American Council On Germany

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-06-12 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, June 12 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Loveday Morris, The Washington Post’s Berlin bureau chief. Loveday Morris is The Washington Post’s Berlin bureau chief. Before moving to Germany in 2019, she spent a decade reporting in the Middle East, most recently in Jerusalem. She previously spent three years in Iraq as Baghdad bureau chief covering the country’s battles against the Islamic State, from Fallujah to Ramadi and Mosul. She started with The Post as a Beirut correspondent in 2013, largely covering Syria’s civil war. Before that, she freelanced from the region for publications, including the United Kingdom’s Independent newspaper. She began her career at Bloomberg News, covering financial news in London, before moving to the Middle East for the National newspaper in Abu Dhabi.

The Deutschlandbild in America: Reporting from the United States
2023-06-20 18:00 - 20:00
Join the ACG and the Freundeskreis der CDU in Washington, DC, for a discussion with journalists Majid Sattar and Juliane Schäuble..

Majid Sattar is the North America Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a role he has been in since he moved to Washington, DC, in 2018. He covers the U.S. federal government, electoral campaigns, and U.S. foreign relations. Mr. Sattar began his career at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2000, in online editing. In 2004, he became a political editor, then in 2010, he spent 10 years living in Berlin as a parliamentary editor for the newspaper. Mr. Sattar has a degree in political science and history from the University of Freiburg, and he completed both a study abroad and a research fellowship in the U.S.
Juliane Schäuble is the U.S. Correspondent of Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin’s biggest newspaper. Before she moved to Washington, DC, in June 2018 she was the head of the political department of the paper where she was responsible for the front page and the political section. She has more than twelve years of experience in the business and the political department of Der Tagesspiegel.
Ms. Schäuble earned her Master’s in Political Science at the University in Potsdam, Germany. Her studies included one semester at American University in Washington, DC, where she took classes in American foreign policy and worked part-time for the “American Council of Young Political Leaders” (“Washington Semester Program”).
Dr. Steven E. Sokol (moderator) is the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the ACG. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sokol served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) in 2022 for his work to strengthen German-American relations.

German-American Young Professionals Networking Reception
2023-06-22 18:00 - 20:00
The American Council on Germany is delighted to partner with Alston & Bird LLP to host an evening of networking and drinks for young professionals.
Join us on the evening of June 22.
Participation is free; however, you must register to attend.

Transatlantic Military and Security Cooperation in Times of Crisis
2023-06-26 12:00 - 13:30
Based on recent public opinion polls, most Americans and Germans continue to see each other as partners in protecting their respective national security interests. The general public in both countries appear to be willing to support using military action to protect themselves and their allies – as we are seeing play out in the war in Ukraine. But what does this look like in practice – especially in times of crisis?
One tangible form of cooperation is Air Defender 2023 – which will take place from June 12 to 23 and is billed as the biggest air deployment exercise in NATO’s history. Planned well before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the exercise is hosted by Germany with strong support from the United States. Some 250 aircraft from 25 nations will respond to a simulated attack on a NATO member. The United States alone is sending 100 aircraft and some 2000 U.S. National Guard personnel.
Join 1014 and the American Council on Germany (ACG) on June 26 for a discussion and lunch with Colonel Jörg Dronia, Commander of the German Armed Forces Command in Reston, Virginia, about military cooperation in times of crisis.
Colonel Jörg Dronia assumed command of the German Armed Forces Command, United States and Canada on 18 November 2021. From November 2016 until recently, Colonel (GS) Jörg Dronia served as Branch Chief of Pol II 3 (Political Directorate) at the Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin, where he was responsible for capacity building in support of security and development in the Near/Middle East and Sahel-Region in Africa. Between 2013 and 2016, Colonel (GS) Dronia served at the Ministry of Defense as Branch Chief of Plg I 4 (Strategic Management of Planning), where he oversaw capability development for air, space and cyberspace for the German Armed Forces. As Branch Chief of Pol II 5 (Political Directorate), he was in charge of space and cyber policy and hybrid conflicts for the German Armed Forces. His previous roles include Joint Branch Head at the NATO Standardization Agency in Brussels, Deputy Senior Military Representative and Chief of Staff at NHQ Skopje in North Macedonia, and two assignments at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg, where he served as Professor and Tutor focusing on aerospace warfare. After joining the German Air Force in 1979, Colonel (GS) Dronia was trained and deployed as an Air Surveillance and Control Officer at the tactical, operational and strategic level between 1981 and 2005. Colonel (GS) Dronia graduated from the German General Staff Officers Course in 1994 and he is a 2005 alumni of the NATO Defense College in Rome

