American Council On Germany

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-06-21 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
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.

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.

Strengthening Democracies in the Digital Age
2021-06-24 15:00 - 16:30
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.

Fireside Chat with Victoria Nuland Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State
2021-06-25 10:00 - 11:00
Although strained at times, the transatlantic alliance has remained indispensable. President Biden’s recent trip to Europe for G7, NATO, and U.S.-EU Summits has served as an opportunity for the United States to reengage with its allies. As we reflect on these meetings and think about the common challenges ahead, what are the priorities for U.S. foreign policy? How will these priorities impact the transatlantic partnership?
Join the American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke for a fireside chat with Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The conversation will be led by ACG Chairman Ambassador John B. Emerson. Ambassador Victoria Nuland was sworn in as Under Secretary for Political Affairs in April 2021.
Prior to that, she was Senior Counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm based in Washington, DC. She was also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Distinguished Practitioner in Grand Strategy at Yale University, and a Member of the Board of the National Endowment for Democracy.
A U.S. diplomat for 32 years, Ambassador Nuland served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from September 2013 until January 2017 under President Obama and Secretary Kerry. She was State Department Spokesperson during Secretary Hillary Clinton’s tenure, and U.S. Ambassador to NATO during President George W. Bush’s second term, 2005-2008. Nuland served as Special Envoy and chief negotiator on the Treaty on Conventional Arms Control in Europe from 2010-2011, and as Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Cheney from 2003-2005. In addition to two tours at NATO in Brussels, she has served overseas in Russia, China, and Mongolia, and in various assignments at the State Department in Washington.
Ambassador Nuland has a B.A. in history from Brown University.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-07-12 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, July 12 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with Luisa Beck, European Reporter for the Washington Post’s Berlin Bureau. Luisa Beck is a reporter covering Europe from The Washington Post’s Berlin Bureau where she covers elections, migration, history, art, and the environment. Before joining The Post, she made audio stories for NPR, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and podcasts such as “99% Invisible” and “Rough Translation.” When she wasn’t “cutting” tape, she could be found roaming the streets of San Francisco making location-based audio walks for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the media start-up Detour. She has guest lectured and taught multimedia storytelling to students at the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford, California College of the Arts, and the Berlin Journalism School. In 2020, she was the sole individual to be awarded an ACG McCloy Fellowship in Global Trends, which she will undertake in July and August of 2021.

Saving Democracy: Reinventing Institutions and Practices for the 21st Century
2021-07-12 14:00 - 15:00
Democracy is under attack. Rising populism, waning trust in democratic institutions and practices, and a period of unprecedented uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have strained democratic institutions. What can be done to reinvigorate the intermediary institutions that have been considered essential for democracy’s success since the nineteenth century: political parties and free media?
with Dr. Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Author of Democracy Rules

Democracies in Distress: Europe and the United States
2021-07-13 11:00 - 12:00
On both sides of the Atlantic, popular confidence in political institutions has fallen and voters are increasingly disenchanted with mainstream political parties. In the United States, political polarization is at an all-time high and in Europe political splintering is weakening long-established parties. Additionally, citizens are unable to determine which news sources are trustworthy and increasingly influenced by fake news and conspiracy theories promulgated by both domestic and foreign actors (namely China and Russia). What are some of the causes of these trends and what can be done to address them?
Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Moderated by:
Dr. David Deissner, Executive Director, Atlantik-Brücke

Understanding the Rise of lliberal Politics in Europe and the U.S. - And What to Do About It
2021-07-13 14:00 - 15:00
The decline of established political parties, media, and interest groups has opened the door to anti-democratic forces, posing new challenges for our democracies. This event will examine how Europe’s establishment parties are faltering and how the rise of social media poses new challenges on both sides of the Atlantic. What can be done to rebuild confidence and to increase citizen engagement to improve the effectiveness of our democracies?
Dr. Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Transformations of Democracy Group at the WZB Social Science Center Berlin
Moderated by:
Paulina Fröhlich, Head of Future Democracy Programme, Das Progressive Zentrum

