focus on a range of issues building on the theme of this year’s Forum, which is titled “Leading the Future in an Aging World.”
Our rapidly aging societies force us to consider whether current healthcare funding models are sustainable and can continue providing innovations that have helped us realize our increased longevity. This webinar will explore how countries deal with the challenge of funding their healthcare systems as their population ages and healthcare grows exponentially. We will investigate the differences and similarities between healthcare systems in the United States and Europe and discuss how to finance and improve them to safeguard the medical discovery and innovation essential to healthy aging.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Global Coalition on Aging on May 28 at 11:00 am ET for the second webinar in our series, which will focus on “Sustainable Financing of Healthcare Systems in Aging Societies.” We are privileged to have Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute, and Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, who will discuss what is needed to finance healthcare systems in an aging society sustainably. This event will be moderated by GCOA‘s Head of Advocacy Initiatives, Michiel Peters. Michiel Peters (moderator) leads the advocacy initiatives at the Global Coalition on Aging and is a Senior Director at High Latner Group, a strategic consulting firm that helps position organizations, their leaders, and their ideas in the public arena.
He is an expert communications professional and strategist with over a decade of experience in the public and private sectors. He worked on local, state, and national campaigns before serving as a senior press officer in the Dutch Parliament. After eight years of working in the public sector, he transferred to the private sector to build up the corporate and public affairs functions for a large family-owned multinational in the agricultural industry.
At GCOA, he leads advocacy initiatives on various topics, from bone health to biopharmaceutical innovation. Additionally, he helps GCOA members with strategic positioning on issues related to our changing demography and its impact on our communities, from healthy aging to financial longevity and our changing workforce.
Dr. Kristian Niemietz is the IEA’s Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He studied Economics at the Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Salamanca, graduating in 2007 as Diplom-Volkswirt (≈MSc in Economics). During his studies, he interned at the Central Bank of Bolivia (2004), the National Statistics Office of Paraguay (2005), and at the IEA (2006). In 2013, he completed a Ph.D. in Political Economy at King’s College London.
Dr. Niemietz previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Berlin-based Institute for Free Enterprise (IUF) and at King’s College London, where he taught Economics throughout his postgraduate studies. He is the author of the books A New Understanding of Poverty (2011), Redefining the Poverty Debate (2012), Universal Healthcare Without The NHS (2016), and Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies (2019).
Grace-Marie Turner founded the Galen Institute, a public policy research organization, in 1995 to promote an informed debate over free-market ideas for health reform. She has been instrumental in developing and promoting public policy ideas to transfer power over healthcare decisions to doctors and patients.
She writes extensively about incentives to promote a more competitive, patient-centered marketplace in the health sector, testifies regularly before Congress, and advises senior government officials, governors, and state legislators on health policy.
She is the founder and facilitator of the Health Policy Consensus Group, which serves as a forum for analysts from market-oriented think tanks around the country to analyze and develop reform recommendations. She was also a leader in developing the Health Care Choices proposal. She is the editor of “Empowering Health Care Consumers through Tax Reform,” peer-reviewed and published by the University of Michigan Press, and has authored and contributed to numerous other books and white papers.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-05-28 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Tuesday, May 28 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Dr. Daniel Friedrich Sturm, Head of the Berlin Office for Der Tagesspiegel.. Dr. Daniel Friedrich Sturm has been the head of the Tagesspiegel’s Berlin office since April 2023 and reports primarily on the German Chancellor and the SPD. Previously, he was an Editor for Die Welt and Welt am Sonntag and was their U.S. Correspondent from 2018 to 2023. Mr. Sturm began his journalistic career at the age of 15 as a local reporter for the Münstersche Zeitung. He studied political science at the University of Bonn. He was awarded the Willy Brandt Prize for his dissertation on the SPD and the unification of Germany in 1989/90. He has been observing and describing the Social Democrats for many years and has written several books about them.

