American Council On Germany

Strengthening Democracies in the Digital Age
2021-06-24 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York)
Technological cooperation is one of the key topics of the transatlantic agenda. The capacity of nations to innovate and regulate will impact their future relevancy. Beyond setting incentives to enhance innovation, regulation and setting standards are at the forefront of the geopolitical dimension of tech policy.
On June 24 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm Pacific Time, Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Emily Haber will join in a discussion with Joel Kaplan, Vice President of Global Public Policy at Facebook; Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center; and Chris Riley, Senior Fellow for Internet Governance at the R Street Institute, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation for the US and the EU with respect to strategies to strengthen democratic public spheres, restore digital trust and promote liberal liberal-democratic values through a global digital order. Nate Persily, co-director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, will introduce and moderate the event.
This event is part of the series “Meeting America,” virtual talks with the German Ambassador and American stakeholders across the United States.
This event is co-sponsored by the German Consulate General San Francisco and the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. Dr. Emily Margarethe Haber has been German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018.
Dr. Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union. She held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow, including Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions.
Joel Kaplan is Vice President, Global Public Policy at Facebook. In this role, he manages the company’s global public policy strategy, working with governments and non-governmental organizations to foster understanding and support for Facebook’s innovative technology. He originally joined Facebook in 2011 as Vice President of US Public Policy, overseeing the company’s relationships with policymakers at the federal and state levels.
Prior to joining Facebook, Mr. Kaplan was the Executive Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs for Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH). In that position, Kaplan oversaw enterprise-wide public affairs and led EFH’s efforts to publicly demonstrate and communicate its role in the energy industry.
Mr. Kaplan joined EFH from the White House, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under President George W. Bush from 2006-2009. He was responsible for the development and implementation of the Administration’s policy agenda. He framed strategic decisions on a full range of policy matters and integrated the execution of legislative, communications, and external outreach and policy strategies on behalf of the President and Chief of Staff.
From 2003-2006, he served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. From 2001-2003 he was Special Assistant to the President for Policy within the White House Chief of Staff’s office. He began his professional career as a law clerk for Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig and then for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Prof. Nathaniel Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, with appointments in the departments of Political Science, Communication, and FSI. Prior to joining Stanford, Professor Persily taught at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and as a visiting professor at Harvard, NYU, Princeton, the University of Amsterdam, and the University of Melbourne. Professor Persily’s scholarship and legal practice focus on American election law or what is sometimes called the “law of democracy,” which addresses issues such as voting rights, political parties, campaign finance, redistricting, and election administration. He has served as a special master or court-appointed expert to craft congressional or legislative districting plans for Georgia, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. He also served as the Senior Research Director for the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. His current work, for which he has been honored as a Guggenheim Fellow, Andrew Carnegie Fellow, and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, examines the impact of changing technology on political communication, campaigns, and election administration. He is co-director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, Stanford Program on Democracy and the Internet, and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, which supported local election officials in taking the necessary steps during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide safe voting options for the 2020 election. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a commissioner on the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age.
Marietje Schaake is the International Policy Director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and an International Policy Fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She was named President of the Cyber Peace Institute.
Between 2009 and 2019, she served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch liberal democratic party where she focused on trade, foreign affairs, and technology policies. Ms. Schaake is affiliated with a number of non-profits including the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Observer Research Foundation in India and writes a monthly column for the Financial Times and a bi-monthly column for the Dutch NRC newspaper.
Dr. Chris Riley is R Street’s senior fellow of Internet Governance. He will be leading the Knight Foundationfunded project on content moderation, running convenings of a broad range of stakeholders to develop a framework for platforms managing user-generated content. Chris will also be doing policy analysis around content regulatory issues related to that project, including work on Section 230 in the United States and the Digital Services Act in the European Union.
Prior to joining R Street, Dr. Riley led global public policy work for the Mozilla Corporation, managing their work on the ground in Washington, D.C., Brussels, Delhi, and Nairobi from Mozilla’s San Francisco office, and worked with government policymakers, stakeholders in industry and civil society, and internal teams at Mozilla to advance their mission. Prior to that, he worked in the U.S. Department of State to help manage the Internet Freedom grants portfolio designated by Congress to support technology development, digital safety training, research, and related work as a part of advancing the expression of human rights online in internet-repressive countries.
He received his bachelor’s in computer science from Wheeling Jesuit University, his PhD in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and his JD from Yale Law School.

Assessing the Rural-Urban Divide and Infrastructure
2021-06-23 11:00 - 12:00
While many metropolitan cities surge forward, rural areas and many low-income urban areas continue to be hurt by demographic decline, loss of manufacturing jobs, rising poverty and lack of investment, and poor infrastructure – both in terms of traditional infrastructure related to buildings, water systems and transportation as well as broadband internet connectivity. Failing to address these issues will deepen the chasm between rural and urban areas, with negative implications for national cohesion. Urgent infrastructure needs are deepening the rural-urban divide and also the gap in urban centers themselves. These communities need school renovations, investments in health care, upgrades to water and sewage treatment systems, improved transportation, and greater access to broadband. Such investments can help to reduce out-migration of younger people and the loss of business opportunities, to increase job growth and economic productivity, and to enable these regions to better face the forces of globalization, digitization, and automation.
To discuss these issues and to explore collaboration at the state-level, the Aspen Institute Germany and the American Council on Germany invite you to the next discussion in our virtual event series State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue with German and American state legislators including Ellen Demuth (CDU), Member of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate, Philipp da Cunha (SPD), Member of State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz (D), New Jersey State Senate (invited), and Senator Jerry Sonnenberg (R), Colorado Senate. Philipp da Cunha has been a member of the State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since 2016, representing the legislative districts of Bützow-Land, Güstrow-Land, and the town of Güstrow. He serves as the spokesperson for energy and consumer protection policy as well as for digitization and network policy for the SPD parliamentary group. He also currently serves as the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee and is a member of the Energy Committee. Born in Hamburg in 1987, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Rostock, specializing in microelectronics and data technology. He graduated with a Master of Engineering (Diplom-Ingenieur) in 2014.
Ellen Demuth was first elected to the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2011 and is serving her third term representing the legislative district of Linz am Rhein-Rengsdorf. After her re-election in 2021, she was elected deputy leader of the CDU parliamentary group and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Committee for Digital Affairs, Digital Infrastructure, and Media. In her previous term, she served as Chair of the Enquete Commission for Tourism Development and was a member of the Committee for Media, Digital Infrastructure and Network Policy and the Committee for Society, Integration, and Consumer Protection. When she was first elected in the 2011 state election, she was one of the youngest members of parliament and the youngest member of her parliamentary group. She is also an elected member of the city council of her hometown Linz and the district council of her region Neuwied.
M. Teresa Ruiz was elected to the New Jersey State Senate in 2007 to represent the 29th Legislative District, which includes Belleville Township and parts of the City of Newark in Essex County. A first-generation Puerto Rican American, she is the first Latina to serve in the State Senate. Senator Ruiz serves as Senate President Pro Tempore. She is Chair of the Senate Education Committee and is a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Senate Higher Education Committee. She recently sponsored a bill to address the digital divide which would create the “Broadband Assistance Office” in the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. A lifelong resident of Newark’s North Ward, Senator Ruiz is an advocate for the people and issues in which she believes to promote the ideas of justice, inclusion, and equality.
Jerry Sonnenberg is a Colorado native who has been farming and ranching in northeastern Colorado his entire life. He continues to live and work on the same family farm that both his father and he were raised. He grew up in Sterling, Colorado, graduated from Sterling High School, and attended Northeastern Junior College. Senator Sonnenberg was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2006 and immediately became a strong voice for agriculture and rural Colorado. After serving 8 years he was elected to serve from District 1 in the Colorado Senate where he represents the counties of Cheyenne, Elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Kit Carson, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma, Washington, and Weld.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-06-21 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, June 21 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, Special Correspondent for NPR. Special correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is based in Berlin. Her reports can be heard on NPR’s award-winning programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and read at NPR.org. From 2012 until 2018. Ms. Nelson was NPR’s bureau chief in Berlin. She won the ICFJ 2017 Excellence in International Reporting Award for her work in Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan.
Ms. Nelson was also based in Cairo for NPR and covered the Arab World from the Middle East to North Africa during the Arab Spring. In 2006, she opened NPR’s first bureau in Kabul, from where she provided listeners with an in-depth sense of life inside Afghanistan, from the increase in suicide among women in a country that treats them as second-class citizens to the growing interference of Iran and Pakistan in Afghan affairs. For her coverage of Afghanistan, she won a Peabody Award, Overseas Press Club Award, and the Gracie in 2010. She received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award from Colby College in 2011 for her coverage in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
She spent 20 years as a newspaper reporter, including as Knight Ridder’s Middle East Bureau Chief. While at the Los Angeles Times, she was sent on extended assignment to Iran and Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She spent three years as an editor and reporter for Newsday and was part of the team that won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for covering the crash of TWA Flight 800.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Nelson speaks Farsi, Dari, and German.

