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 March 29, the ACG hosted a discussion about the evolving debate in Germany about China with 2021 ACG DZ Bank Fellow Dr. Lily McElwee, who currently is a Fellow at the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. On March 20, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Dr. Anna Sauerbrey, Foreign Editor for the weekly DIE ZEIT and 2018 ACG Kellen Fellow.
On March 14, the ACG and the Tennessee World Affairs Council held a discussion with Dr. Liana Fix, a Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, on the latest developments of the war in Ukraine and its lasting consequences.
On March 9, the ACG hosted a discussion on relations with China with ACG Young Leader alumna Dana Heide, who served as Handelsblatt’s China correspondent for three years before moving to Berlin.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, the ACG hosted a virtual discussion with Barbara Mittelhammer. She is a Berlin-based independent consultant and political analyst who focuses on feminist foreign policy, human security, as well as gender in peace and security.