What to Expect from Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
2023-06-27 11:00 - 12:00
After months of planning, Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive to reclaim wide swaths of land occupied by Russian forces is progressing “slower than desired,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Intense battles are taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine, and some Western analysts have observed that Ukraine’s efforts are “not meeting expectations” on the battlefield because of the fortification of Russian lines of defense. The West has provided substantial military assistance for Kyiv’s counteroffensive – and appears committed to providing support for the long haul. With the counteroffensive still in its early stages, what can we expect?
Join us for a virtual discussion about the ongoing war in Ukraine on Tuesday, June 27, at 11:00 am ET with Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Senior Advisor at Human Rights First and Retired Commanding General of United States Army Europe. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges served as Commanding General of the United States Army Europe from 2014 to 2017 before his retirement from the Army in early 2018. Based in Frankfurt, he is currently a Senior Advisor to Human Rights First and a NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. General Hodges has also served in a variety of Joint and Army Staff positions, including 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 of NATO Allied Land Command (İzmir, Turkey).
After his first assignment as an Infantry Lieutenant in Garlstedt, Germany, General Hodges 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 is co-author of the book Future War and the Defence of Europe, published by Oxford University Press.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-07-10 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, July 10 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Malte Lehming, Opinion Writer for Tagesspiegel. Malte Lehming works as a writer for the Tagesspiegel, where he heads the opinion page. From late 2000 to 2005, he was the newspaper’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the Tagesspiegel in 1991 as foreign policy editor — focusing on security policy, transatlantic relations, and the Middle East. From 1989 to 1991, he worked as a personal assistant and speechwriter for former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Mr. Lehming studied philosophy, German literature, and European history in Hamburg.

R&A 2.0: Rethinking the Future of Work
2023-07-10 11:00 - 12:00
The pandemic was an inflection point for commerce and business. Companies had to adapt to new ways of working to stay afloat during the economic slowdown. Using artificial intelligence, diversifying employment models from full-time jobs to gig workers and crowd-sourcing, and moving to flex-work and hybrid workplaces were all part of what has become the new normal. As we have emerged from the pandemic, what are the lasting changes to how we work? How will AI continue to change the work environment? Do the current geopolitical changes and high inflation impact the way we work? How do unions react? Is there a new global labor movement?
On July 10, the American Council on Germany and 1014 will host a virtual discussion on the future of work with Thorben Albrecht, Policy Director of IG Metall and former State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and Dr. Annelise Orleck, Professor of History at Dartmouth College. Thorben Albrecht currently serves as Policy Director of IG Metall, the German metalworkers’ trade union. He is an internationally recognized expert on the future of work. His expertise includes automation and artificial intelligence, new forms of work, and managing transitions, including skills development, flexibility arrangements, and social dialogue.
From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Albrecht was a member of the Global Commission on the Future of Work established by the International Labor Organization (ILO). He also served as Permanent State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (2014-2018). From 2008 to 2013, he was Head of Office for Andrea Nahles and of the policy department of the Executive Board of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). Prior to that, he worked for the National Executive Board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) as Head of the Division responsible for the coordination of European affairs.
Dr. Annelise Orleck is a professor at Dartmouth College, where she focuses on history, politics, activism, American radicalism, race studies, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She is the author of several books, including Rethinking American Women’s Activism, Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty, and Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working Class Politics in the U.S.

Breakfast Briefing with Bundestag Members
2023-07-11 08:00 - 09:30
Join the ACG for a breakfast briefing with members of the Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs on Germany, Europe, and the USA.

American-German Young Leaders Conference
2023-07-15 08:00 - 2023-07-20 17:00
The ACG will hold the annual American-German Young Leaders Conference in Berlin.