The Global Semiconductor Shortage: A Challenge and an Opportunity
2021-06-16 11:00 - 12:00
We are experiencing a global shortage in the supply of semiconductors – the microchips at the heart of countless products in today’s economy. From personal computers and cars to washing machines and even toasters, microchips are in great demand. As companies prepare to take on their suppliers in Asia, governments in the United States and Europe explore ways to incentivize semiconductor production at home. Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion with Dr. Reinhard Ploss, the CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, about the challenges – and opportunities – of the current shortage for companies, manufacturers, and governments. Dr. Reinhard Ploss has been a member of the Management Board of Infineon Technologies AG since 2007. He has been CEO since October 2012 (mandated until December 31, 2022).
He began his career at Infineon (Siemens AG until 1999) in 1986 as a process engineer for chip manufacturing in Munich. A decade later, he was the Head of the Power Semiconductor Business Unit, focusing on development and manufacturing. In 2000, he became the President of the Automotive, Industrial & Multimarket Business Group and in 2005 the Head of Development and Manufacturing as well as Operational Management in the Automotive, Industrial & Multimarket Segment
Dr. Ploss was born in 1955 in Bamberg. He studied process engineering at the Technical University of Munich and received his doctorate in 1990.

Resilience and Adaptation: The Use of Space and the Future of Architectural Design
2021-06-15 11:00 - 12:00
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly everything we considered to be normal—and that includes how architects and planners think about interior and outdoor spaces. We have changed how we live, work, and travel, how we navigate space, and what we expect regarding safety and sanitation. In the field of design and architecture, the pandemic has upended workflows and standards. Although there is still some uncertainty about the future, as we emerge from the pandemic the time is ripe for rethinking how we will use space moving forward. What will smart, safe, and beautiful design look like in a post-vaccine, post-pandemic world? How can architects meet changing expectations and demands in an altered environment – from corporate, residential, industrial, K–12 education, health care, and cultural spaces?
Join the 1014 and the American Council on Germany for a discussion with architects Jürgen Mayer and Gideon Shapiro. Jürgen Mayer H. is an architect and owner of J.MAYER. und Partner. After studying architecture at the University of Stuttgart, The Cooper Union New York, and Princeton University, Jürgen Mayer H. founded his Berlin office in 1996. He has realized a wide range of different projects worldwide since its foundation. Recent notable projects include the parking garage in Miami Design-District, the FOM university building in Dusseldorf, Germany, a court building in Hasselt, Belgium, and various public and infrastructural buildings in Georgia, such as the airport in Mestia and the border crossing in Sarpi. The most prominent project is the internationally renowned Metropol Parasol, the re-design of the Plaza de la Encarnacion in Seville, Spain with its expansive sculptural wooden construction. Small-scale residential buildings have also gained international recognition, such as the Villa n.n.in Moscow, Dupli.Casa and Casa Morgana. A large number of projects are currently being realized, such as RKM 740 Tower: a high-rise residential building in Dusseldorf with medical practices and surgeries on the lower levels, the revitalization and expansion of an IT campus in Berlin Potsdam and Voltair, a hybrid building in downtown Berlin.
Gideon Fink Shapiro, Ph.D., is a New York-based critic and curator of architecture, landscape and urbanism. Bridging the worlds of history and contemporary design, his writing has been published in journals such as Architect, Domus, Next City, Places, The Architects Newspaper, The Avery Review, Yale Constructs, and Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. He collaborated with Robert A.M. Stern to write The New Residential Colleges at Yale: A Conversation Across Time (Monacelli, 2018) and he co-authored, with Aaron Betsky, 50 Lessons to Learn from Frank Lloyd Wright (Rizzoli, 2021). He also edited Re-Living the City (Actar, 2016) and the Domus Architecture Guide New York mobile app. He is currently working with 1014 to develop an exhibition on the past and future of 1014 Fifth Avenue as a hub for transatlantic cultural exchange.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Brussels?
2021-06-14 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. However, with President Biden in Europe this week, the ACG will shift focus from Germany to the European Union as a whole and the state of transatlantic relations.
Join us on Monday, June 14 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with Handelsblatt’s Brussels Bureau Chief, Moritz Koch, who will reflect on the NATO and G7 meetings in Europe. Moritz Koch studied politics and economics at the University of Hamburg and Johns Hopkins University. During his studies, he freelanced for Stern magazine and worked for the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. After a traineeship at Süddeutsche Zeitung, he reported first from New York on the financial crisis and then from Washington on President Barack Obama’s second term and Donald Trump’s election victory. In 2017, he moved to Berlin. Since March 2021, he has headed the Handelsblatt bureau in Brussels.

Under Duress: Multilateralism, Partnerships, and Strategic Alliances
2021-06-09 13:00 - 14:30
If anything, the Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the common global challenges facing Europe and the United States that know no national or geographic boundaries. Global health concerns, climate change, arms control, an increasingly aggressive Russia, and domestic and international concerns regarding China are among the common challenges that require a joint approach. There is more urgency than ever to prevent a fracturing of the multilateral system.
Join the American Council on Germany and the New York office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for a discussion between Ambassador John B. Emerson, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Chair of the ACG, and Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, German Ambassador to the United Nations, about the pressures on the multilateral system. Ambassador John B. Emerson was named Chairman of the American Council on Germany on January 17, 2018. He is Vice Chairman at Capital Group International. Previously, he served as United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from August 2013 until January 20, 2017. He served at a particularly challenging time, and in 2015 Ambassador Emerson was awarded the State Department’s prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, which is given annually to one non-career Ambassador. He also served on President Obama’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Ambassador Christoph Heusgen has been the Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations since July 2017 and has been Germany’s representative on the Security Council 2019-2020. Before coming to New York, Ambassador Heusgen served for 12 years as Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. His career in the Foreign Service also included terms as Deputy Head in charge of European Affairs in the private office of Foreign Minister Kinkel (1993-1997) and Director of the Policy Unit of the High Representative Javier Solana in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union in Brussels (1999-2005).