Defending Democracy from Misinformation and Fake News
2021-07-14 11:00 - 12:00
In order for democracies to function effectively, citizens need transparent access to accurate information based on facts. Democratic institutions are being undermined by a proliferation of disinformation which creates chaos, division, and distrust. In many cases, citizens seem to live in parallel universes in which people believe in a completely different set of facts and live in different realities. What can be done to combat misinformation and help guarantee access to truthful, fact-based information?
Nina Jankowicz, Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and Author of How to Lose the Information War
Prof. Dr. Hanna Klimpe, Professor of Social Media and Commissioner for Equity, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Andrea Shalal, Senior Correspondent with Reuters

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in DC?
2021-07-19 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. With Chancellor Angela Merkel in the United States to meet with President Joseph Biden, the ACG will shift the discussion from Berlin to Washington, DC
Join us on Monday, July 19 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion about Merkel’s visit and what it means for transatlantic relations with Majid Sattar, U.S. Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Majid Sattar is the U.S. Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. After graduating from high school and an exchange year in the United States, he studied political science and history in Saarbrücken and Freiburg. He received his doctorate in 2000 from the University of Freiburg with a dissertation on the American Congress.
He began his journalism career at Heilbronner Stimme, where he worked in the political department. In 2000, he moved to the online editorial department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In 2004, he joined the political editorial team, and later, he joined the parliamentary editorial department in Berlin. After eight years in Berlin, he moved to Washington to serve as the U.S. Correspondent.

Measuring the Pulse: What’s the Status of Transatlantic Relations Six Months In?
2021-07-19 11:00 - 12:00
Within hours of taking office, President Biden brought the United States back to the Paris Climate Agreement. The new administration has also taken steps to return to the Iran nuclear deal, de-escalate transatlantic trade tensions, and committed more U.S. troops in Germany. Nevertheless, there are contentious issues where Europe and the United States do not see eye to eye. Join us for a discussion about the areas of collaboration – and also the sticking points – between Washington and Europe six months in to the new administration.
Opening statement:
Ambassador Emily Haber, German Ambassador to the United States
Followed by a discussion with:
Peter Beyer, Member of the German Bundestag (CDU) and Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation in the Federal Foreign Office
Molly Montgomery, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Moderator:
Ambassador John B. Emerson, Chairman, American Council on Germany

Common Security and Defense Policy: What’s at Stake?
2021-07-20 10:00 - 11:00
Geopolitical challenges continue to confront the transatlantic alliance ranging from Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine to China’s military build-up and pressure on Taiwan to President Biden’s decision to remove American troops from Afghanistan by September of this year to cyber threats from adversaries around the world. How can Europe and the United States get on the same page to effectively deal with these issues? What will “burden-sharing” look like in the months and years ahead?
Panelists:
Dr. Jana Puglierin, Head of the Berlin Office and Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Dr. Torrey Taussig, Research Director for the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center; Nonresident Fellow, Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe
Moderator:
Lauren M. Speranza, Director of Transatlantic Defense and Security, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)

Climate Change Policy: Can the United States be a Credible Leader?
2021-07-20 13:00 - 14:00
A number of recent surveys in Europe and the United States have shown growing discontent with the way democracy is working, distrust in democratic institutions, and the ability of democracies to confront the many complex challenges facing our societies. What can be done to rebuild confidence and to increase citizen engagement to improve the effectiveness of our democracies?
Panelists:
Dr. Camilla Bausch, Scientific and Executive Director, Ecologic Institute
Samantha Gross, Director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative, Brookings Institution
Moderator:
Michael Mehling (2007 ACG McCloy Environmental Fellow), Deputy Director, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)