Citizen Engagement and Building Trust in Government
2024-05-23 11:00 - 12:00
While global challenges are addressed by national governments, increasingly subnational actors such as states, communities, and cities have needed to step up to take action when traditional nation-states have not been able to make progress due to political polarization and partisan gridlock. In the next German-American State Legislator, legislators will discuss the common challenge of waning public trust and citizen engagement.
Trust in government is an essential element of a functioning democracy. In both the United States and Germany, governments face declining trust in political institutions that have been influenced by perceived corruption, lack of transparency, ineffective governance, partisan polarization, media, dis- and misinformation, and overall feelings of voter disenfranchisement. Systemic inequalities can further contribute to widespread mistrust among marginalized communities or regions and economic instability can exacerbate doubts in the government’s ability to adequately address citizen’s needs. Moreover, responses to recent crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can either bolster or diminish trust, depending on the perceived effectiveness and transparency of governmental actions. A climate of distrust in institutions can also lead to radicalization and the proliferation of conspiracy beliefs. With important elections on the horizon on both sides of the Atlantic, these issues are of particular interest during this “Super Election Year.” How can legislators at the state level contribute to building trust in government?
Join the American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany on May 23 for our next State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue for a discussion with German and American state legislators, including State Senator Roger Niello (R), California State Senate; Marion Schiefer (CDU), State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein; and State Senator Cindy Winckler (D), Iowa State Senate. Senator Roger Niello (R) was elected to represent portions of South Placer, suburban Sacramento, and Sutter and Yuba counties in the California State Senate in 2022. He first began his career as a Certified Public Accountant and then joined his family business, the Niello Auto Group, running retail automobile dealerships. Senator Niello has previously served as a Sacramento County Supervisor and a member of the California State Assembly. Following his time in the Assembly, he accepted the appointment as President and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.
In the State Senate, Senator Niello is the Vice Chair of the Budget and Fiscal Review, Banking and Financial Institutions, Insurance, and Transportation Committees. He is a member of the Business, Professions, and Economic Development, Judiciary, Legislative Ethics, Joint Fairs Allocation and Classification, Joint Legislative Budget, and Joint Rules Committees.
Throughout his career, Senator Niello has been a dedicated community and civic volunteer, serving in various capacities. He and his wife, Mary, live in Fair Oaks.
Representative Marion Schiefer (CDU) was born in 1975 in Wiesbaden, is married, and has three children. She studied law in Mainz and Castellón, Spain. After completing her first and second state law examinations, she initially worked as a research assistant in finance and tax law at the University of Mainz before being appointed as a judge in Hesse. In 2007/2008, she was a Member of the Hessian State Parliament. She worked for several years in the Hessian ministerial administration and changed careers to the executive branch as a Ministerial Councilor. During her parental leave, she moved to Schleswig-Holstein. From 2014 to 2023, she worked as a judge at the local court in Hamburg, including as a family and juvenile court judge and as head of enforcement at the Hamburg Youth Detention Center.
Representative Schiefer has been a Member of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament since 2023, Chairwoman of the CDU parliamentary group’s specialist working group on internal affairs and law, as well as Spokeswoman for justice, victim protection, the protection of the constitution, and extremism. Furthermore, she is a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Legal Affairs, the Committee on Cooperation between Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, the Committee on the Election of Judges, the Parliamentary Control Committee, and chairwoman of the G10 Commission. Representative Schiefer has been a CDU member since 1997.
Senator Cindy Winckler (D) was born in Des Moines, Iowa. She moved to Davenport when she was young and has continued to be a part of the Davenport community throughout her adult years. Senator Winckler was elected to her first term in the Iowa Senate in 2022 after serving 11 terms in the Iowa House. She is a Ranking Member of both the Ethics and Education Appropriations Subcommittees and serves on the Appropriations, Local Government, State Government, Transportation, and Ways and Means Committees. She represents Senate District 49, which includes Davenport as well as Buffalo and Buffalo Township. Senator Winckler is currently serving as a commissioner on the Education Commission of the States. She is a member of the Davenport Schools Network for Community and School Partnerships.
Cindy has been a family and consumer science teacher in small and large school districts in Iowa – Davis County, Pleasant Valley, Calamus, and Davenport. She retired as a Quality Learning Consultant with the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf and continues her work on education equity issues. In her capacity as a Quality Learning Consultant, she worked with teachers, administrators, and school districts to plan and implement student achievement initiatives. Cindy was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in February 2000.
She graduated from West High School in Davenport. She earned a BSE in Home Economics from Northeast Missouri State University and her master’s degree in Educational Technology from the University of Northern Iowa. Cindy and her husband, Joe, were married in 1973 and have two adult children.

Bridging Borders: Navigating Open Scientific Collaboration with China
2024-05-23 08:00 - 09:30
The American Council on Germany, the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York, and the University of Cologne New York Office cordially invite you to a breakfast briefing on “Bridging Borders: Navigating Open Scientific Collaboration with China” with Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the DAAD and Rector of the University of Cologne, and Christopher Walker, Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy, moderated by Dr. Lily McElwee, Deputy Director and Fellow in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee began his term as President of the DAAD on January 1, 2020. According to the association charter, the President represents the DAAD in all organization-related matters. He serves as the chairperson of the Executive Committee, prepares its deliberations and resolutions, and ensures their implementation. He also chairs the meeting of the Board of Trustees and the General Assembly. His responsibilities include appointing the Secretary-General following confirmation by the Executive Committee and supervising the organization’s management.
On October 1, 2023, Prof. Dr. Mukherjee took office as Rector of the University of Cologne. In cooperation with the other members of the Rectorate, he represents the university externally and is responsible for its management and strategic development. He chairs the Rectorate and the Senate and is the chief supervisor of the university’s scientific staff. He also defines the guidelines for the execution of the Rectorate’s tasks.
Prof. Dr. Mukherjee completed his studies in English, Biology, and Education at RWTH Aachen University in 1997. In 2000, he received his doctorate at the University of Bonn; he also completed his habilitation in 2003 and was awarded the venia legendi for English Philology.
Christopher Walker is Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy, an independent, nonprofit, grant-making foundation supporting freedom worldwide. Mr. Walker oversees the multidimensional department that is responsible for NED’s analytical and thought leadership efforts. Before joining the NED, he was Vice President for Strategy and Analysis at Freedom House. He has testified before legislative committees in the U.S. and abroad, appears frequently in the media, and frequently conducts briefings on critical issues relating to democratic development. He has been at the forefront of thought leadership on modern authoritarian influence on open political systems, including through the exertion of sharp power, a concept he and his colleagues developed.
Mr. Walker has also served as an Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at New York University. He holds a B.A. from Binghamton University and an M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Dr. Lily McElwee is the Deputy Director and Fellow in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she researches Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations, and EU-China relations. She is currently writing a book on the history of U.S. investment gatekeeping amid the rise of China as a strategy and policy fellow with the Smith Richardson Foundation. Dr. McElwee recently completed a fellowship with the American Council on Germany, where she researched European political debate on China, and she is a 2022–23 CSIS-USC U.S.-Korea nextgen scholar. She holds a D.Phil. in China studies, and an MS.c. from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. with honors in political science from Stanford University.