Reading the Tea Leaves: What Will Saxony-Anhalt’s Election Mean for Germany’s Federal Election?
2021-06-07 11:00 - 12:00
Germany is in the midst of a Superwahljahr – with elections in six German states and a federal election which will mark the end of Angela Merkel’s time as Chancellor. In March, voters took to the polls in Baden-Würtemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. This Sunday, the last election in the run up to September 26 will take place in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Although it is a relatively small state, the looming question is whether the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany will beat out the CDU as the strongest party in the state? How will other parties fare?
Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion with political scientist Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker about Sunday’s election results – and what they might mean for German election campaigning in the coming months. Originally from Halle an der Saale, since the summer of 2020, Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker has been a Visiting Professor at the Chair for Comparative Politics and German Government. He is currently on leave from the University of Mannheim’s Center for European Social Science Research. His research focuses on the design of democracies, federal systems, minority governance, and populist parties in parliaments.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-06-07 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, June 7 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with Sumi Somoskanda, Senior News Anchor at DW News (Deutsche Welle). Sumi Somoskanda is currently a senior news anchor at DW News (Deutsche Welle), Germany’s international broadcaster. Sumi reports on Germany for various international publications, including The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Global Post, Newsweek, PRI, and USA Today. She served as an editor at the Berlin Policy Journal, Germany’s premiere English-language foreign affairs magazine.
She regularly moderates panels and conferences both in Germany and the US and lectures American university students at the CIEE Global Institute in Berlin. Sumi is an alumna of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship program and part of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network. In addition to her native English, she speaks fluent German and Spanish, and conversational Tamil.

Revisiting "The City of Man": The Future of Multilateral Politics
2021-06-03 14:00 - 15:00
From the threat of pandemics to climate change, the rule of law, terrorism, and human rights, the world faces existential problems that nation-states cannot solve alone. But the necessary cooperation in a globalized world presupposes that certain principles and values are shared by all people. Multilateralism is as much a prerequisite as an instrument for all states to cooperate with each other and promote common goals, but also to balance and regulate competing interests.
As described in a recent study published by the Brookings Institution, the current malaise of the multilateral order goes deeper than the nationalistic aspirations of individual politicians. A logic of “you’re with us or you’re against us“ threatens to prevail in the international arena. It is time to ask: What is the future of multilateralism? And, what concrete measures can revive it today?
In today’s environment, what lessons can be learned from “The City of Man: A Declaration on World Democracy,” an initiative which Thomas Mann launched in 1940 together with Reinhold Niebuhr, Antonio Giuseppe Borgese, and others to outline their vision of a stable global system in which humanity would be the guiding principle for securing peace and social welfare.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Thomas Mann House for a virtual discussion with Ambassador Nina Hachigian, the first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs of Los Angeles, and 2021 Thomas Mann Fellows Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Marx of the Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg and Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn of the Freie Universität Berlin; and moderated by attorney and civic leader Kimberly Marteau Emerson. Kimberly Marteau Emerson (Moderator) is an attorney and civic leader. She hosts several events each week to maintain the friendship and mutual support between Germany and the United States. Formerly, she worked in the Clinton Administration as the Director of Public Liaison for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). Currently, she serves on the International Board of Human Rights Watch and continues to be active with HRW in Berlin. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, ACG Chairman John B. Emerson, former U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, and their three children.
Ambassador Nina Hachigian was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the first Deputy Mayor of International Affairs in 2017. Her office seeks to expand Los Angeles’ global ties to help bring jobs, culture, and visitors to the city and to share L.A.’s values and experience. Prior to this, Ambassador Hachigian served as the United States Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”). She was a Senior Fellow and a Senior Vice President at the Center for American Progress focused on Asia policy and U.S.-China relations and the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy for four years. Ambassador Hachigian served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Clinton White House from 1998-1999. She received her B.S. from Yale University and her J.D. from Stanford Law School
Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Marx studied Linguistics, Literature, and Catholic Theology in Tübingen, Bonn, and at the University of Virginia from 1984 to 1989. In 1994, he received his doctorate in Bonn with a thesis on Goethe and Wieland; in 2000 he habilitated at the University of Wuppertal with a thesis on Christ Figurations in the Work of Thomas Mann. Since 2004, Friedhelm Marx has held the Chair of Modern German Literature at the Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg.
As a Thomas Mann Fellow, he is examining how the European visions of exiled writers of the interwar period have changed in the face of U.S. political reality. In doing so, he wants to explore which European debates took place in California’s exile community.
Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn is a political scientist. His research particularly focuses on the emergence and functioning of international and supranational institutions and their effects on the global political order. Prof. Zürn is Director of the Department of Global Governance at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and Professor of International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin. He has been a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and of the Academia Europaea since 2014.
Together with Christoph Möllers and Rainer Forst, during his Thomas Mann Fellowship Michael Zürn aims to describe the profound conflicts that characterize current societies and international institutions — including populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism — in an effort to reassess the legitimacy of normative orders in the state or supranational space.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-06-02 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Wednesday, June 2 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with political journalist Corinna Emundts. Corinna Emundts (2004 ACG Kellen Fellow) is a political journalist in Berlin. From 2008 to 2013, she was head of the Berlin editorial department of tagesschau.de. Since February 2013, she is the coordinator of and correspondent for tagesschau.de in ARD’s Berlin studio. As a freelance political correspondent, she wrote and reported from Berlin between 2004 and 2008 for the Hamburg weekly newspaper Die Zeit and “tagesschau.de” as well as Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandradio. Before that, the political scientist and winner of the Theodor Wolff Prize in 1995 worked as an editor and reporter for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, and Die Woche.

European Digital Sovereignty and Transatlantic Relations with the Biden Administration
2021-06-01 12:30 - 14:00
When the new European Commission under the leadership of President Ursula von der Leyen took office, the strengthening of digital capabilities throughout the European Union quickly emerged as a top priority. Even before her confirmation, Dr. von der Leyen called for Europe to achieve “technological sovereignty in some critical technology areas.” The German Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier also spoke about sovereignty in the context of the storage of European data abroad. An opinion shared by French Minister of Economic and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, who declared in 2020 that “European digital sovereignty will need some big projects to be lead, including the future European cloud.”
With a new administration in Washington, officials from Europe and the U.S. are stepping up talks regarding a new pact for transatlantic data transfers. The agreement – whenever it is reached – will replace the so-called Privacy Shield, the mechanism for legally transferring personal data between the U.S. and EU, which was struck down by the European Court of Justice in July 2020.
In the wake of the massive cyberattack that targeted software firm SolarWinds – which affected at least 100 U.S. companies, nine federal agencies, and six EU institutions – the European Union and the United States recognize the need to work together to develop common cybersecurity standards. They are likely to include cybersecurity in transatlantic talks about technology and data.
Join the American Council on Germany and the French and German Consulate Generals in New York for a discussion with Dr. Regine Maria Grienberger, Cyber Ambassador in the German Federal Foreign Office, and Henri Verdier, Ambassador for Digital Affairs in the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
This event is supported by the French-American Foundation, the French-American Chamber of Commerce, and the German-American Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Regine Grienberger is the Director for Cyber Foreign and Security Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office. Her previous professional experience was chiefly in the field of EU foreign policy as well as EU financial and economic policy, with a focus on general agricultural policy.
She served as Deputy Head of the Minister’s Office (under Sigmar Gabriel and Heiko Maas), Deputy Head of Division E04 (European economic and financial policy), and desk officer for general agricultural policy, with responsibility for crisis management in pandemics, among other areas. Her tasks also included EU public relations and the EU’s external relations with countries of the Western Balkans. She was Head of the Political Section at the German Embassy in Rome and culture, press, and protocol attaché at the German Embassy in Ljubljana.
Dr. Grienberger studied Agriculture in Bonn, Munich, Vienna, and at Michigan State University. She obtained her doctorate in Bonn.
Henri Verdier is Ambassador for Digital Affairs for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Previously, he was the interministerial director for digital information and communications systems (DG Dinsic) of France; and director of Etalab, the French agency for public open data. Mr Verdier is also an entrepreneur: he was the co-founder and CEO of MFG Labs, an internet-based startup involved in social data mining, and chairman of the board of Cap Digital, the French-European Cluster for Digital Content and Services, located in Paris. He is a member of the ARCEP strategic committee, a member of the CNIL strategic committee, and also served as a member of the board of Paris-Sorbonne University.
In addition, Mr. Verdier was the founding director of Edition Odile Jacob Multimedia, a publishing company in the field of e-learning and executive adviser for innovation at Lagardère Group as well as director of foresight at Institut Telecom. In 2012, he co-authored, with Nicolas Colin L’Age de la Multitude, Entreprendre et Gouverner Après la Révolution Numérique (The Age of Multitude, Entrepreneurship and Governance After the Digital Revolution). Mr Verdier is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