Post-Covid Economic Recovery: Is Infrastructure the Answer?
2021-07-21 10:00 - 11:00
President Biden has proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that he states will upgrade roads, bridges, and water systems, expand digital access and broadband, hasten a shift to clean energy, and create millions of jobs. The EU’s $800 billion Recovery Fund also focuses on addressing climate change and the digital transformation as part of its economic recovery plan. What impact will these efforts have on the recovery and are there opportunities for transatlantic cooperation?
Panelists:
Greg Lindsay, Director of Applied Research, NewCities; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative
Brandie Lockett (2018 ACG Sustainable Urban Development), City Designer, Houston Public Works, City of Houston
Thomas Puls, Senior Economist for Transportation and Infrastructure, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft
Moderator:
Dr. Steven E. Sokol, President, American Council on Germany

Global Trade and Investment: Do Economic Ties Still Bind Europe and the U.S.?
2021-07-21 12:00 - 13:00
The transatlantic economy remains the most important in the world comprising one-third of the world’s GDP, $6.2 trillion in commercial sales, 61 percent of inward FDI and 64 percent of outward FDI, as well as 27 percent of global exports and 32 percent of world imports. Currently, the U.S. economy is running on all cylinders with a forecast of 6-7 percent real GDP growth this year, while the Eurozone is still suffering. Greater cooperation could help the transatlantic community together recover better and faster.
Panelists:
Dr. Laura von Daniels, Head of the Research Division, The Americas, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
Dr. Daniel S. Hamilton, Director of the Global Europe Program and Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Distinguished Fellow, Wilson Center
Moderator:
Julia Friedlander, Deputy Director of the GeoEconomics Center and C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council

“Knowledge Diplomacy” in Times of Disruption and Beyond
2021-07-22 11:00 - 12:00
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of science and knowledge has brought scientists even closer to policymakers than ever before – as they collectively try to meet the common public health challenge. This has been true in both domestic policy-making and also in global cooperation. Will this trend continue? And, will it embed the transfer of knowledge as a powerful diplomatic tool to shape international relations? What are the challenges and opportunities for “knowledge diplomacy”? And, how do we prepare future generations for this new kind of international exchange?
Join 1014, the American Council on Germany, and the German Center for Research and Innovation New York (DWIH) for a conversation with Dr. Esther Brimmer, Executive Director & CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Dr. Georg Schütte, Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation and former State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Dr. Esther Brimmer serves as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Her distinguished career includes three appointments within the U.S. Department of State, serving most recently as the Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs from April 2009 to 2013.
Prior to joining NAFSA, Dr. Brimmer was Professor of Practice of International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs where she served a two-year term as the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor. She was also an Adjunct Senior Fellow for international institutions at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a senior adviser at McLarty Associates. She was previously Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) from 2001 to 2009, and was a member of the SAIS faculty. She also taught at the College of Europe in Belgium, and from 1995 to 1999, she was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. Earlier, she served on Capitol Hill as a legislative analyst for the Democratic Study Group in the U.S. House of Representatives. Immediately after earning her doctorate from Oxford University, she spent two years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Dr. Georg Schütte has been the Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation since January 2020. The private foundation, based in Hanover, is dedicated to the support of the humanities and social sciences as well as science and technology in research and higher education and is one of the largest foundations in Europe.
Prior to his engagement with the Volkswagen Foundation, Dr. Schütte served as State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education a position to which he was appointed in December 2009 by the then Minister of Education Annette Schavan. In this function, he was particularly involved in the areas of research funding, European research policy, and international scientific cooperation. From 2018 to 2019, he was in charge of negotiations at State Secretary level between the Federal Government and the Länder on the future financing of the German science system and was responsible for the ministry’s budget.
Before this, in 2004, Dr. Schütte was appointed to the post of Secretary General of the Humboldt Foundation in Bonn – his third term of employment at this foundation. From 2001 to 2003, he was Director of the German-American Fulbright Commission in Berlin. He switched to Berlin following his second appointment at the Humboldt Foundation, where he had headed its policy department from 1998 to 2001. Before this career step, he had worked as a research assistant at the University of Siegen, held teaching positions at various universities, and occupied a position as program manager at the Humboldt Foundation from 1993 to 1998.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-07-26 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.
Join us on Monday, July 26 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with Matthew Karnitschnig, Chief European Correspondent for Politico. Matthew Karnitschnig is POLITICO’s Chief Europe Correspondent, based in Berlin. He joined the publication in 2015 from the Wall Street Journal, where he spent 15 years in a variety of positions as a reporter and editor in the U.S. and Europe.
In a career spanning two decades, Mr. Karnitschnig has been on the front lines of some of the defining political and economic stories of our time. In 2008, he covered the fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis that ensued. He was part of a team of Journal reporters that won a Gerald Loeb Award and was named a Pulitzer finalist for National Reporting in 2009.
He subsequently spearheaded the WSJ’s coverage of the eurozone debt crisis as the paper’s Germany bureau chief and European economics editor. He led the team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 2011 and won an Overseas Press Club award in 2012.
Mr. Karnitschnig previously worked as a journalist for Business Week, Reuters and Bloomberg.
The son of an Austrian father and American mother, he grew up in Arizona, where he got his start reporting as a stringer for the Phoenix Gazette during high school.