Germany’s New China Strategy: De-Risking not Decoupling
2023-08-08 11:00 - 12:00
Last month, Germany’s government presented a new strategy for dealing with China. This comes on the heels of the release of Germany’s first National Security Strategy in mid-June. The long-awaited China Strategy – a draft of which was leaked in November – takes into account that the relationship between China and Germany (and the European Union writ large) has changed, and that Berlin’s economic and security policy vis-à-vis Beijing has to evolve accordingly. The China Strategy and comments from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have indicated that Berlin believes that China is capable of infringing on Germany’s economic and security interests. While the strategy does not call for decoupling, it suggests that Germany should diversify its trade and investment ties with China.
Join us on Tuesday, August 8 at 11 am to learn about the debate within the German government to develop a China Strategy and the contours of Berlin’s new approach to China with Dr. Janka Oertel, the Director of the Asia Program and a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Janka Oertel directs the Asia Program and is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, she was a Senior Fellow in the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States Berlin office, where she focused on transatlantic China policy, including on emerging technologies, Chinese foreign policy, and security in East Asia. Prior to joining the GMF, she served as a Program Director at the Körber Foundation’s Berlin office. She was also a Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and worked at United Nations Headquarters, New York, as a Carlo-Schmid fellow.
Dr. Oertel has published widely on topics related to EU-China relations, US-China relations, security in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese foreign policy, 5G and emerging technologies, and climate cooperation. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the German Bundestag and is frequently quoted in leading media outlets such as the Financial Times, the New York Times, The Economist, Süddeutsche Zeitung, El Confidencial, Berlingske, and many more. Her new book “Ende der China-Illusion. Wie wir mit Pekings Machtanspruch umgehen müssen” will be published in August 2023 with Piper in Germany.
Dr. Oertel holds a Ph.D. from the University of Jena. Her dissertation focused on Chinese policies within the United Nations.
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Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-08-21 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, August 21 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Simon Book, Editor for Der Spiegel and 2016 ACG Kellen Fellow. Simon Book serves as an Editor in the Economics Department for Der Spiegel. He joined Spiegel in July 2020 and is responsible for the topics of trade and consumer goods. Before that, he was a reporter for Handelsblatt from 2013 to 2016 and WirtschaftsWoche from 2016 to 2020. He studied in Passau and was trained at the German School of Journalism. In 2016, he received a Kellen Fellowship from the American Council on Germany, during which time he researched transatlantic trade policy.

Education and Workforce Preparedness: Keys to Strengthening Transatlantic Relations and Meeting 21st Century Challenges
2023-08-23 18:00 - 20:30
On August 23, the ACG will host a discussion and reception with Dr. Jens Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research and Member of the German Bundestag (FDP).
For more information, please email events@acgusa.org.
Dr. Jens Brandenburg (2019 ACG Young Leader) has been Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research since December 2021. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag representing the constituency of Rhein-Neckar since 2017. In the 19th legislative term, he was spokesperson of the Free Democratic Party’s Parliamentary Group for vocational training, lifelong learning, and LGBTI rights. He also served as spokesperson of his parliamentary group on the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment and on the Study Commission “Vocational Training in the Digital Work Environment.”

Dr. Brandenburg has volunteered for better educational opportunities and diversity in society, including on the Board of Trustees of the Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung (since 2019), on the Board of Trustees of the Bundesstiftung Magnus Hirschfeld (since 2018), as chairman of the Baden-Württemberg branch of the Young Liberals (2010-2013), in the Free Democratic Party (since 2006), with the Liberal Students Groups from 2005 to 2009, and in the SchLAu information campaign on gender diversity and identity issues at schools in North-Rhine Westphalia (2001-2005). He also spent a year in Little Rock, AR as a high school student.

Dr. Brandenburg has a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Mannheim and an M.A. in Political Science. He finished his Doctorate in 2015 at the Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Mannheim. During his studies he worked at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) and in various departments at the University of Mannheim. Prior to becoming a member of the German Bundestag, he worked for a global management consulting firm (2014-2017).

Germany’s Zeitenwende and Defense Spending
2023-08-25 12:00 - 14:00
On August 25, the ACG will host a discussion and luncheon with Thomas Hitschler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defense and Member of the German Bundestag (SPD).
For more information, please email events@acgusa.org.
Thomas Hitschler has been Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defense since December 2021. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag (SPD) since 2013, representing the Südpfalz in Rhineland-Palatinate.

In the run up to the 2021 election, Mr. Hitschler was elected to lead the SPD’s campaign in Rhineland-Palatinate. During the negotiations to form the “traffic light” coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Free Democrats, he was a member of his party’s delegation in the working group on homeland security, civil rights, and consumer protection.

From 2014 to 2021, Mr. Hitschler served on the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, where he was the SPD parliamentary groups rapporteur on the infrastructure of the Bundeswehr. From 2018 to 2021, he was also a member of the Committee on Home Affairs. In 2020, he joined the Parliamentary Oversight Panel (PKGr), which provides parliamentary oversight of Germany’s intelligence services BND, BvF, and MAD. In addition to his committee assignments, Mr. Hitschler has been a member of the German delegation to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly since 2019.

Mr. Hitschler began his career in local politics, serving as a senior staff member to the Mayor of Landau. He studied Political Science, Public Law, and History in Mannheim and Würzburg.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-09-11 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, September 11 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times. Steven Erlanger is the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times, a position he assumed in 2017. He is based in Berlin. As of earlier this year, he is based in Berlin.
In over 40 years of career as a journalist, he has covered news in over 120 countries, from the war in Kosovo to Brexit. In 2002, Mr. Erlanger shared the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on his work on Al Qaeda and again received the prize in 2017 for a series on Russia.
Between 1975 and 1983, he was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. Beginning in 1976, he also worked as an Editor and Correspondent at the Boston Globe. From 1983 through 1987, he was the Globe’s European Correspondent in London. Beginning in 1988, he served as Bureau Chief for the New York Times in London, Paris, Jerusalem, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, and Bangkok.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Erlanger has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Robert Livingston Award for international reporting for a series of articles about Eastern Europe in 1981, the German Marshall Fund’s Peter Weitz Prize for excellence and originality in reporting and analyzing European and transatlantic affairs in 2000, and the Karl Klasen Journalists Prize for coverage of Germany and Europe and promoting trans-Atlantic understanding in 2017.
Mr. Erlanger’s writing has been featured in many publications such as The Economist, The Spectator, The New Statesman, The New Republic, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and the Columbia Journalism Review.