Political Persecution and State-Sanctioned Air Piracy in Belarus: How Should the West Respond?
2021-05-27 11:00 - 12:00
On May 23rd Alexander Lukashenko, who has served as the President of Belarus since 1994, ordered the forced landing of a European civilian airliner traveling from Athens to Vilnius in the Belarussian capital, Minsk, due to an alleged security threat in his country’s airspace. The real objective, however, was to detain a Belarusian political journalist, Raman Pratasevich, and his partner, Sofia Sapega.
European leaders and U.S. President Joe Biden have condemned the forceful diversion of the plane, the threat to more than 170 passengers and crew on board, and the detention of Lukashenko’s political opponent. In response, the European Union has called for the blockade of the Belarusian airspace and a boycott of the Belarusian airlines Belavia. It is preparing a fourth round of sanctions against Belarus.
Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion about how the West should respond to this unprecedented event and Lukashenko’s brazen disregard for the rule of law with Dr. Joerg Forbrig, Senior Fellow and Director for Central and Eastern Europe at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, and Katsiaryna Shmatsina, Fellow at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies. Dr. Joerg Forbrig is a Senior Fellow and the Director for Central and Eastern Europe in the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office. His work focuses on Europe’s East broadly, including the Eastern-most member countries of the European Union and NATO, the EU’s Eastern neighborhood, and Russia. In addition, he leads GMF efforts to assist civil society in Belarus, and he works closely with the Balkan Trust for Democracy and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation to bolster democracy assistance to Central and Eastern Europe at large. Prior to joining GMF in 2002, Dr. Forbrig worked as a Robert Bosch Foundation fellow at the Center for International Relations in Warsaw, Poland.
He has been published widely on democracy, civil society, and Central and Eastern European affairs, including the books Reclaiming Democracy (2007), Prospects for Democracy in Belarus (2006), and Revisiting Youth Political Participation (2005). He is also a regular contributor to major international media. Dr. Forbrig studied political science, sociology, and Eastern European affairs at universities in Germany, Poland, and Hungary. He holds a PhD in social and political sciences from the European University Institute in Florence and a master’s in political science from Central European University in Budapest. He speaks English, Russian, Polish, and Slovak in addition to his native German.
Katsiaryna Shmatsina is a Fellow at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, where she focuses on foreign and security policy, international risk, Russia, Eurasia, and NATO. Previously, she worked for the American Bar Association where she was involved with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), especially in projects on good governance and rule of law in UNDP in-country offices. She also served as a pro bono local expert on Belarus for the World Bank’s Doing Business and Women, Business, and the Law reports.
In the summer of 2019, she was a research fellow at the Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw. In 2018, she was awarded a fellowship at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security, Washington DC. In 2016, she received a Civil Society Leadership Award from the Open Society Foundations. Ms. Shmatsina holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Syracuse University, New York (2016) and a degree in law from Belarusian State University (2013). Apart from mother-tongue Belarusian, she commands Russian, English, German, and French.

“Germany’s Role in Europe”
2021-05-26 11:00 - 12:00
The Atlanta Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany and the World Affairs Council of Atlanta invite you to a virtual discussion with Ambassador Emily Haber as part of the Embassy’s “Meeting America” series.
In early 2021, the U.S. inaugurated a new President, the United Kingdom left the European Union, and the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has been lethargic in Europe. Looking to the months ahead, Germany will hold a historic election when Chancellor Angela Merkel will step down after nearly 16 years and a new Chancellor will be selected.
Join us for a discussion with German Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Emily Haber, moderated by Rickey Bevington, Senior Anchor for Georgia Public Radio. This discussion will touch on the transatlantic relationship as well as Ambassador Haber’s take on issues such as the Iran nuclear deal, Russia, and China. Dr. Emily Margarethe Haber has been German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018.
Ambassador Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union. She held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow, including the Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions. She holds a Ph.D. in history and is married to former diplomat Hansjörg Haber. The couple has two sons.
Rickey Bevington is a senior anchor and correspondent for Georgia Public Radio and is the award-winning Atlanta-based host of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.” She has interviewed icons as diverse as filmmaker Ken Burns, singer Dolly Parton, journalist Tom Brokaw, rappers T.I. and Big Boi, and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young. Ms. Bevington has hosted live audience fireside chats with figures including former US President Jimmy Carter, former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark, and World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis. She regularly moderates live, televised candidate debates for Congressional, Legislative, and Mayoral elections.
Ms. Bevington’s journalism has garnered honors including the Edward R. Murrow Awards, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Southeast (EMMYS), the Society of Professional Journalists and Public Radio News Directors, Inc. Her 2017 TEDx talk is “The Future of News is in our Hands.”
She holds a degree in Comparative Literature from Barnard College of Columbia University, and she studied literature at the University of Strasbourg in France. Ms. Bevington serves on the board of the Atlanta Press Club and is a Trustee of the Georgia Council for International Visitors.

The Future of Jobs: Workforce Trends and Preparedness
2021-05-20 11:00 - 12:00
The American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany invite you to the next discussion in our virtual event series State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue bringing together state legislators to discuss how subnational actors have to step up to address common transatlantic challenges.
Our third event will focus on how states in both countries are addressing the challenges posed by long-lasting structural changes in our economies and the workplace. What are the specific issues states are facing related to long-term structural changes in our economies? How can states strengthen the ability of enterprises and workers to adapt to changing labor demands and to benefit from investments in new technologies, clean energy, and the environment? How can we equip the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and tomorrow? What specific policies should governments consider in light of increased AI automation and growing demand for technical skills? How can incentives for reskilling be democratized to create broader access to training opportunities?
Join us for a discussion with Juan Fernandez-Barquin (R), Florida House of Representatives, Christina Kampmann MdL (SPD), State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Senator Sandra Williams (D), Ohio State Senate (invited). Juan A. Fernandez-Barquin is serving his second term in the Florida House of Representatives for District 119. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Professions and Health Subcommittee and is a member of the Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee. He is an attorney with Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A. Previously, Mr. Fernandez-Barquin was an assistant public defender for the Office of the Public Defender, 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida for Palm Beach County. He also serves in a number of nonprofit capacities, including as the Chairperson for the Board of Directors for the Hearing and Speech Center of Florida, Miami-Dade County’s largest nonprofit provider of hearing and speech-language therapy services. He previously served as an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College and is a graduate of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Leadership Miami program. Mr. Fernandez-Barquin has been selected as a 2021 ACG Young Leader.
Christina Kampmann has been a member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017, representing the Legislative District of Bielefeld. She serves as the spokesperson for digitization and innovation for the SPD parliamentary group and sits on the Europe and International Affairs Committee and the Parliamentary Investigation Committee III (Kleve). Prior to joining the Legislature, she served as Minister for Family, Children, Youth, Culture, and Sports of the state North Rhine-Westphalia from 2015 to 2017. From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the German Bundestag where she sat on the Interior Committee and Digital Agenda Committee. Ms. Kampmann holds a degree in administration, a bachelor’s degree in political science, and a master’s degree in European studies. Before becoming a member of parliament, she worked for the city of Bielefeld in the job center and most recently in the registry office. Ms. Kampmann is also a member of the board of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and of the Political Advisory Board of the SPD Economic Forum.
Sandra Williams was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2015 and is serving her second term representing the 21st Senate District comprising a part of Cuyahoga County and Cleveland. She currently serves as Ranking Member on the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee, Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee, and Senate Ways and Means Committee and also is a member of the Small Business & Economic Opportunity Committee. Ms. Williams has made strong efforts to improve access to economic development opportunities; such as improving contracting for women and minority contractors, as well as working to expand job training opportunities for Ohioans entering the workforce or transitioning into new fields. She was the joint sponsor of legislation that renewed the Ohio Third Frontier program, which is dedicated to assisting the growth of diverse startup and early-stage technology companies. Ms. Williams has spent more than three decades in public service – as a corrections officer, probation and parole officer, mediator for the State of Ohio, legislative aide, and State Representative – and also served as a member of the United States Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1995. She is a member of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus, NAACP, and Black Women’s Political Action Committee.