The Future Of The Transatlantic Partnership
2021-07-29 12:00 - 13:00
The American Council on Germany is delighted to partner with the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth for a discussion with the German Ambassador to the United States Dr. Emily M. Haber, in conversation with former ACG Board member Lee Cullum, a journalist at Public Media of North Texas (KERA/PBS) and Senior Fellow at the John Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at SMU. Dr. Emily Haber has been Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany 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, 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.
Lee Cullum is the host of CEO, KERA’s original monthly series of interviews with North Texas business leaders that airs on KERA television and radio. She is also a commentator for Morning Edition on KERA-FM and contributes columns to The Dallas Morning News. A veteran journalist, she was previously a commentator for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and All Things Considered on NPR. In addition, she was editor of the editorial page of the Dallas Times Herald and host of Conversations, a series on KERA with major newsmakers. She also worked as a reporter, on-air moderator, and executive producer of Newsroom on KERA.
Ms. Cullum is a senior fellow of the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU and a fellow at the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture. On the board of the Council on Foreign Relations for ten years, she also has served on the board of the American Council on Germany, the Pacific Council on International Policy, Freedom House, the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Social Sciences Foundation benefitting the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Currently, she is on the board of the American Security Project and the College of International Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the InterAmerican Dialogue.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-08-09 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a Kaffeepause, or coffee break, with a journalist to discuss the latest developments in Berlin. On August 9, the ACG will be joined by Sonja Gillert, Editor for Die Welt.

The Strategic Importance of American Leadership and Partnership with Europe
2021-08-11 15:00 - 16:30
The Los Angeles Warburg Chapter will host a discussion and luncheon with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges, Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis, on “The Strategic Importance of American Leadership and Partnership with Europe” with special guest Stefan Schneider, Consul General in Los Angeles.
There is a $75 ($55 for ACG Members) charge to attend this event. RSVP (acceptances only) to the American Council on Germany at events@acgusa.org by Monday, August 9. Space is limited. Once capacity is reached, a waitlist will be created. Valet Parking available at $15 Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges holds the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis. He joined CEPA in February 2018.
A native of Quincy, Florida, General Hodges graduated from the United States Military Academy in May 1980 and was commissioned in the Infantry. After his first assignment as an Infantry Lieutenant in Garlstedt, Germany, he commanded Infantry units at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade levels in the 101st Airborne Division, including Command of the First Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne” of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (2003-2004). His other operational assignments include Chief of Operations for Multi-National Corps-Iraq in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (2005-2006) and Director of Operations, Regional Command South in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2009-2010).
General Hodges has also served in a variety of Joint and Army Staff positions to include Tactics Instructor; Chief of Plans, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; Aide-de-Camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps; Director of the Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Staff; Chief of Legislative Liaison for the United States Army; and Commander, NATO Allied Land Command (İzmir, Turkey). His last military assignment was as Commanding General, United States Army Europe (Wiesbaden, Germany) from 2014 to 2017. He retired from the U.S. Army in January 2018.
Stefan Schneider has been Consul General in Los Angeles since September 2018. He started his diplomatic career in 1987 and his many assignments have taken him all over the world. He served as Head of the Legal and Consular Section in Thailand, Head of the Trade and Commerce Section in Bulgaria, Deputy Consul General in Miami, Counsellor for Political Affairs in Paris and Consul General in Izmir. Before being posted to Los Angeles, he served as Head of the Cultural Affairs Department at the German Embassy in Rome. At the German Foreign Office, he was assigned to the Middle East desk, the Disarmament and Arms Control desk, the German as a Foreign Language division, and he served as Head of International Academic Exchange, also responsible for the Fulbright Program. Mr. Schneider studied law in Munich and Cologne. He also earned a degree in French literature from the Sorbonne University in Paris. He speaks English, French, Italian, Spanish and Bulgarian.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-08-16 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, August 16 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with journalist Gordon Repinski, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at ThePioneer. Gordon Repinski serves as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief at ThePioneer. He is a graduate of the German School of Journalism. He worked for five years as a correspondent for Der Spiegel (including in Washington D.C. and Berlin). Most recently, the award-winning journalist (Otto Brenner Prize 2010, Arthur Burns Prize 2011) headed the main city bureau of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). At ThePioneer, he looks wrote about SPD, the Greens, and global politics, among other things