Dealing with Disinformation: Elections Under the Influence?
2024-05-22 11:00 - 12:00
This year elections are being held all around the world. In addition to concerns about free and fair elections, disinformation spread by state and non-state actors via social media or messengers has become a threat to electoral integrity. For example, compared to the last election cycle in Germany, people are much more concerned about the deliberate dissemination of false information online. Many fear that mis- and disinformation is being used to destabilize democracies as a long-term goal. This is not unique. Disinformation poses a major challenge that politicians, civil society, and the media have to contend with. Is the extent of concern exaggerated? Are our institutions and tech companies prepared to fend off targeted attacks?
Join the American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General New York on Wednesday, May 22, at 11 am ET for the next installment of the virtual series “Dealing with Disinformation.” In the run-up to European elections next month and U.S. elections in November, experts Cathleen Berger and Dr. Claire Wardle will join us to talk about foreign and home-grown information manipulation and elections, the role and responsibility of tech companies, as well as the dangers posed by disinformation campaigns Cathleen Berger is a highly experienced strategist who has built up and managed multiple globally distributed, environmental, and social impact programs. Her professional experience spans across sectors: academia, government, non-profit, advocacy, corporate, and early-stage startups. She currently works with the Bertelsmann Stiftung as Co-Team Lead for Upgrade Democracy and Research Director on future technologies and sustainability. In addition, she occasionally advises and works with social purpose companies and organizations on their climate and social impact strategies. Previously, she directed the B Corporation certification process of a pre-seed climate tech startup. Prior to taking on her current role, she launched and headed up Mozilla’s environmental sustainability program.
Dr. Claire Wardle is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Information Futures Lab and Professor of Practice at Brown University’s School of Public Health. She is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification, and user generated content, and co-authored the foundational report Information Disorder: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy for the Council of Europe. In 2015, Dr. Wardle co-founded the non-profit First Draft, a pioneer in innovation, research, and practice in the field of misinformation. Over the past decade, she has developed an organization-wide training program for the BBC on eyewitness media, verification, and misinformation; led social media policy at UNHCR; been a Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School; and been the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania.

International Crisis Management and the Future of the Transatlantic Partnership
2024-05-20 12:30 - 14:00
oin The American Council on Germany and the Hanns Seidel Stiftung for a Discussion and Luncheon on “Unraveling Alliances? Assessing the U.S. Role in NATO”, with Alexander Radwan, Member of the German Bundestag (CDU/CSU).
The Luncheon will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 12:30 pm (PDT) at Credo (360 Pine St, San Francisco, CA 94104). The cost of attendance is $35 for active ACG Members; $50 for Non-Members,
Alexander Radwan has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013, after serving in the Bavarian State Parliament from 2008 to 2013 and the European Parliament from 1999 to 2008. He sits on the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the Subcommittee on the United Nations, International Organizations, and Civilian Crisis Prevention.
Mr. Radwan specializes in the intersection of international relations and finance policy. He studied aeronautical engineering at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, graduating with a degree in engineering. After that, he studied law at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, passing the bar in 1995. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim, and a Member of the Administrative Council of Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-05-20 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, May 20 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with ACG Alumna Sonja Gillert, Head of Audio and Podcaster for Die Welt.
Sonja Gillert (2019 ACG Young Leader) is the head of audio for Welt. Previously, she served as an editor in the paper’s foreign policy department in Berlin. In 2015, she spent three months in China with the Media Ambassador China Germany Program. In 2017 she was selected to attend the two-month Arthur F. Burns Fellowship for Journalists to conduct research in the United States. In 2023, she completed an ACG Kellen Fellowship during which researched the influence of school boards and politics.
She attended the journalist training program at Axel Springer Academy in Berlin and formerly worked as a freelance journalist at three of Germany’s major radio stations. She studied in Bonn and St. Andrews, Scotland, and earned her MA in Political Science and German Literature in 2009 at Bonn University. She currently sits on the Board of the Freunde des American Council on Germany e.V.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-05-13 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, May 13 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Henrike Roßbach, Deputy Head and Correspondent for the Parliamentary Office for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Henrike Roßbach is the Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Office for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She has been a correspondent in the parliamentary office since the beginning of 2018. She reports on the FDP and the federal government’s financial and tax policies, and (together with her colleagues) observes and describes the political landscape. Prior to this, she was an economics correspondent in the parliamentary editorial department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for eight years, as well as the economics editor of the FAZ in Frankfurt. She studied economics at the University of Cologne and is also a graduate of the Cologne School of Journalism. During her studies, she spent a year in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO.

Searching for a New Political Middle: Fragmentation and Polarization in Europe and the United States
2024-05-09 18:00 - 20:00
With elections for the European parliament early next month and the U.S. Presidential election on the horizon, campaigning in 2024 is heating up on both sides of the Atlantic. We are seeing increasing polarization and fragmentation of the political landscape – and even a calcification of positions. Yet, on both sides of the Atlantic, many candidates from the left and from the right are trying to appeal to voters in the political middle in the hope that they can pull votes from across party lines.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut on May 9th for the third event of our series Foreign Correspondent Unplugged, which delves into current political debates on both sides of the Atlantic. German journalists Annett Meiritz and Juliane Schäuble will talk about the upcoming elections in Europe and the United States – and how the elections are being perceived on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Both guests have been reporting from the U.S. for over five years – not just from inside the Washington bubble but from all over the country. In September 2022, they published a book together: „Guns n’ Rosé: The Rise of Conservative Women in the U.S.” In it, they explore the female conservative movement in the United States, a highly relevant voting group that increasingly shapes politics and society. Dr. Steven E. Sokol, the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany, will moderate the discussion. Annett Meiritz is the U.S. Correspondent for Germany’s leading business, trade, and finance daily Handelsblatt. She covers the U.S. Administration and Congress, usually from an economic angle. Previously she worked as Parliamentary Correspondent for Germany’s leading news portal Spiegel Online, based in Berlin. She holds a B.A. in Modern History and Media Science and was educated to be a Journalist at the Berlin Journalism School.
Juliane Schäuble is the U.S. Correspondent of Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin’s biggest newspaper. Before she moved to Washington, DC, in June 2018 she was the head of the political department of the paper where she was responsible for the front page and the political section. She has more than twelve years of experience in the business and the political department of Der Tagesspiegel.
Ms. Schäuble earned her Master’s in Political Science at the University in Potsdam, Germany. Her studies included one semester at American University in Washington, DC, where she took classes in American foreign policy and worked part-time for the “American Council of Young Political Leaders” (“Washington Semester Program”).
Dr. Steven E. Sokol is the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin. Dr. Sokol is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on several advisory boards. He was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) for his work to strengthen German-American relations.