Vaccine Nationalism or Vaccine Diplomacy? The Global Quest for Vaccines
2021-05-18 11:00 - 12:00
The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every country in the world. It has disrupted the lives of billions of people. The development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines has been positive. However, while some countries have secured billions of doses others struggle to obtain supplies. We’ve seen cases of “vaccine nationalism” as some countries hoard vaccines and make them available to their citizens and also “vaccine diplomacy” by countries using vaccine distribution to help others while advancing their standing in the international community. In light of these trends, how do we develop a global strategy for dealing with the pandemic? Should vaccines be considered a public good rather than a market commodity? Are there global vaccine distribution programs – and can they be scaled up to meet global demand?
Join the 1014 and the American Council on Germany for a discussion about taking a global approach to vaccine distribution with Thomas J. Bollyky, Director of the Global Health Program and Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter, Chair of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science at the Technical University Dresden, and Head of the Governance for Global Health Research Group at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB); and Dr. Moritz Rudolf, Associate in the Asia Department of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

Thomas J. Bollyky is the Director of the Global Health Program and Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University. He is the author of Plagues and the Paradox of Progress: Why the World Is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways.
Mr. Bollyky’s work has appeared in general interest publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Atlantic as well as scholarly journals such as Foreign Affairs, Science, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He has testified multiple times before the U.S. Senate and served on three expert committees at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and as the co-chair of its workshop on globalization and international regulatory harmonization. He directed the first two CFR-sponsored Independent Task Forces devoted to global health: Improving Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons from COVID-19 (2020) and The Emerging Global Health Crisis: Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (2014). Mr. Bollyky has been a consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a temporary legal advisor to the World Health Organization.
Prior to coming to CFR, Mr. Bollyky served in a variety of positions in the U.S. government, most recently at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). He was a Fulbright scholar to South Africa, where he worked as a staff attorney at the AIDS Law Project, and an attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where he represented clients before the International Court of Justice and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Bollyky received his BA in biology and history at Columbia University and his JD at Stanford Law School, where he was the president of the Stanford Law & Policy Review. He is a member of the New York and U.S. Supreme Court bars.
Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter is the Chair of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science at the Technical University Dresden and Head of the Governance for Global Health Research Group at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB). She has been researching in the field of global health policy for many years, with a focus on the emergence, impact and change of international organizations as well as the manifold relationships between (inter)governmental and societal actors in international politics.
During the Covid-19 crisis, she has been a sought-after interview partner by Deutschlandfunk Nova, radioeins, Deutsche Welle, and the German newspaper TAZ. She also has written opinion pieces on international health policy and the WHO.
Anna Holzscheiter completed her PhD at Freie Universität Berlin in 2006. Before accepting her appointment as Full Professor at TU Dresden, she worked as an assistant professor for International Relations (2015-2019) and as a research assistant at the Research Unit for Transnational Relations, Foreign and Security Policy at Freie Universität Berlin (2006-2014). During the academic year 2014-15, she was John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University. From 2007 to 2010 she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Moritz Rudolf is an Associate in the Asia Department of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), where he focuses on China, international law, political systems, and regional cooperation and alliances. Previously, he was a Researcher at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. He holds a doctorate in International Law from the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he wrote his dissertation on the historical, political, and international legal aspects of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-05-17 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. These take place on Zoom, providing the opportunity for a more informal and interactive exchange.
The Monday, May 17 at 9:00 am ET, the speaker will be Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth, who was previously Editor-in-Chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for The Economist.

German-U.S. Relations in 2021: Challenges and Opportunities
2021-05-13 11:00 - 12:00
German foreign policy faces profound challenges in 2021: Strengthening relations with the United States, navigating a complex relationship with China, working to ensure full post-COVID economic recovery in Europe and contributing to strengthening the European Union in the first full year following the UK exit from the Union – all while the 16-year political leadership of Angela Merkel as Chancellor comes to its end in September with a national election already dominating headlines. In conversation with Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship Faculty Chair, Nicholas Burns, and Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Emily Haber, will discuss the future of the transatlantic and the German-American relationship with respect to key geopolitical and geo-economic questions facing her country in a critical election year.
This event is part of the series “Meeting America,” the first of several virtual talks with the German Ambassador and American stakeholders across the United States. Emily Margarethe Haber has been German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018.
Ambassador Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union. She held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow, including Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions.
She holds a PhD in history and is married to former diplomat Hansjörg Haber. The couple has two sons.

Global Financial Stability: What’s at Stake?
2021-05-12 10:00 - 11:00
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a severe global economic crisis. While the current situation in Europe and the United States is different, in an effort to jump-start their economies both the EU and the U.S. are in the process of adopting ambitious stimulus packages. The NextGeneration EU recovery plan is in the process of being ratified by the national parliament of each EU member state. In the U.S., the Biden-Harris administration has proposed major spending programs in. the form of the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
Join the ACG and the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung for a discussion about the state of the economy in Europe and the U.S. as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Can Europe and the U.S. afford this level of spending? Is it sustainable in the short- to mid-term? Should we be concerned about inflation? ACG Chairman Ambassador John B. Emerson and Chairman of the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung Markus Ferber will discuss these questions and more with economist Megan E. Greene. Ambassador John B. Emerson was named Chairman of the American Council on Germany on January 17, 2018. He is Vice Chairman at Capital Group International. Previously, he served as United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from August 2013 until January 20, 2017. He served at a particularly challenging time, and in 2015 Ambassador Emerson was awarded the State Department’s prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, which is given annually to one non-career Ambassador. He also served on President Obama’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Markus Ferber is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1994. He is a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), part of the European People’s Party (EPP). He has been the EPP Coordinator of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs since 2018 and also serves as Coordinator of the EU Regulation Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). In addition to his parliamentary work, since 2020 Mr. Ferber has served as Chairman of the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, the leading think-tank in Bavaria and affiliated with the CSU.
Megan E. Greene currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she is working on a book examining the gaps between theory and reality in economics today and how they prevent us from addressing the biggest economic, financial, political, and social issue of our time: inequality. She is also the first Dame DeAnne Julius Senior Fellow in International Economics at Chatham House. She has a biweekly column in the Financial Times on global macroeconomics and appears regularly on TV and radio outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, NPR, and BBC.

Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes, and Bars: Innovative Approaches to Navigating Difficult Times in the Hospitality Industry
2021-05-11 11:00 - 12:00
With lockdown measures, social distancing requirements, and other restrictions, the hospitality, and gastronomy sectors have been hit hard by the pandemic. How have hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bars navigated the myriad of regulations? How have they adapted to the changing circumstances as the pandemic goes through different phases? How are they positioning themselves for the coming months?
Join the American Council on Germany and 1014 for a discussion with Nadine and Tom Michelberger who run the Hotel Michelberger in Berlin as a continually evolving family business; Rose Previte who owns and manages “Compass Rose” and “Maydan” in Washington D.C.; as well as Charlotta Janssen who opened the restaurant “Chez Oskar” in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000 to showcase her artwork. Nadine and Tom Michaelberger are the founders of the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin and projects that evolved from it, like Michelberger Music and Michelberger’s Fountain of Youth or Michelberger Booze. Entrepreneurs at heart, with a high sense of self-responsibility to define and find new ways of creating, running, and growing companies, that are diverse in ideas, aware of the social impact, and always financially independent.
Like so many in the D.C. restaurant industry, Rose Previte, owner of Compass Rose and Maydan restaurants on D.C.’s 14th Street corridor, moved to D.C. to study and work in public policy. She found herself behind the bar in what morphed from side gig to a calling: running restaurants that pull from her other passion, travel. Ms. Previte opened Compass Rose, which highlighted a variety of international cuisines and featured its now-famous khachapuri, or Georgian cheese bread, in 2014. She followed that with Maydan, a much more ambitious live-fire restaurant a few blocks up 14th Street, in late 2017. It quickly blew up, becoming a national destination.
Charlotta Janssen was born in Maine to German parents living in America under the Marshall Plan. In 1973, her family moved to Iran, which they fled during the revolution in 1979. Back in Germany, she studied painting at the University of Arts in Berlin from 1986-1989. She dropped out and traveled the world as a street musician and performance artist. In 1991, she picked up her brushes again and started organizing art shows wherever she traveled. She moved to New York in 1995, and opened “Chez Oskar” in Brooklyn in 2000, as a venue to exhibit her art.

From Estrangement to Adversity: Recognizing the Threat Posed by Russia
2021-05-06 11:00 - 12:00
There is no country quite like Russia. Many western observers hoped – or even assumed – that after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia would fall into line. Instead, Russia has charted its own course. Despite its relatively small economy, Russia has been able to exert its global influence through a host of unconventional tactics. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has demonstrated a surprising willingness to use any tool available to maintain this influence, including cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, foreign election interference, and support for authoritarian regimes. How are Europe and the United States responding to the threat posed by Russia?
Join the ACG and the Freunde des American Council on Germany e.V. for a discussion with Russia experts Katja Gloger and Dr. Fiona Hill about Russia, Europe, and the United States. They will discuss issues such as Ukraine, cybersecurity, the domestic political outlook in Russia, and more. Journalist and author Katja Gloger studied Eastern European History and Political Science in Hamburg and Moscow and has an MBA from Purdue University, Indiana. She started her career as a news reporter for German Television ARD. As Moscow Bureau Chief for Stern magazine, she witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new Russia. She also worked as Foreign Editor for Stern magazine – with a focus on Russia, international affairs, and security policy. She also served as Stern’s Senior Political Correspondent in Washington, DC, from 2004 until the end of 2008. Since 2009, she has served on the magazine’s editorial board.
Ms. Gloger won the prestigious German Henri Nannen Award for Best Documentary Reporting in 2010. She is a Board member of the German section of Reporters Without Borders, a human rights organization defending the freedom of the press, and a member of the Atlantik-Brücke. She has published several books on Russia, including Putin’s World: The New Russia, Ukraine, and the West.
Dr. Fiona Hill is the Robert Bosch Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019. From 2006 to 2009, she served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at The National Intelligence Council. She is co-author of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (Brookings Institution Press, 2015).
Prior to joining Brookings, Dr. Hill was Director of Strategic Planning at The Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1999, she held a number of positions directing technical assistance and research projects at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, director of the Project on Ethnic Conflict in the Former Soviet Union, and coordinator of the Trilateral Study on Japanese-Russian-U.S. Relations.
Dr. Hill has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues. She holds a master’s in Soviet Studies and a doctorate in History from Harvard University where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. She also holds a master’s in Russian and Modern History from St. Andrews University in Scotland and has pursued studies at Moscow’s Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Resilience and Adaption: Digitalization – Where Do We Stand?
2021-05-04 11:00 - 12:00
More than one year into the pandemic, we follow up with thought leaders in the fields of digitalization and AI – Dr. Gesche Joost, Professor for Design Research at the Berlin University of the Arts, and Dr. Mona Sloane of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University – on where things stand when it comes to digitalization and the digital divide. Has the pandemic helped close the gap, or has it exacerbated inequalities? We’ll explore this question domestically and internationally.
Join the American Council and Germany and 1014 on Clubhouse or Zoom as we continue the conversation with Dr. Gesche Joost and Dr. Mona Sloane Gesche Joost is Professor for Design Research at the Berlin University of the Arts and since 2005 heading the Design Research Lab. With international partners, she conducts research and development projects in the areas of human-computer interaction, wearable computing, as well as user-centered design and participation. Until 2010, she was a junior professor for Interaction Design & Media at the Technical University of Berlin in cooperation with Telekom Innovation Laboratories. As a visiting professor, she taught Gender and Design at the HAWK Hildesheim and was a distinguished research fellow at UTS Sydney in 2014. In 2009, she received the young talent award for science from the mayor of Berlin.
She acts in various committees, amongst them on the board of DGTF e.V. (German Society for Design Theory and Research) and on the board of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes). She is co-founder of the nonprofit company Calliope engaging in digital education for school children in Germany. From 2014 to 2018, she was appointed as a Digital Champion for the EU commission. Since 2015, she is a member of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. Since 2018, she is a member of the Supervisory board of ING DiBa AG and Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA.
Mona Sloane is a sociologist working on inequality in the context of AI design and policy. She frequently publishes and speaks about AI, ethics, equitability, and policy in a global context. She is a Fellow with NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge (IPK), where she convenes the Co-Opting AI series and co-curates The Shift series. She also is a Senior Research Scientist at the NYU Center for Responsible AI, an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, and is part of the inaugural cohort of the Future Imagination Collaboratory (FIC) Fellows at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the technology editor of Public Books and is a fellow at The GovLab. Her most recent project is Terra Incognita: Mapping NYC’s New Digital Public Spaces in the COVID-19 Outbreak which she leads as principal investigator. She currently also serves as principal investigator of the Procurement Roundtables project, a collaboration with Dr. Rumman Chowdhury (Director of Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency & Accountability at Twitter, Founder of Parity), and John C. Havens (IEEE Standards Association) that is focused on innovating AI procurement to center equity and justice. She also works with Emmy Award-winning journalist and NYU journalism professor Hilke Schellmann on hiring algorithms, auditing, and new tools for investigative journalism and research on AI. With Dr. Matt Statler (NYU Stern), she is also leading the Public Interest Technology Convention and Career Fair project that looks to bring together students and organizations building up the public interest technology space. She is also affiliated with the Tübingen AI Center in Germany where she leads a 3-year federally funded research project on the operationalization of ethics in German AI startups. She has written for The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, OneZero Medium, and other outlets. She holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and has completed fellowships at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the University of Cape Town