Structural Change and Revitalization in Post-Industrial Regions
2023-09-13 11:00 - 12:30
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 gridlocks. This trend has also characterized transatlantic relations and the German-American partnership. The German-American State Legislator Dialogue was initiated to focus on the role of state representatives from the United States and Germany in addressing common challenges.
The decline of certain industrial sectors poses particular challenges at the state level in both Germany and the United States. The effects of structural transformation – brought on by geopolitical and geo-economic developments, digitalization, and the increasing focus on decarbonization – are notable in regions such as the Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) in Germany and the Rust Belt in the United States. As entire industries have folded, a lack of labor opportunities has led to an exodus of skilled workers and young people. This has accelerated an overall decline in public infrastructure and threatens social cohesion. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have taken varied approaches to an overarching economic restructuring, offering an instructive comparative learning opportunity. In this panel discussion with state legislators from both countries, we will discuss the myriad consequences for affected regions, highlight various measures being taken to sustain regions hit hard by post-industrialization, and explore ways to ensure that such transformations can be successfully managed in the future.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany for our next State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue for a discussion with German and American state legislators, including Senator Dave Argall (R), Pennsylvania State Senate; Wibke Brems (Alliance 90/Die Grünen), Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia; and Romina Plonsker (CDU), Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Senator Dave Argall represents the 29th District, which includes 102 municipalities in northeastern Pennsylvania. As a member of the Senate’s majority leadership team and the proud grandson of Cornish, Welsh, and German farmers, coal miners, and factory workers, Senator Argall’s top legislative priority is revitalizing our downtowns and older industrial neighborhoods. In the Senate, he chairs the Education Committee, one of the most active legislative committees at the Capitol. Senator Argall earned a bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College and a Ph.D. in public administration from Penn State. His studies included an Eisenhower Fellowship to review the economic and political transformations in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His doctoral dissertation reviewed the benefits and drawbacks of Pennsylvania’s tax-free “Keystone Opportunity Zones” for economic development. Senator Argall has served as a part-time public policy instructor for more than 30 years at Lycoming College, Penn State, and at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
Wibke Brems is the Chair of the Green Party in the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. She is a qualified electrical engineer specializing in renewable energies. She has been a Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2010 and was the Spokesperson for Energy Policy and Climate Protection, Mining Safety, and Anti-nuclear Policy of the parliamentary group until her election as Chair of the Green Party. Wibke Brems has been a member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen since 1998. Between 1999 and 2021, she was active in various functions at the municipal level, for example, as a council member in Gütersloh. As an engineer, she worked in the photovoltaic industry until her entry into the state parliament, first independently and later as head of technical support at a medium-sized solar company. Wibke Brems was born in Bremerhaven in 1981 and has lived in Gütersloh since the age of 7.
Romina Plonsker has been a Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017 and has been the CDU Spokesperson for Europe and International Affairs since 2022. Additionally, she has been a member of the State Executive Committee of the CDU North Rhine-Westphalia since 2016 and the district Chairwoman of the CDU Rhein-Erft since 2021. In 2020, she was elected to the council of the Rhein-Erft district as well as Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU distict council faction. Romina Plonsker’s work on the Committee for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy is shaped by the guiding principle of making North Rhine-Westphalia a climate and environmentally-friendly industrial location. Additionally, she serves on the Supervisory Boards of RWE Power AG, Wirtschaftsförderung Rhein-Erft GmbH, and the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier GmbH. Romina Plonsker completed both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Cologne.