Engaging Youth: Lessons from the German Dual System of Apprenticeships
2024-05-09 14:00 - 15:00
In 2022-2023 the American Council on Germany implemented a series of immersive study tours to Germany – three with America Works (an initiative of the MEP National Network) and another in collaboration with the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and the State Economic Development Executive network – to learn about Germany’s dual vocational education system and to identify elements, approaches, and strategies that could contribute to the expansion of apprenticeship programs in communities in the United States.
During the U.S. Department of Labor’s first National Youth Apprenticeship Week, the ACG, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, and Amerca Works invite you to join us on May 9 at 2:00 pm ET for a conversation with professionals who participated in these programs to hear the lessons learned and best practices in Germany and what they are now striving to implement as a result in their states and communities. We will be joined by Shonda Anderson, Director of Internships and Apprenticeships for the Kansas Office of Apprenticeship; Matthew Fieldman, Executive Director of America Works; Heather McKay, Senior Vice President of Employer Engagement and Executive Director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work; and Rahim Nichols, Early College Early Career Director, MAGNET Ohio. Matthew Fieldman is the Executive Director of America Works, a nationwide initiative to coordinate the American manufacturing industry’s training efforts, generating a more capable, skilled, and diverse workforce. Based at MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Matt works across the nation’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network to increase collaboration, efficiency, and impact of local and regional workforce development efforts. Previously, he was Vice President of External Affairs for MAGNET, a nonprofit that helps Northeast Ohio’s small- and medium-sized manufacturers grow locally while competing globally. In this role, he launched the annual Ohio Manufacturing Survey; MSPIRE, a regional startup pitch competition; manufacturing apprenticeships for inner-city youth; and oversaw the organization’s fundraising, legislative relations, media relations, and more. In his volunteer work, Originally from Orlando, Florida, Matt earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, cum laude, from the University of Florida, a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University. He is a former Ariane de Rothschild and American Council on Germany Transatlantic Fellow and was also a Civil Society Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Rahim Nichols, the Director of the Early College Early Career Program at MAGNET Ohio, raises awareness about life-changing manufacturing careers aimed at Northeast Ohio’s underserved populations. Rahim joined MAGNET in 2020, bringing with him an enthusiasm for helping individuals with substance abuse, mental health, and educational challenges. A Cleveland State Graduate, Rahim loves collaborating with his ECEC team on projects that can transform the fortunes of the region’s underrepresented youth. His passion has even taken him overseas, where he worked among young leaders in the African nation of Zambia. Rahim has been fortunate to work for several non-profits in the city while also previously working in public service for Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court for eight years.
Shonda Anderson is the Director of Internships and Apprenticeships for the Kansas Department of Commerce. She grew up in Colorado, earning an undergraduate degree in agriculture and resource economics and agricultural education from Colorado State University. Over 20 years ago, life brought her to Kansas, where she earned a master’s in agricultural economics from Kansas State University. Previously, she was the director of the apprenticeship for Kansas City’s Metropolitan Community College. She is a proud mother of two and will never forget she started her career driving dump trucks for her dad’s asphalt business.
Heather A. McKay is the Senior Vice President of Employer Engagement and Executive Director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work. Prior to joining the Strada Institute, she served as the Executive Director of the Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE), a newly formed office in the Commonwealth housed at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership charged with examining linkages between education and the labor market.  Before coming to VOEE Heather was the founding director of the Education and Employment Research Center at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. At Rutgers, Heather researched and evaluated community college programs, state and federal workforce development systems, and education and workforce policies. Heather completed her bachelor’s degree at Bryn Mawr College. She has a master’s degree in history and a master’s degree in global affairs from Rutgers University.

Germany's Response to Current Crises
2024-05-08 12:30 - 14:00
The ACG will host a discussion and luncheon with Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer, Member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board and Author of Krisenzeit – Sicherheit, Wirtschaft, Zusammenhalt – Was Deutschland jetzt tun muss (September 2023).
Please email events(at)acgusa.org for more information.
Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer joined the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in May 2023. She is a leading expert on European and international affairs and has had a 20-year career at renowned think tanks, foundations, and universities.
Most recently, from 2021 to 2023, she served as Executive Director for Europe and Central Asia at the Open Society Foundations, the world’s largest foundation working to strengthen the rule of law, democracy, and open societies. In 2021, she was appointed honorary professor of political science at Freie Universität Berlin. In autumn 2022, she was a visiting professor at Harvard University, with which she has also been affiliated as a senior fellow.
From 2016 to 2021, she was director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations. (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, DGAP). Prior to that, she served as research director on the executive team of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and led its Berlin office and Europe program. From 2004 to 2013, she worked for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, where she headed the Europe research group beginning in 2008. From 1999 to 2004, she was an opinion page editor and France correspondent for the Financial Times Deutschland.
Dr. Schwarzer is regularly consulted as an expert and policy advisor. She was co-rapporteur of the working group on EU reform and enlargement, convened by the French and German governments, which submitted its report in September 2023. From 2020 to 2022, served as special advisor to the High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell. She also advised France and Poland during their respective EU presidencies and was a consultant to the French prime minister’s Centre dʼAnalyse Stratégique. She is a member of the supervisory boards of BNP Paribas and Covivio, an honorary board member of DGA,P and a non-executive board member of the Jacques Delors Institute/Centre (Paris, Berlin), and a Council member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). In 2017, she was inducted into the French Legion of Honour.