German Foreign Policy Priorities in an Election Year – and Beyond
2021-05-03 12:00 - 13:00
As the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus crisis, other global challenges abound. Germany and the United States have to tackle simultaneous public health, economic, and social justice crises at home but in all corners of the globe foreign policy challenges are simmering. 2021 has already seen a host of issues – from a confrontational U.S.-China relationship to an increasingly aggressive Russia (in Ukraine and Syria not to mention interfering in western elections); from nuclear tensions with Iran and North Korea to instability in the Middle East and in Latin America; from migration and humanitarian crises to issues like counter-terrorism, cyber-security, and climate.
As Germany heads toward federal elections in September 2021, what role will foreign policy play?
Join the American Council on Germany, Deutsches Haus at NYU, and NYU’s Center for European and Mediterranean Studies for a discussion with Bundestag members Metin Hakverdi (SPD), Gyde Jensen (FDP), and Omid Nouripour (The Greens) regarding Germany’s foreign policy priorities in an election year. Metin Hakverdi joined the SPD in 2002 and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013. He serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs and on the Finance Committee. He is the Chairman of the USA/North America Working Group within the SPD Parliamentary Group and a member of the German-American Parliamentary Friendship Group in the German Bundestag.
Before being elected to the Bundestag, Mr. Hakverdi was a member of the Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg from 2008 to 2013, where he was on the Budget Committee and the Committee of Public Companies and Assets. He attended high school in Simi Valley, California, in 1985/86 and studied law at the Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel and at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. He became licensed to practice law in 2000.
Gyde Jensen (ACG Young Leader alumna) became a member of the Bundestag in 2018, making her the youngest female member of parliament in the 19th German Bundestag at that time. On 31 January 2018, she assumed the chairmanship of the Bundestag Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, making her the youngest committee chairwoman in the history of the Bundestag.
In addition to her role in parliament, Ms. Jensen has been serving as a member of the German delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 2018. As a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), she is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. She currently serves on the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, and the Sub-Committee on Human Rights.
Omid Nouripour is the Foreign Policy Spokesperson of the Green Parliamentary Group. He was elected to the Bundestag in 2006 and currently serves on the Committees on Foreign Policy and Human Rights.
Mr. Nouripour has been an active member of the German Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) since 1996. From 1999 until 2003, he was the chairman of the Green Party’s Youth Organization in Hessen. When elected, he took over the political mandate of Joschka Fischer, the former German Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Mr. Nouripour first worked on European issues and Internal Affairs and was later a member of both the Budget Committee as well as the Committee of Defense.
He studied German Philology, Political Science, and Law at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-05-03 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. These conversations are held simultaneously on Clubhouse and Zoom, providing the opportunity for a more informal and interactive exchange.
Monday, May 3 at 9:00 am ET, the speaker will be Melissa Eddy, Berlin Correspondent for the New York Times Melissa Eddy is a correspondent based in Berlin who covers German politics, social issues and culture for The New York Times. Her most recent work has delved into the challenges of integrating 1 million refugees, the spate of Islamist terror attacks and the legacy of a trove of Nazi-looted art.
She has covered Germany’s green energy transformation and Chancellor Angela Merkel since she entered office in 2005. A Minnesota native fluent in German and French, she came to Germany as a Fulbright scholar in 1996. Before joining The International Herald Tribune, now the international edition of The New York Times, in 2015, she was a correspondent for The Associated Press in Frankfurt, Vienna and the Balkans.

A Cloud of Uncertainty: Europe’s Covid Recovery Package and the German Constitutional Court
2021-04-30 11:00 - 12:00
In what was described by some observers as Europe’s “Hamiltonian moment,” last July the European Union’s 27 member states agreed to raise 750 billion euros through the European Commission to address the economic crisis which was sparked by the coronavirus. The debt-financed stimulus package has to be ratified by each national parliament – and 478 out of 645 German lawmakers supported the bill. But, in late March the EU’s Recover Fund hit a roadblock after the German constitutional court raised questions about how new debt is being taken on. The court determined that the Federal President may not sign off on legislation ratifying the European recovery package. It could take up to three months for the court to decide on this matter.
Join the American Council on Germany for an online discussion about the implications of this decision by Germany’s constitutional court and what’s at stake. We’ll be joined by economic policy experts Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther, the Director and Member of the Executive Committee of the German Economic Institute, and Prof. Dr. Monika Schnitzer, Professor of Economics and Chair of Comparative Economics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther has served as Director and Member of the Executive Committee of the German Economic Institute since 2004. He has previously worked in a number of important positions in research, academia, and banking, including at Stanford University, the German Council of Economic Advisers, and DekaBank. Since 2001 he has held the Honorary Professorship for Economics at the European Business School. He is also a member of the EU Commission‘s Refit Platform, which advises the Commission on the efficient, effective, and practical implementation of EU legislation. He has a Ph.D. in Economics and History from the Justus Liebig University in Giessen. He was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the President of the Republic.
Prof. Dr. Monika Schnitzer is Professor in Economics and holds the Chair for Comparative Economics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. Her main research interests are innovation, competition policy, and multinational firms.
She is member of the German Council of Economic Experts (Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung – „Wirtschaftsweise“). She was a member and deputy chairwoman of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation from 2011 to 2019. In 2015 and 2016 she served as president of the Verein für Socialpolitik (German Economic Association). Since 2020, she is a member of the Economic Advisory Group on Competition Policy of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission. Since 2001, she has also been a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
In 2005, she received the Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Order of Merit) and in 2012, she received the Bavarian Order of Merit. From 2006 and 2009, she was the Dean of the Economics Faculty. Since 2007, she is the chairwoman of the University Research Board at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.
Prof. Dr. Schnitzer studied Economics in Cologne and Bonn as well as at the London School of Economics. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Bonn in 1991. She was a visiting professor at MIT, Stanford University, Yale, the University of California at Berkeley, and Harvard University.