The Corona Crisis as a Catalyst for Greater Transatlantic Cooperation on China
2021-08-20 11:00 - 12:00
The spread of the Covid-19 from Wuhan to the rest of the world underscores just how interconnected – and interdependent – the world has become. The spread of new variants also makes clear that no one is safe as long as the virus is rampant in other parts of the world. Addressing the pandemic can only be done together with China. All countries should have a vested interest in great cooperation when it comes to overcoming the pandemic.
The current crisis is just one of many issues that connect Europe and the United States with China. Join the American Council on Germany for a virtual discussion with Bundestag Member Nils Schmid, the Foreign Policy Spokesperson for the SPD, about the need for Europe to develop a common approach to China and opportunities for greater transatlantic cooperation vis-à-vis China. Nils Schmid has been a Member of the German Bundestag since September 2017. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and has been the foreign policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary caucus since 2018. He is also a deputy member of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure. In addition, he is a member of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly.
In 1997, Mr. Schmid became a member of the state assembly of Baden-Württemberg. After his reelection in 2001, he became fiscal policy spokesperson for the SPD’s state assembly caucus. In 2006, his caucus elected him as deputy chairman. In 2009, the state party elected him chairman of the Baden-Württemberg SPD. He held that office until 2016. From 2011 to 2016, he was Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of the state of Baden-Württemberg as well as Deputy Minister-President.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-08-23 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. Next week we will discuss the inner circle around the three main candidates for chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, Armin Laschet, and Olaf Scholz.
Join us on Monday, August 23 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion about the key advisors in the run-up to next month’s German federal election 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.

The Growing Political Divide in the United States and Germany
2021-08-27 18:00 - 20:00
Roundtable discussion on the growing political divide in the U.S. and Germany with Luisa Emmi Beck, Berlin Correspondent for the Washington Post and 2020 ACG McCloy Fellow.
This discussion will take place in person, masks are recommended.
More information here: https://www.gaimn.org/acg-roundtable/

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-08-30 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, August 30 at 9:00 am ET for a discussion with journalist Miriam Hollstein, Chief Political Reporter for FUNKE Zentralredaktion. We’ll begin by getting her take on the first debate between the three candidates for chancellor, which takes place Sunday. Miriam Hollstein serves as the Chief Reporter for FUNKE Zentralredaktion. She wrote for the Berliner Zeitung while still a student and worked as an editor for Internationale Politik. She worked as a foreign reporter for the Welt am Sonntag, and from 2006-2014 was a WELT-Gruppe’s domestic policy editor and reporter. From 2015-2020 she worked for the Bild am Sonntag, first as domestic policy and then from 2018 as chief reporter politics. Her reporting brought her into regular contact with the office of the German Chancellor. Since March 2020 she works as a freelance writer and moderator.
In 2009 she published the first graphic biography of Angela Merkel, entitled “Miss Tschörmanie,” together with illustrator Heiko Sakurai. She appears regularly on the German news program „Phoenix“, where she speaks on political and societal issues. She regularly travels internationally for reporting assignments. In addition, she was a 2005 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a 2008 ACG McCloy Fellow, and was recognized in 2015 by the DEFA Stiftung (German Film Corporation Foundation) for her contribution to the preservation of German film heritage.