Superwahljahr 2024: Parsing the Electon in India
2024-05-08 11:00 - 12:00
From April 19 to June 1, general elections are being held in India to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha (the House of the People, India’s lower house) and the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running for a third consecutive term. This is the biggest election in history – and lasts 44 days in a country where approximately 970 million people are eligible to vote (out of a population of 1.4 billion), including some 18 million first-time voters.
India’s elections are massive in scale, involving hundreds of millions of voters spread across diverse geographical, cultural, and linguistic regions. The country’s vast population and diverse demographics make it a unique electoral challenge. With the election in full swing, Modi seems positioned to be reelected – but his campaign is divisive. Relatively low turnout so far has rattled his campaign, raising questions whether his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies can achieve the landslide victory predicted by opinion polls just one month ago.
Join the American Council on Germany for the next event in the virtual series Superwahljahr 2024. We’ll be joined by the Süddeutsche Zeitung South-East Asia Correspondent, David Pfeifer, who is in India covering the elections. David Pfeifer, born in 1970, is a correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Southeast Asia and lives in Bangkok. In the 1990s and 2000s, he was, among other things, chief of staff at Tempo magazine and head of the culture and digital department at Stern. He has written several non-fiction books and novels. He joined the Süddeutsche in 2014 to develop the new weekend edition. In 2020, he moved to Thailand and reports from 14 countries, from India to Indonesia.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-05-06 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, May 6 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Bojan Pancevski, Germany Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Bojan Pancevski is The Wall Street Journal’s Germany correspondent, covering all aspects of Europe’s largest economy and its influence on the rest of the continent and beyond. He also covers Europe at large across major themes.
Before joining the WSJ, he covered Europe for the Times and the Sunday Times of London from Brussels and Vienna, focusing on a wide range of subjects, including the war in eastern Ukraine, the 2015 migration crisis, the rise of the Islamic State in Europe, Russian meddling in Europe, and Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Exiles and Democracy: 80 Years of the Council for a Democratic Germany
2024-05-02 16:00 - 18:00
On May 2, the American Council on Germany, the German Law Journal, the Robert Bosch Foundation Alumni Association, and Orte der Demokratiegeschichte will host a discussion and reception with Prof. Eckart Goebel, Chair of Comparative Literature and German Philology at the University of Tübingen, and Dr. Natalia Savelyeva, Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin and Future Russia Fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
To register, please email mcdonaldj@wlu.edu by April 30.
In the spring of 1944, sensing that the tide of the war was turning, exiled German dissidents in the United States began discussions envisioning a new, democratic, post-war Germany. Meeting as the “Council for a Democratic Germany,” the group consisted of an impressive – and impressively diverse – collection of German intellectuals, artists, politicians, scholars, and civil servants. The respected theologian Paul Tillich chaired the Council, which was originally formed with support from Thomas Mann. Bertolt Brecht was a member of the founding committee. The Council issued its declaration on May 3, 1944, insisting that the “German problem” would require a European solution. The Council recognized that the defeat of Nazism and the eventual disarmament of Germany remained the immediate priority. Looking ahead to the hoped-for peace, the Council strongly opposed the dismemberment of a defeated and occupied Germany. It also opposed talk of deindustrializing Germany, which risked creating “economic conditions that would become hopelessly depressed in all countries of Europe.” The Council urged the establishment of a democratic government in Germany supported by rejuvenated civil society institutions and robust democratic education. After the Council issued its May Declaration, subcommittees produced policy reports on reconstruction and economic renewal, as well as reform of the press and media, cultural policy, health policy, education policy, administration, and legal culture.
Join us on May 2 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Council’s Declaration and reflect on its work.
Prof. Eckart Goebel, a University of Tübingen Philosopher and Cultural Critic, will discuss the Council, building off his study “Escape to Life”: German Intellectuals in New York: A Compendium on Exile after 1933 (2012). This includes an acknowledgment of two stark developments. On the one hand, the Council stirred political resentment and petty jealousy within the broader German exile community in the U.S. On the other hand, the Allies seemed to largely disregard the Council’s efforts. The event will also use the historical reflection on the Council to consider contemporary exiles’ work to promote democracy in their homelands. Dr. Natalia Savelyeva, a Russian Sociologist at the University of Wisconsin who writes extensively on the Russian war against Ukraine, will discuss her experiences of dissidence and the chances for impacting Russian politics, scholarship, and life in the United States.

The Path Forward for the German-American Partnership in a Period of Crises
2024-05-02 12:00 - 14:00
The LA Warburg Chapter will host a discussion and luncheon with Peter Beyer, Member of the Bundestag (CDU) Peter Beyer has served in the German Bundestag since 2009.
After finishing his higher education entrance qualification in 1991, he completed his military service in Wuppertal. Beyer then studied law at the universities of Düsseldorf and Bonn. In 1999, he graduated from university and was admitted to the bar.
Mr. Beyer began his legal career as an associate attorney for the US-headquartered firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt (now Mayer Brown). He also worked with Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione in Chicago, and Murchison & Cumming in Los Angeles. In 2000, he enrolled in a postgraduate legal studies program at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville and received a Master of Laws degree. Returning to Germany, Beyer practiced law at the BEYER Intellectual Property firm in Ratingen, where he became one of the country’s first officially certified intellectual property lawyers.
Mr. Beyer was directly elected in his constituency in the general elections in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021 to represent the citizens of Heiligenhaus, Ratingen, Velbert, and Wülfrath.
A committed Atlanticist for many years, Mr. Beyer stands out among Members of the German Bundestag and his party as one of the most committed advocates of a strong transatlantic relationship with the United States and Canada. He serves as parliamentary Special Rapporteur on Transatlantic Relations in the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was a Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2018 to 2022. In April 2018, Beyer was appointed Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation of the Federal Government (2018-2022). Mr. Beyer has been the Foreign Affairs Committee’s main rapporteur on the Western Balkans for twelve years. In July 2022, he was elected spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Committee of Inquiry on Afghanistan. He is one of the most experienced foreign and security policy experts in his parliamentary group.
He is an active member of Atlantik-Brücke in addition to numerous organizations in his district. Mr. Beyer serves also as Executive Vice-President of the German American Association and also of the Southeast Europe Association and as President of the Federal Assembly of Silesia in Germany.

