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 June 27, the ACG hosted a virtual discussion about the recent developments in Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine with Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Senior Advisor at Human Rights First and Retired Commanding General of United States Army Europe.
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. On June 12, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Loveday Morris, The Washington Post’s Berlin bureau chief.
On June 9, the ACG held a virtual discussion with Turkey expert Dr. Sinem Adar from the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) about the election results and what they mean domestically and for the future of Turkish foreign policy.
On June 6, the American Council on Germany and the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation hosted a virtual discussion about fake scientific papers with neuropsychologist Prof. Dr. Bernhard Sabel, Director of the Institute for Medical Psychology at the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, and Dr. Elisabeth Malsch, a leader in the forensics practice at Thornton Tomasetti in New York.
On May 31, the American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany held a discussion on challenges facing the education field with German and American state legislators, including Senator Raumesh Akbari (D), Tennessee State Senate; Representative Edward DeLaney (D), Indiana House of Representatives; Jochen Ott (SPD), State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia; Andreas Sturm (CDU), State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg; and Representative Steven Ultrino (D), Massachusetts General Court.