Defending Democracy Abroad: Afghanistan and the End of Western Nation-Building?
2021-09-08 11:00 - 12:00
After the Western military withdrawal, the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban ends two decades of Western efforts to rebuild the nation based on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Now, the gains in education, social and economic welfare as well as the legal system are at stake for millions of Afghans. Women are afraid to lose their rights yet again, refugees are trying to flee the country. Why did nation-building fail in Afghanistan? Did the West pursue the wrong approach? Does Afghanistan mark the end of the West’s efforts to promote and defend democracy abroad?
Join the American Council on Germany and 1014 for a transatlantic conversation with Judy Dempsey, Editor-in-Chief at Carnegie Europe; Dr. Markus Kaim, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs (SWP); and Dr. Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. Judy Dempsey is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and editor in chief of the Strategic Europe blog. She is also the author of the book The Merkel Phenomenon(Das Phänomen Merkel, Körber-Stiftung Edition, 2013).
She worked for the International Herald Tribune from 2004 to 2011 as its Germany and East European Correspondent and from 2011 to September 2013 as a columnist. Dempsey was the diplomatic correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels from 2001 onward, covering NATO and European Union enlargement. Between 1990 and 2001, she served as Jerusalem bureau chief (1996–2001), Berlin correspondent (1992–1996), and Eastern European correspondent in London (1990–1992) for the Financial Times. During the 1980s, Ms. Dempsey reported on Central and Eastern Europe for the Financial Times, the Irish Times, and The Economist. Ms. Dempsey graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied history and political science.
Dr. Markus Kaim is Senior Fellow in the International Security Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). He has taught and held fellowships at universities on both sides of the Atlantic: As DAAD Professor of German and European Studies at the University of Toronto (2007-2008), as Acting Professor of Foreign Policy and International Relations at the University of Constance (2007), as Visiting Fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies/ Johns Hopkins University (2005), as Adjunct Professor at the Department for Political Science, University of Zurich (since 2012) and as Guest Instructor at the Hertie School, Berlin (since 2012). He studies political science, history, philosophy, and comparative religion in Bonn and Jena.
Dr. Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, she was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in academia and government, working at the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House.
Dr. Schake is the author of five books and has been widely published in policy journals and the popular press, including in CNN.com, Foreign Affairs, Politico, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and War on the Rocks.
Dr. Schake has a Ph.D. and MA in government and politics from the University of Maryland, as well as an MPM from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Her BA in international relations is from Stanford University.

What’s Next in Afghanistan? A View from Germany
2021-09-09 09:00 - 10:00
Following the swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, the international community has been in a state of shock. In Germany, in particular, many people are asking what the lasting impact of Germany’s military and civilian engagement over the past 20 years will be. And, questions loom regarding the future of Afghanistan.
Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion about the current situation in Afghanistan and future prospects for the region with Bundestag member Omid Nouripour, who serves as the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the German parliament. With thanks to the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung for supporting this event. Omid Nouripour is a German politician of the Alliance ’90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2006. He is his parliamentary group’s spokesman on foreign affairs and is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He has been closely involved in Germany’s efforts in Afghanistan and has been dealing with the country for the past 15 years as a German parliamentarian.