Demographic Megatrends and the Challenge of Aging Societies
2024-05-01 11:00 - 12:00
The American Council on Germany and the Global Coalition on Aging are launching a series of virtual events called “The Road to Silver Economy Forum,” which will take place in the run-up to the Forum itself on October 15 and 16 in Berlin. The series will focus on a range of issues building on the theme of this year’s Forum, which is titled “Leading the Future in an Aging World.”
During the Forum, we will investigate the challenges facing healthcare, finance, technology, transportation, and consumer businesses; what they can learn from one another; what countries must do to stay competitive in a rapidly aging and rapidly changing society; and how generations can work together to succeed as our workplace demographics shift. This virtual series will lay the foundation for the Forum by exploring what government, business, civil society, and academia can do to effectively respond to demographic trends; sustainably finance our healthcare and pension systems; prepare our workforce, optimize technology for the entire population, including older adults; and address other areas where we need innovative solutions to navigate the megatrend of aging.
The global population passed the milestone of eight billion people in November 2022 – with the jump from seven to eight billion taking only 12 years. However, this rapid population growth is not the greatest demographic challenge the world faces today. It is, rather, the aging of society. Globally, societies are aging at rapid and transformational rates and the number of older people is growing faster than the number of young people. Longer life expectancy and more old than young are twin pillars of this tectonic shift in demographics. Global aging reflects significant medical, social, and economic advancements over disease and illness, but it also presents societal challenges that require leadership from government and the private sector.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Global Coalition on Aging on May 1 at 11:00 AM ET / 5:00 PM CET for the first in a series of online webinars in the run up to Silver Economy Forum in Berlin. Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, and Prof. Dr. Andrea Maier, Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, will discuss the trends, challenges, and opportunities of the demographic megatrend that is our aging population. Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he researches and writes extensively on demographics and economic development generally and, more specifically on international security in the Korean peninsula and Asia. Domestically, he focuses on poverty and social well-being. Dr. Eberstadt is also a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR).
His many books and monographs include “Poverty in China” (IDI, 1979); “The Tyranny of Numbers” (AEI Press, 1995); “The End of North Korea” (AEI Press, 1999); “The Poverty of the Poverty Rate” (AEI Press, 2008); and “Russia’s Peacetime Demographic Crisis” (NBR, 2010). His latest book is “Men Without Work: America’s Invisible Crisis” (Templeton Press, 2016).
Dr. Eberstadt has a Ph.D in political economy and government, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government, and an AB from Harvard University. He also holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics. In 2012, Dr. Eberstadt was awarded the prestigious Bradley Prize.
Prof. Dr. Andrea Maier is a Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). She graduated in Medicine (MD) in 2003 from the University of Lübeck (Germany), was registered in 2009 in The Netherlands as a Specialist in Internal Medicine-Geriatrics, and was appointed Full Professor of Gerontology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in 2013. She was the head of Geriatrics at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center from 2012 to 2016. From 2016 to early 2021, Professor Maier served as Divisional Director of Medicine and Community Care at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia, and Professor of Medicine and Aged Care at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Professor Maier’s research focuses on unraveling the mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases. During the last 10 years, she has conducted multiple international observational cohort studies and intervention trials and has published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles, achieving an H index of 63, spearheading the significant contributions of her highly acclaimed innovative, global, multidisciplinary @Age research group. She is a frequent guest on radio and television programs to disseminate aging research and an invited member of several international academic and health policy committees, including the WHO. She is the past president of The Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research, the founding president of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society, and serves as an elected Member of The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities.

Going Too Far? Tolerance, Wokeness, and the Trouble with it All
2024-04-25 18:00 - 20:00
On April 25, the ACG and the Goethe-Institut Washington, DC will host a discussion and reception with René Pfister, U.S. Correspondent for Der Spiegel, Charles Lane, Deputy Opinion Editor and Columnist at The Washington Post, and moderated by Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, Director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Campus Free Expression Project.
To register, please click here
Join the American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut in Washington DC on April 25th for the second in our series Foreign Correspondent Unplugged, which delves into current political debates on both sides of the Atlantic. At this event, we will explore issues around political correctness and threats to freedom of speech. The discussion will examine how current ideological norms are increasingly influencing freedom of expression in the Western world, particularly in Europe and the USA. As we approach the European parliamentary elections in June and the U.S. presidential election in November, understanding the nuances and impacts of the ideological shifts on freedom of speech is increasingly critical.

René Pfister studied Political Science and attended the German School of Journalism in Munich. He was a reporter at the news agencies ddp and Reuters in Berlin. In 2004, he began working for DER SPIEGEL’s Berlin office, which he headed for several years. Since mid-2019, he has been DER SPIEGEL’s Bureau Chief in Washington, D.C. His best-selling book, Ein Falsches Wort – “One Wrong Word: How a New Left-Wing Ideology from America Threatens Our Freedom of Expression” – was published in 2022.

Charles Lane is Deputy Opinion Editor of The Washington Post and a Columnist for the paper’s op-ed page. A finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing, he also served as the Post’s Supreme Court correspondent between 2000 and 2007. A former editor of The New Republic, Mr. Lane has also worked as a writer and foreign correspondent for Newsweek, covering civil wars in the Balkans and Central America during the 1980s and 1990s. He is a frequent commentator on television and radio. He is the author of two works of history about post-Civil War America, “Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror” and “The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of Reconstruction.”

Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill (moderator) directs the Campus Free Expression Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). She works with senior college leaders to provide consultative assistance and expertise in approaches that will support a campus culture that is diverse, inclusive, and open to robust intellectual exchange. Prior to joining BPC, Dr. Merrill was the Executive Director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, a program of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). Before leading ACTA’s Fund for Academic Renewal, Dr. Merrill served as ACTA’s vice president of development. Earlier in her career, she served on the faculties of St. John’s College (Annapolis), known for its Great Books curriculum, and the College of William & Mary. She has also taught at Duke University, the University of Calgary, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and in the college program at Maryland’s only prison for women. Dr. Merrill earned her BA (First Class Honours) from the University of Calgary and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University.

Annual Meeting of Members
2024-04-18 18:00 - 20:00
On April 18, 2024, the ACG will hold the Annual Meeting of the Members.
More information to follow.