Europe’s New Disorder and Germany’s Zeitenwende
2023-09-13 18:00 - 21:00
On the evening of September 13, the ACG will host the inaugural Dr. Richard M. Hunt Memorial Lecture with Dr. Josef Joffe, Professor of International Politics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Dr. Josef Joffe teaches international politics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Previously he taught at Stanford and Harvard, where he earned his Ph.D. in Government. A renowned journalist and author, Dr. Joffe has served as Editorial Page Editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Executive Editor and Co-Publisher of Die Zeit. His essays have appeared in the New York Review of Books, New York Times Book Review, Times Literary Supplement, Commentary, New York Times Magazine, New Republic, Politico, and Prospect (London). His op-ed pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Financial Times, the Times of London, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. He has authored and co-authored ten books in English and German. His scholarly articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, International Security, The American Interest, American Purpose, and Foreign Policy. Dr. Joffe is a Founding Member of the American Academy in Berlin. He serves on the Boards of Ben Gurion University, Bard College Berlin, the Hamburg Symphony, Youth for Understanding, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the Editorial Boards of American Interest (Washington) and International Security (MIT). Dr. Joffe holds Honorary Degrees from Swarthmore College (2002) and Lewis and Clark College (2005) and was awarded the German Federal Order of Merit in 1996.
The Dr. Richard M. Hunt Memorial Lecture Series honors late ACG Vice Chairman Dr. Richard M. Hunt, who was deeply committed to strengthening ties between Germany and the United States and gave exceptional support to the ACG for 50 years. He was the first and longest-serving President in the organization’s history, from 1972 to 1988, and subsequently served as Vice Chairman until his passing on April 10, 2020. During his tenure, Rick Hunt worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help create the American-German Young Leaders Conference, launched in 1973, and the McCloy Fellowship program, launched in 1975 – both of which remain central to our work today. He also helped shape the biennial German-American Conference. These programs are just a fraction of his lasting legacies to the Council. His wise counsel, keen knowledge of German-American relations, faith in younger generations, and warm, unassuming manner are sorely missed. We will be joined for this special evening by Rick and Pricilla Hunt’s three children, Dr. Helen Hunt Bouscaren, Susan Hunt Hollingsworth, and William (Bill) Edwards Hunt.

Germany’s New Security Outlook: Key Elements of the National Security Strategy and the China Strategy
2023-09-19 17:30 - 19:00
The ACG will host a discussion and reception with Minister of State Tobias Lindner of the Federal Foreign Office.

Dr. Tobias Lindner has been a State Minister at the German Federal Foreign Office since 2021 and a member of the Bundestag since 2011. Dr. Lindner has dedicated his career to issues of defense, security, and foreign affairs. He has served as a member of the German Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) since 1998 and has been actively involved in shaping defense policy and promoting transparency within the armed forces. From 2018 to 2021, he was the speaker for the Green Party’s positions on defense policy, Chairman of the Parliament’s Defense Committee, as well as a member of the Budget Committee.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-09-25 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, September 25 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause Paul-Anton Krüger, Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Paul-Anton Krüger has been the Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung since the 2021 federal election. Previously he reported on political affairs and served as Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy Department, focusing on the Middle East and international security for three years. Before that, he spent four years in Cairo and was a correspondent covering large parts of the Arab world and Iran.
After graduating from the Alte Landesschule in Korbach, he studied journalism in Berlin and Munich. In August 2005, he joined the Süddeutsche Zeitung as a volunteer, worked as an editor from 2008, and as head of the foreign policy department from 2011. In the fall of 2007, Mr. Krüger was a guest editor at the Chicago Tribune as part of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, the German-American journalism scholarship of the International Journalism Programs e.V.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-10-02 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, October 2 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Brent Goff, Chief Anchor at DW News and Host of “The Day with Brent Goff.” Brent Goff is the Chief Anchor at DW News and Host of “The Day with Brent Goff.” He joined DW in 2000 and has become one of the most recognized on-air personalities. Prior to joining DW, Brent worked as a producer for CNN. He was both a Fulbright Scholar and a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow in Germany. Brent grew up in rural North Carolina, and his first job in TV journalism was at a small TV station in Missouri. He holds an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Dealing with Disinformation: Current Forms of Disinformation, Actors, and Spheres of Influence
2023-10-04 11:00 - 12:00
Over the last decade, widespread disinformation – distributed through the internet, over social media, and especially through messengers – has influenced our political systems and societies in an unprecedented way. When it comes to disinformation, what is the current state of affairs? What have we learned about the resiliency of our institutions? Are we ready for the impact AI will have on already fragile systems? The American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General of New York are launching a new online series to discuss these questions titled “Dealing with Disinformation.”
On October 4, at 11:00 am ET, the American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General of New York will kick off the series with a virtual discussion on how actors use disinformation campaigns to influence public opinion, divide societies, and disrupt democratic processes. We will be joined by Lutz Güllner, Head of Strategic Communications and Information Analysis at the European External Action Service, and Nina Jankowicz, Vice President at the Centre for Information Resilience and former Head of the Disinformation Governance Board of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Lutz Güllner is the Head of the Division for Strategic Communications and Information Analysis in the European External Action Service. He leads a team of about 40 persons dealing with issues related to disinformation and foreign manipulative interference. In his work, he focuses on addressing disinformation threats for the EU and for the EU’s neighborhood region. Prior to his current position, he served as Head of the EEAS’s foreign and security policy communication team (2017-2019) and as Head of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade’s communication team (2013-17). He was also Deputy Head of the Trade Strategy Unit and responsible for the coordination of EU-US trade and economic relations. In 2009 and 2010, Mr. Güllner was spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton. He was also the Commission’s spokesperson for trade policy. In previous positions, he was in charge of economic relations between the EU and Russia. Prior to joining the European Commission, he worked as a public affairs consultant in Brussels.
Nina Jankowicz is an internationally recognized expert on disinformation and democratization and the author of two books: How to Lose the Information War (Bloomsbury 2020) and How to Be A Woman Online (Bloomsbury 2022), an examination of online abuse and disinformation and tips for fighting back. She currently serves as the Vice President at the UK-based Centre for Information Resilience, a non-profit focused on countering disinformation. Ms. Jankowicz has advised governments, international organizations, and tech companies, and testified before the U.S. Congress, UK Parliament, and European Parliament.
In 2022, Ms. Jankowicz was appointed to lead the Disinformation Governance Board, an intra-agency best practices and coordination entity at the Department of Homeland Security; she resigned from the position after a sustained disinformation campaign caused the Biden Administration to abandon the project. From 2017-2022, she held fellowships at the Wilson Center, where she was affiliated with the Kennan Institute and the Science and Technology Innovation Program and led accessible, actionable research about the effects of disinformation on women, minorities, democratic activists, and freedom of expression around the world. In 2016-17, she advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on disinformation and strategic communications under the auspices of a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship. Early in her career, she managed democracy assistance programs to Russia and Belarus at the National Democratic Institute.