Reflecting on 9/11: Twenty Years Later
2021-09-10 13:00 - 14:00
This month marks the 20 anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington – and two decades of conflict. In the days following the attacks, two young German journalists worked tirelessly to piece together the developments leading up to September 11, 2001. Their experiences then have influenced their careers, and one might even say that they have been following some of the leads immediately after 9/11 ever since. Journalists and authors Souad Mekhennet and Elmar Theveßen have become leading terrorism experts.
In 2012, they won Germany’s prestigious Deutsche Fernsehpreis for their two-part documentary “9/11: The Day the World Changed.” Produced ten years after the terrorist attacks, the program analyzes the profound global impact of the day on politics and society. Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion with Souad Mekhennet and Elmar Theveßen on the impact of 9/11 today. Souad Mekhennet is a correspondent for The Washington Post’s national security desk, and she has reported on terrorism for the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, and NPR. She was a 2012 Nieman fellow at Harvard University and a visiting fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Ms. Mekhennet first reported for The Post in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, delving into the backgrounds of the Hamburg cell and writing on the al-Qaeda threat in Europe, North Africa, and the Gulf. She was part of The Post’s coverage of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. In 2004, she began a long interlude at the New York Times, where she produced some of the most distinguished reporting on the Bush administration’s war on terrorism. Ms. Mekhennet returned to The Post as a contributor in 2014 and became a staff writer in 2017. With her colleagues, she helped unmask Jihadi John. She reported the death of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the leader of the group that staged the Paris attacks, 15 hours ahead of a government announcement and the rest of the media.
Ms. Mekhennet has written four books, most recently her critically acclaimed memoir, “I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad.” It was included in the 2017 longlist for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and received the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. Her other books include: “Islam”; “The Eternal Nazi: From Mauthausen to Cairo, the Relentless Pursuit of SS Doctor Aribert Heim,” co-written with Nicholas Kulish; and “The Children of Jihad: The New Generation of Islamist Terror in Europe,” co-written with Claudia Sautter and Michael Hanfeld.
Elmar Theveßen is a German journalist and author and has served as the bureau chief of ZDF’s studio in Washington, DC. since March 2019. He is an expert on international security and terrorism and studied history, political science, and German studies at the University of Bonn as well as foreign policy and journalism at American University in Washington, DC.
From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Theveßen was tv-journalist for politics in ZDF-studio Bonn. Until 2001 he worked as a tv-journalist for ZDF-studio in Washington, DC. From 2001 to 2002 he worked as tv-journalist for Frontal21 at ZDF. Since 2007 Mr. Theveßen was ZDF’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief and managing editor for the current affairs department in Mainz.
He is the author of seven books, including four on terrorism and Al-Qaida.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2021-09-13 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, September 13 at 9:00 am EDT, for a discussion on the morning after the second television debate between the three candidates for Chancellor with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Between March of 2017 and February of 2019, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global, the English-language edition of Germany’s leading business newspaper. For the two decades before that, he wrote for The Economist — in London, Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

Germany after Angela Merkel: Her Legacy and the Leadership Transition
2021-09-14 12:00 - 13:00
On September 26, Germans will vote in federal elections that will determine the composition of the Bundestag. The new majority in the parliament – most likely a coalition of three parties – will elect the next German Chancellor, marking the end of 16 years of leadership by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Join us for an online conversation about Chancellor Merkel’s legacy, the outlook for the elections, and the likely implications for Germany of this historical leadership transition with Stefan Kornelius, Foreign Editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and author of a biography of Angela Merkel.
This event is a partnership between the American Council on Germany, Atlantik-Brücke, Cleveland Council of World Affairs, and the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA). It is part of WACA’s Wunderbar Together 2021 Engage America Series on “Germany’s Elections and the Future of Transatlantic Relations.” Wunderbar Together is a comprehensive and collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by the Goethe-Institut. Stefan Kornelius has been Foreign Editor of the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung since 2000. In his reporting career, he has covered Germany’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, and defense issues in Europe. From 1996 to 1999, he served as the paper’s Washington correspondent. His biography of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, entitled Angela Merkel, the Chancellor and her World, has been translated into 13 languages.
Steven E. Sokol is the President of the American Council on Germany (ACG). Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh from July 2010 until April 2015. Prior to that, he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the ACG for seven years. Educated in the United States and Germany, Dr. Sokol has more than 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations in both countries.