Dealing with Disinformation: Lessons from the Past for the Digital Age
2024-04-18 11:00 - 12:00
Propaganda and fake news are nothing new. They have been forms of communication since Roman times. The invention of Gutenberg’s printing press in 1493 dramatically amplified the dissemination of disinformation. Sensational stories have always sold well, and in the early 19th century, when the modern newspaper appeared on the scene, scoops and exposés were all the rage – but fake stories also helped boost circulation. With the advent of radio and then television, it became possible to transmit false narratives more widely. The arrival of the internet in the late 20th century, followed by social media in the 21st century dramatically increased the risks of misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda. In its modern form, disinformation is very different from its historical precursors: It can spread at a velocity and magnitude that was previously unimaginable.
Join the American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General New York on Thursday, April 18, at 11 am ET for the next installment of the virtual series “Dealing with Disinformation.” Experts Dr. Walter J. Scheirer (author of A History of Fake Things on the Internet) and Dr. Heidi Tworek (author of News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945) will join us to talk about the history of disinformation, the role of technology in its spread, and the future of fake news.

Dr. Walter J. Scheirer is the Dennis O. Doughty Collegiate Professor of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Notre Dame and the author of A History of Fake Things on the Internet. He is a computer scientist by training who also studied international relations. An expert in machine learning and recognition in his book, Dr. Scheirer breaks down the technical advances that made new developments in digital deception possible and shares behind-the-screens details of early Internet-era pranks that have become touchstones of hacker lore.
Dr. Heidi Tworek is a Canada Research Chair and associate professor of international history and public policy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She is an award-winning researcher of media, history, health communications, international organizations, and platform governance. She directs the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation as well as a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. She co-edits the Journal of Global History. Her most recent book is News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945.

Young Leader Alumni Reception
2024-04-16 18:30 - 20:30
On April 16, the ACG, Atlantik-Bruecke, and Axel Dittmann, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington will host a Young Leaders Alumni Reception. This event is timed to coincide with the annual German-American Conference.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2024-04-15 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, April 15 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Political Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung Jochen Buchsteiner. Jochen Buchsteiner has been Political Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung in Berlin since 2023. Prior to that, he spent 20 years as the FAZ’s foreign correspondent in New Delhi, Jakarta, and London.
After studying Political Science and Rhetoric in Berlin and Tübingen, he began his career in journalism at the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. From 1993 until 2001, he was foreign policy editor and parliamentary correspondent in Hamburg, Bonn, and Berlin for Die Zeit. He is the author of two books: „Die Stunde der Asiaten“ (2005) and „Die Flucht der Briten aus der europäischen Utopie“ (2018).

German-American Conference
2024-04-15 08:00 - 2024-04-16 17:00
The American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke will host the annual German-American Conference on April 15 and 16, 2024 in Washington, DC.
More information to follow.

Superwahljahr 2024: Rigged for the Autocrat: Why do Authoritarian Regimes Hold Elections?
2024-04-11 11:00 - 12:00
More than 60 countries, reflecting half of the world’s population, are heading to the polls to vote in presidential, legislative, and local elections in 2024. However, many of these countries confront serious authoritarian threats that extend beyond the candidates on the ballot and will impact the values, processes, and institutions that are critical to democracies and the free world.
Authoritarian regimes engaging in electoral interference, such as China, Russia, and Iran, seek to win from electoral mayhem and democracies’ decline. If democracy does not prevail, the years to come will be influenced by authoritarian forces. China continues to expand its global economic dominance through the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and tensions between Taiwan and China are at an all-time high. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rages on as the threat of nuclear war looms. Iran threatens regional instability through the funding of local proxies, militias, and terrorist groups in neighboring countries. More broadly, intimidation tactics, voter suppression, and the marginalization of certain groups violate democratic participation and inclusion. Democratic systems are under strain and there are a number of forces at play.
Join the American Council on Germany for the next event in the virtual series Superwahljahr 2024. This time, we’ll talk with regional experts Cathryn Grothe from Freedom House and Dr. Stefan Meister from the German Council on Foreign Relations about why authoritarian regimes even bother to hold elections at all. Cathryn Grothe is a Research Analyst covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for Freedom House, where she contributes to Freedom in the World, Freedom on the Net, and Election Watch for the Digital Age. Her research focuses on technology, democracy, and human rights in the MENA region. Ms. Grothe’s writing has been published in various regional and international outlets.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Ms. Grothe worked at Women Deliver on issues related to humanitarian advocacy, gender-based violence, and refugee rights. She has extensive experience working with civil society organizations in Lebanon on gender equality programming.
She holds an M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science and public health from New York University.
Dr. Stefan Meister has been the head of the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Program on International Order and Democracy since August 2021. From 2019 until then, he worked as director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s South Caucasus Office.
From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Meister was head of the Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at DGAP, where he had previously headed its program for Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. Before that, he was a senior policy fellow in the Wider Europe Team at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Berlin and London. In the 2015/16 term, Dr. Meister was a visiting fellow at the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC, where he wrote on Russian disinformation and propaganda. He has served as an election observer for the OSCE in post-Soviet countries several times and worked on conflict transformation and institution-building in post-Soviet countries.
Dr. Meister is co-author of Geopolitics and Security: A New Strategy for the South Caucasus (KAS/DGAP/GIP, 2018), The Russia File (Brookings, 2018), Eastern Voices (Center for Transatlantic Relations/DGAP, 2017), and The Eastern Question (Brookings, 2016).
He studied international relations and East European history in Jena, Leipzig, and Nizhni Novgorod and holds a Ph.D. from Friedrich Schiller University in Jena with a thesis on the transformation of the Russian higher education and research system.

