The spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing global lock-down as governments try to slow the spread of the corona virus has tested individuals and institutions around the world. Since March of 2020, the ACG has stepped up its digital programming by hosting webinars and video discussions which bring together policy makers and thought leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss some of the key issues shaping transatlantic relations in an unprecedented time. In addition to organizing events on its own, the ACG has also partnered with other organizations such as 1014 and Atlantik-Brücke to launch new series designed to reach beyond the ACG community.
On December 12, the American Council on Germany and the German Consulate General New York hosted a virtual discussion on the spread of disinformation with award-winning New York Times journalist Tiffany Hsu and Correctiv Co-Founder and Publisher David Schraven.
On December 6, the ACG hosted a discussion about the foreign policy, national security, energy policy, and domestic implications of Germany’s budget crisis with Bundestag member Metin Hakverdi (SPD).
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. On December 4, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Melanie Amann, Co-Editor-in-Chief for Der Spiegel.
November 30, the American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a virtual discussion with German and American state legislators including Ellen Demuth (CDU), State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate; Representative Jennifer Parenti (D), Colorado General Assembly; Senator Bo Watson (R), Tennessee General Assembly.
On Tuesday, November 28, the American Council on Germany and 1014 hosted 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.