The Implications of the EU’s AI Act: A View from Germany
2023-10-04 18:00 - 19:30
The ACG will host a discussion and reception with Paula Cipierre, Head of Privacy and Public Policy for Palantir Technologies and 2023 ACG McCloy Fellow on Global Trends.

Paula Cipierre is the Head of Privacy and Public Policy at Palantir Technologies. She advises the company and its customers on strategic and ethical questions about developing and deploying Palantir software. She has researched and worked at the intersection of data protection, data ethics, and the digital world for over a decade. A vocal proponent of interdisciplinary thinking and lifelong learning, she holds several humanities and social sciences degrees from universities in Europe and the United States, including an LLM in Information Technology Law from the University of Edinburgh. She recently co-wrote a book about what we can learn from art to shape the future with software.

Science Diplomacy, Academic Freedom, and the New Role of Universities
2023-10-05 08:00 - 09:30
On October 5, the ACG, the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the German Center for Research and Innovation will host a breakfast briefing with Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal, President of the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal has been the President of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since October 1, 2022. From 1989 to 1996, she studied Political Sciences, Law, and Slavonic Studies (Russian Studies) in Heidelberg and Hamburg. She received her Doctorate in 2001 and her Habilitation in Political Sciences in 2007 from the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (today the Helmut Schmidt University).
After a visiting fellowship in Canberra and a deputy professorship at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, she held a fixed-term professorship for German and comparative politics at the Justus Liebig University Giessen. Prof. Dr. von Blumenthal has been a Professor of German Politics at the Department of Social Sciences of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since 2009. She has served as Dean of Studies and afterwards as Dean of the Faculty of Arts III. In 2014, she became the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. From October 2018 to October 2022, she was President of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). As a political scientist, she has researched German politics, especially on federalism and parliaments and on the role of higher education institutions in integrating refugees.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-10-09 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse.
Join us on Monday, October 9 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause on the day after state elections in Bavaria and Hesse with Michael Watzke, Bavarian Correspondent for Deutschlandradio. He’ll talk about the impact of the elections at the state and national level. Michael Watzke has been the Bavarian Correspondent for Deutschlandradio since 2010. He first embarked on a career in journalism by working on the school paper (Die Waage) in Remscheid and later worked as a free-lancer for the Rheinischen Post and at WDR’s regional studio in Wuppertal. He studied Journalism at the German Journalist School in Munich and Political Science and Communications at the LMU Munich and at American University in Washington DC. After completing his studies, Mr. Watzke worked as a journalist, editor, and moderator and, from 2002 until 2010, as Lead Reporter for Antenne Bayern. He was awarded an Arthur F. Burns Fellowship in 2014 and worked at WNYC.