Superwahljahr 2024: After Turkey’s Regional Elections, Opposition Parties are Gaining Ground
2024-04-09 11:00 - 12:00
Over the weekend, voters in Turkey participated in nationwide local elections. With more than 90 percent of ballots counted by early Monday, the opposition appears to have made significant gains against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. Based on preliminary vote counts, the opposition maintained power in four of the country’s largest cities — Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Antalya — and took control of a fifth, Bursa, and a number of smaller cities. Official results are expected from the Supreme Election Council in the coming days.
The shift away from Erdogan has been driven by voter resentment about inflation and the economy. A strong showing of support for Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has solidified his position as the main opposition candidate and might reinvigorate the anti-Erdogan opposition. Many Turks believe Imamoglu is a potential contender in the next presidential election – which is expected in 2028, when he could face off against Mr. Erdogan.
Join us on Tuesday, April 9, for a virtual discussion with Turkey expert Dr. Sinem Adar from the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)) and FAZ correspondent Friederike Böge. We’ll discuss the stunning election results and what they mean for the country. Dr. Sinem Adar is with the Center for Applied Turkey Studies of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). She focuses on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy and EU-Turkey relations. Before joining SWP, Dr. Adar was an Einstein Fellow at Humboldt University. She holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology from Brown University and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
Friederike Böge has been writing for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung since 2013. From 2017 until March 2023, she served as the paper’s correspondent for China and North Korea. Since April 2023, she has been based in Ankara and reports on Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She began her career in journalism as a trainee at the FAZ and then worked at Reuters and the Financial Times Deutschland. From 2004 to 2007, she worked in Afghanistan for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the German Development Agency. Ms. Böge studied Ethnology, African Studies, and Political Science in Berlin and Cape Town.

Making the Case for Supporting Ukraine at Home and Abroad
2024-04-08 18:00 - 20:00
The ACG will host a discussion and reception in Washington, DC with Omid Nouripour, Co-Chair of the Greens and Member of the Bundestag.
Omid Nouripour joined the Green Party in 1996 and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2006, representing the Frankfurt/Main II district. He serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Finance Committee, and the Defense Committee. In addition to these committees, he was chairman of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2018-2021. Since February 2022, Mr. Nouripour has been Co-chair of Alliance 90/The Greens. Prior to that he served as the foreign policy spokesperson for the party from 2013 to 2021. Before being elected to the Bundestag, Mr. Nouripour was a member of the national executive committee of Alliance 90/The Greens from 2002 to 2006.
Mr. Nouripour came to Frankfurt/Main from Tehran, Iran with his family at the age of thirteen. From 1996 to 2004, he attended the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, where he studied an array of fields, including German, political science, law, sociology, philosophy, and economics. He is a board member of Atlantik-Brücke e.V., a member of the Advisory Council of the Berghof Foundation, and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Foreign Correspondent: Dream or Nightmare? The Concept of Freedom in the United States and Germany
2024-04-04 18:00 - 20:00
The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut invite you to a series of discussions throughout the United States highlighting how German and American journalists based in the United States currently see political and social developments in Germany, the United States, and internationally.
Please join us on April 4, for our first event in the series. No other concept is more closely associated with the American self-image than that of freedom – be it liberation from former colonial masters, individual or economic freedom, freedom of speech, or religious freedom. However, the strong emphasis on the idea of freedom as well as the diversity of its forms of expression has led to internal tensions.
Over the course of the series, our speakers will address a range of topics that affect citizens in both countries. What strikes them most about current trends in Germany and the United States and the political discourse? What surprises them? In which direction(s) is the United States developing? What impact does this have on Germany – and the future of the transatlantic partnership?
Following the in-person gatherings, the discussions will be released as podcasts — and available wherever you find podcasts. Susan B. Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she writes a weekly column on life in Washington. Ms. Glasser has served as the top editor of several Washington publications, including Politico, where she founded the award-winning Politico Magazine, and Foreign Policy, which won three National Magazine Awards, among other honors, during her tenure as editor-in-chief. Before that, she worked for a decade at the Washington Post, where she was the editor of Outlook and national news. She also oversaw coverage of the impeachment of Bill Clinton, served as a reporter covering the intersection of money and politics, spent four years as the Post’s Moscow co-bureau chief, and covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She edited Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, early in her career.
Her books include “Kremlin Rising,” “The Man Who Ran Washington,” and, most recently, “The Divider,” a best-selling history of Donald Trump in the White House, which she co-wrote with her husband, Peter Baker.
Julian Heißler, born in 1983, has worked as the U.S. correspondent for WirtschaftsWoche in Washington DC since 2018. Prior to that, he spent several years in Berlin writing about German federal politics for various media outlets. He studied Communication Studies, Political Science, and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin and completed the master’s program in Journalism at the Hamburg Media School. He also reported from countries such as China, Israel, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Finland. His book “Dream and Nightmare: America and the Many Faces of Freedom” was published in German in October 2023.
Dr. Steven E. Sokol (moderator) has been the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany since 2015. He served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh from 2010 until 2015. Prior to that, he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany for nearly eight years. Dr. Sokol has served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and was a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Making the Case for Supporting Ukraine at Home and Abroad
2024-04-04 08:00 - 09:30
The ACG will host a breakfast briefing with Omid Nouripour, Co-Chair of Alliance 90/The Green Party and Member of the Bundestag.
For more information, please email events@acgusa.org
Omid Nouripour joined the Green Party in 1996 and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2006, representing the Frankfurt/Main II district. He serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Finance Committee, and the Defense Committee. In addition to these committees, he acted as the chairman of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2018-2021. Since February 2022, Mr. Nouripour has been Co-chair of Alliance 90/The Greens. Prior to that he served as the foreign policy spokesperson for the party from 2013 to 2021. Before being elected to the Bundestag, Mr. Nouripour was a member of the national executive committee of Alliance 90/The Greens from 2002 to 2006.
Mr. Nouripour came to Frankfurt/Main from Tehran, Iran with his family at the age of thirteen. From 1996 to 2004, he attended the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, where he studied an array of fields, including German, political science, law, sociology, philosophy, and economics. He is a board member of Atlantik-Brücke e.V., a member of the Advisory Council of the Berghof Foundation, and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