A Call to Action: Setting a New Course for Transatlantic Economic Relations
2021-04-28 10:00 - 11:00
With the election of Joe Biden, there is a window of opportunity to renew constructive dialogue on improving European-U.S. trade that can strengthen relations and set a path to closer cooperation in the future. Even before assuming his new role as Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said that one of the first steps to be taken by the Biden administration would be to “end the artificial trade war” between Europe and the United States. In early March, we started seeing signs of this intent in action. But, more needs to be done – and Germany can play a critical role in further strengthening the transatlantic economy.
Last month AmCham Germany published a position paper on what a new agenda for the transatlantic trade and investment partnership can look like. And, earlier this month it also released its annual Transatlantic Business Barometer. Join the ACG for a conversation with Daniel Andrich, the General Manager of AmCham Germany, regarding these two publications and an assessment of how Europe and the U.S. can work together to craft a new agenda for the transatlantic trade and investment. Daniel Andrich is the General Manager of AmCham Germany. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Representative of German Industry and Trade (RGIT) in Washington, DC. In that position, he has promoted transatlantic economic relations and represented the interests of German businesses in Washington, DC. From 2008 to 2016, Mr. Andrich worked for the Federation of German Industries (BDI) as Senior Policy Advisor for Global Governance and Trade Promotion in Berlin. Additionally, from 2013 onwards, he worked as Personal Advisor to the former BDI President, Ulrich Grillo. In 2012, Mr. Andrich had already worked as Senior Policy Advisor and Visiting Fellow at the Representative of German Industry and Trade (RGIT) in Washington, DC. He obtained his M.A. in Political Science at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Reaffirming and Reimagining the Transatlantic Alliance: Facing Shared Challenges Together
2021-04-27 13:00 - 14:00
Earlier this year, President Biden declared at the Munich Security Conference that “America is back!” Since coming into office, the Biden administration has returned to the Paris Climate Agreement, entered talks regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and demonstrated its interest in renewing the United States’ relationships with allies.
This is a historic/pivotal time for strengthening the transatlantic alliance and addressing NATO’s common problems, but we also face challenges and potential pitfalls. Join the American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke for a presentation by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State Philip T. Reeker, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Anna Sauerbrey, who heads the opinion pages of Der Tagesspiegel and Tagesspiegel Causa. Ambassador Philip T. Reeker has led the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs since March 2019. Prior to taking up duties in Washington, from 2017, he was Civilian Deputy and Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. European Command, in Stuttgart, Germany. He served as the United States Consul General in Milan, covering northern Italy, (2014-2017), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs focused on the Balkans, Central Europe, and Holocaust Issues (2011-2013).
He was U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia from 2008 to 2011, and Deputy State Department Spokesman/Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, under Secretaries of State Albright and Powell (2000-2004). Previous assignments also include: Minister Counselor for Public Affairs under Ambassador Ryan Crocker at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq (2007-2008); Deputy Chief of Mission in Budapest (2004-2007); and Director of Press Relations at the State Department (1999-2000). Ambassador Reeker joined the Foreign Service in 1992, and served earlier tours in Budapest, Hungary, and Skopje, North Macedonia.
Philip Reeker received the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2019, and the American Citizens Abroad Thomas Jefferson Award in 2017 for services to the community of Americans living abroad. Also in 2017, he was named a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his distinguished service in Italy. He was the 2013 Recipient of the Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for “his commitment to peace and the alleviation of human suffering caused by war or civil injustice” in the Balkans; the National Albanian American Council presented Ambassador Reeker with its “Hands of Hope Award” the same year. He received the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy in 2003, and several State Department Superior Honor Awards.
Ambassador Reeker is a graduate of Yale University (1986) and received an MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management in Arizona (1991). Born in Pennsylvania, Ambassador Reeker grew up in several U.S. cities and spent his high school years in Brisbane, Australia. His foreign languages include: Italian, Hungarian, Macedonian, and German.
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey heads the opinion pages of Der Tagesspiegel and Tagesspiegel Causa, her newspaper’s online magazine for debate. She writes essays and comments for her own newspaper and a monthly column on German politics and culture for the New York Times. The development of Tagesspiegel Causa was supported by Google’s Digital News initiative.
She studied History, Political Science, and Journalism in Mainz and Bordeaux. From 2005 to 2009, she was a research assistant in the History Department at the University of Mainz. She worked as an intern at the F.A.Z. and ZDF, among others, and as a freelancer for the Mainzer Rhein-Zeitung for several years. In 2009, Ms. Sauerbrey completed a traineeship at Der Tagesspiegel and became a staff member of its opinion/editorial department. In 2013, she was an Arthur F. Burns Fellow at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2018, she was awarded an Anna-Marie and Stephen M. Kellen Fellowship for Berlin-based journalists by the ACG to conduct research on the role religion plays in American politics.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-04-26 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. These conversations are held simultaneously on Clubhouse and Zoom, providing the opportunity for a more informal and interactive exchange.
The Monday, April 26 at 9:00 am ET, the speaker will be Matthias Deiss (2008 ACG Young Leader), Editorial Director of ARD-Politikmagazin Kontraste. Matthias Deiß (2008 ACG Young Leader) is the Editorial Director for ARD’s political program “Konstrate.” Beginning May 1, he will be the Deputy Director of the ARD’s studio in Berlin. He began his professional career as a school boy by working as a reporter for a local newspaper. He later worked for ARD Tagesthemen, then as a correspondent for Deutsche Welle’s television studio in Berlin, as a reporter for Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, as head of the service at ARD-aktuell, and from 2012 to 2017 as a television correspondent for ARD studio in Berlin. His main areas of interest include home affairs and extremism as well as political parties.

Labor and Contract Law in Times of Covid: A Cross-Border View
2021-04-22 11:30 - 12:30
In addition to public health challenges, the Covid-19 pandemic has created a host of new hurdles for employers and businesses. As we start to emerge from a period of intense measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus new challenges lie ahead. According to a recent report in The New York Times, many companies are wary of setting deadlines for reopening offices. Instead, they are considering rotational, part-time office attendance or even full-time virtual work models depending on job requirements. Can employees be forced to physically return to the office? If so, how do employers provide for a safe work environment – and how do they shield themselves from potential liability? Conversely, what are the employee‘s responsibilities and rights? Can an employee return to the office if they refuse to get vaccinated? Does workman’s compensation provide benefits to employees getting sick or injured working from home?
Join the American Council on Germany and the Wirtschaftsrunde for a virtual Zoom meeting with Carl Christian Thier, a founding shareholder of Urban Thier & Federer, P.A. He will talk about these questions and the possible impact of the inability to perform a contractual obligation during Covid by highlighting the differences between German and U.S. law.

Climate Change and Energy Policy at the State Level
2021-04-21 12:00 - 13:00
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 been unable to make progress due to political polarization and partisan gridlock. This trend has also characterized transatlantic relations and the German-American partnership.
This trend holds true for states in both countries addressing the challenges posed by climate change and thinking about energy policy. How do federal policies, or lack thereof, influence policies at the state level? What incentives can states provide, but what also are the constraints to making policy and taking action? How are states integrating climate and energy policies into construction and urban development, economic development, and job creation opportunities? What efforts are states making to move towards a clean energy economy?
To discuss these issues and to explore collaboration at the state level, the Aspen Institute Germany and the American Council on Germany invite you to the next discussion in our virtual event series State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue with German and American state legislators including Joschka Knuth, MdL (Alliance 90/The Greens), State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein, Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R), Pennsylvania House of Representatives; and Representative Mari Manoogian (D), Michigan House of Representatives. Joschka Knuth is a member of the State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein and is the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group spokesperson on economic affairs and labor market, start-ups, digitization, consumer protection, animal welfare, sports, and sustainability issues. Before becoming a member of parliament in 2019, He worked as a Senior Consultant for EY Germany (Ernst & Young GmbH) in their operational transaction services team. In 2018 Mr. Knuth held the office of press spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature, and Digitalization in Schleswig-Holstein, and from 2017 to 2019, he was Deputy Head of the Executive Department for political coordination and Liaison in the State Chancellery of Schleswig-Holstein. He began his career as a personal advisor to the Minister at the Ministry for Energy, Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas of Schleswig- Holstein.
Ryan Mackenzie (2019 ACG Young Leader) is in his sixth term representing the 134th Legislative District and for the 2021-22 Legislative Session serves as a deputy majority whip in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He sits on the Environmental Resources & Energy Committee and has also been appointed to represent the House on the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority and the Recycling Fund Advisory Committee. Prior to being elected to office, he served as the director of policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. He began his career by working on a number of political campaigns and earned his real estate sales license before entering public service and accepting a position at the U.S. Department of Labor. While there, he worked extensively on domestic and international assignments and gained a strong understanding of labor market dynamics. An active member of the local community, he is involved in a number of charities and non-profit organizations and was an ACG Young Leader.
Mari Manoogian is the youngest woman serving in the 101st Legislature, and the first Armenian-American woman to serve in the Michigan House of Representatives. In her second term for the 40th District, she currently serves as the Deputy Democratic Caucus Whip and as the Minority Vice-Chair for the House Committee on Energy. Prior to joining the Legislature, she served in various capacities of public service at the federal level, including interning for then-Congressman John D. Dingell, working with the Council on Foreign Relations, and assisting Ambassador Samantha Power at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Manoogian also worked in the Office of English Language Programs and eDiplomacy at the U.S. Department of State where she served with foreign and civil service officers. Rep. Manoogian is a member of the Aspen Security Forum’s inaugural Rising Leaders Program, serves on the board of the Armenian Genocide Education Council, and serves on the Tech for Campaigns Political Advisory Board as well as on the advisory council for the U.S.-Europe Alliance.