Dealing with Disinformation: How Is Disinformation Shifting Democratic Processes and International Relations?
2023-10-12 11:00 - 12:00
Disinformation is a cause for tremendous concern to countries around the world – including democracies. Information manipulation has become more common – and far more sophisticated – in recent years. There are domestic and foreign actors who engage in disinformation campaigns to disrupt democratic processes or otherwise make money by intentionally spreading false or misleading information. How resilient are nation-states and the international order? What can be done to address disinformation at the national and multilateral levels?
Join the American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General New York for the second installment of the series on “Dealing with Disinformation.” German diplomat and former journalist Ralf Beste and Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations, will discuss the impact of disinformation on international relations during a webinar on Thursday, October 12, at 11:00 am ET. Ralf Beste is a German diplomat and former journalist. He currently serves as the Director-General for Culture and Society at the German Federal Foreign Office. From September 2019 until March 2022, he was Germany’s Ambassador to Austria. Prior to that, he was Deputy Director of the Policy Planning Staff in the Foreign Office, where he was responsible for the 2014 “Review of German Foreign Policy.” He became the Director of the Policy Planning staff in 2017.
From 1996 until 2000, he was the Parliamentary Correspondent for the Berliner Zeitung – first in Bonn and then in Berlin. In 2001, he moved to the Berlin Bureau of Der Spiegel, where he reported on foreign and security policy and the Greens.
Mr. Beste studied History in Bochum, Bielefeld, and Baltimore and holds Master’s degrees from Bielefeld University and The Johns Hopkins University.
Melissa Fleming is Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations, having taken up her post in September 2019.
Ms. Fleming leads the UN’s Department of Global Communications, which is responsible for informing global audiences about the state of the world and engaging them to build support for the Organization’s work and goals.
In this role, Ms. Fleming oversees the UN’s strategic communications operations, including its multilingual news and digital media services, public outreach programmes, and global campaigns.
Under her leadership, the UN Department of Global Communications engages in far-reaching efforts to address misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech. She is leading on the development of a Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms.
Previously, Ms. Fleming served 10 years at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as Head of Global Communications. Prior to that, she was the Spokesperson and Head of Media and Outreach at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). She also headed the Press and Public Information team at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Ms. Fleming is a TED speaker, the author of the book  A Hope More Powerful than the Sea, and the host of the award-winning UN podcast Awake at Night.
Ms. Fleming holds a Master of Science in Journalism from the College of Communication, Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies from Oberlin College.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-10-16 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse.
Join us on Monday, October 16 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with journalist Alfred Schmit. Alfred Schmit works as a journalist in Berlin. Since December 2018, he has been a radio correspondent in ARD’s capital studio in Berlin. Previously, he worked as London correspondent for ARD radio, for SWR Radio in the Economics department in Stuttgart and as newswriter for the German national TV news, tagesschau, in Hamburg. Mr. Schmit’s topics primarily include economics, finance, and consumer issues. Previously, the radio journalist worked at DEUTSCHE WELLE as presenter for the English-language section and a correspondent’s deputy in Bonn. A political scientist by training, he graduated from the Universität Heidelberg and completed journalism training at the Institute for the Promotion of Young Journalists in Munich (ifp). Mr. Schmit also spent a year studying in the United States at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.

Kaffeepause: Special Edition - The Polish Election
2023-10-23 09:00 - 10:00
Join us on Monday, October 23, for a special edition of the regular Kaffeepause. We’ll discuss the results of Poland’s election and the future of German-Polish relations with former German Ambassador to Poland Rolf Nikel. Ambassador Rolf Nikel has served as the Vice President of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since September 2020, when he was elected to this office by DGAP’s general assembly.
Before joining DGAP, Amb. Nikel spent more than 40 years working for the German Foreign Office. From July 2014 until the end of June 2020, he was Germany’s ambassador to Poland. From 2011 to 2014, he was the Federal Government Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control. Prior to that, he served in the Federal Chancellery – as deputy head of its foreign and security policy division (2006 to 2011) and head of its United Nations and Global Issues Group (2005 to 2006). During his diplomatic career, he also worked at German embassies in Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, and Washington, DC, where he headed the political department.
Rolf Nikel studied political science, economics, and international law in Frankfurt; Durham, North Carolina; and Paris. He was also a fellow at Harvard University.

Germany’s Zeitenwende and Nuclear Deterrence
2023-10-24 10:00 - 11:00
With Russia’s war in Ukraine, we have seen a fundamental shift in Germany’s foreign, security, and energy policy. Putin’s nuclear threats and saber-rattling has also led to a reexamination of Germany’s approach to nuclear defense. Prior to the current conflict, there was little discussion about nuclear defense.
In a new book titled “Deutschlands nukleare Interessen” (Germany’s Nuclear Interests), security expert Dr. Karl-Heinz Kamp reexamines Germany’s nuclear defense policy and highlights the need for German parliamentarians and policymakers to have a nuanced understanding about nuclear matters and the role of deterrence. Join us on October 24 at 11 am ET for a virtual discussion with Dr. Kamp. Dr. Karl-Heinz Kamp is a Lecturer at the University “Roma Tre” in Rome and an Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. Previously, he served as Special Envoy of the Political Director in the German Ministry of Defense. From 2013 to 2015, he was the Academic Director at the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) in Berlin and then served as the Academy’s President until 2019.
He started his career in 1986 at the German Council of Foreign Affairs (DGAP) in Bonn. In 1988, he was a Research Fellow at the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA) at Harvard‘s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In September 1988, he joined the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bonn, where he became Head of the Foreign- and Security Policy Research Section in 1992 and later the Director of its International Planning Staff. From 2003 to 2007, he was the Security Policy Coordinator of the Foundation in Berlin. From 1997 to 1998, Dr. Kamp was on a temporary assignment with the Planning Staff of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From November 2007 to October 2013, he served as the Research Director of the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome to build up NATO’s Research Division.
Dr. Kamp is a member of numerous international institutions and academic bodies. In 2009, Secretary Madeleine Albright selected him as one of the Advisors for the NATO Expert Group on the New Strategic Concept. Since 2016, he is also the co-editor of the strategic journal “Sirius,” and he has published more than 400 articles on security policy issues in books and journals.

How has the War in Ukraine Changed Germany’s Energy and Climate Policy?
2023-10-26 12:00 - 14:00
The ACG and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Washington DC will host a discussion and luncheon with Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Executive Director/CEO of Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (Environmental Action Germany).
Sascha Müller-Kraenner has served as Executive Director/CEO of Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., DUH (Environmental Action Germany) since January 2015. Environmental Action Germany is an independent non-profit organization that was founded in 1975 and is focused on environmental and consumer protection. It is a leading environment and consumer advocacy organization that works mostly at the German state and national and on the European level.
Mr. Müller-Kraenner is also a founding partner and board member of Ecologic Institute, a non-profit applied environmental policy research institute with offices in Berlin, Brussels, and Washington, DC. Before assuming his current role, he held various positions with The Nature Conservancy between 2007 and 2014, and earlier in his career, he worked for the Heinrich-Böll Foundation.
Mr. Müller-Kraenner studied Philosophy in Munich and graduated with honors in Biology and Public Law from the University of Bayreuth.

The Israel-Hamas Conflict and its Broader Implications: A View from Germany
2023-11-01 12:00 - 13:00
On October 7, in a series of coordinated attacks, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel, with hundreds of gunmen infiltrating communities near the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 people – including civilians – were taken to Gaza as hostages. In response, Israel has carried out air and artillery strikes, begun a counter-offensive, and cut off electricity and most water supplies. The fighting is causing death and destruction in the region – and causing reverberations around the world. On Monday, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting regarding the situation. This comes after a meeting on Friday when 120 countries voted in favor of a UN resolution calling for a “sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza. The United States voted against the resolution. Germany – and 14 other EU member states – abstained, showing that the EU countries cannot find a common position.
More than three weeks into the conflict, join the American Council on Germany on November 1 for a virtual discussion about the broader implications of the conflict with Middle East expert Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz, Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies and Professor for Contemporary History and Politics of the Middle East at the University of Hamburg. Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz has been the Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies and Professor of Contemporary History and Politics of the Middle East at the University of Hamburg since October 2019. Prior to that, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB). Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Economic Studies at the Gulf Research Center (GRC) in Dubai. He began his career in finance, working for banks in Frankfurt, Mainz, and Dubai. He has also held positions with the Barcelona Institute of International Studies, the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, and at Princeton University.
Prof. Dr. Woertz studied Economics, Political Science, and Islamic Studies at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Free University of Berlin, the Institut Français d’Études Arabes de Damas, and the University of Damascus.

German-American Economic Relations: A German Perspective
2023-11-01 18:00 - 19:30
The ACG and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung will host a discussion and reception with Julia Klöckner, Member of the German Bundestag, Spokeswoman on Economic Policy for the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, and Former Federal Minister.
Julia Klöckner has been a member of the German Parliament (Bundestag) since 2021, representing the constituency of Kreuznach. She serves as the Spokeswoman on Economic Policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and as a Deputy Member of the Committee on Culture and the Media. She previously served as the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture under the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021.
After training as a journalist, Ms. Klöckner’s was among other things an Editor at the Meininger Verlag publishing house, and later Editor-in-Chief of Sommelier magazine, which she co-founded. During this time, she also remained active in local politics. She made her first foray into national politics in 2002, when she first entered the Bundestag. In 2011, she went to serve in the state parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate and as Chairwoman of its CDU parliamentary group from 2011 to 2018. Throughout her career, Ms. Klöckner has held several senior leadership roles within the CDU, including as federal treasurer since 2022 and deputy federal chairwomen from 2012 to 2022.
