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.
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Germany on the topics that are making the headlines and shaping political discourse. On January 27, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor for Der Tagesspiegel.
On January 23, the ACG held a virtual discussion with Prof. Dr. Kiran Klaus Patel, Chair of Modern History at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (LMU), and Young Leader alum Dr. Isaac Stanley-Becker, a National Security Reporter at the Washington Post and author of Europe without Borders. They discussed the ideas behind the creation of the Schengen area and the opportunities and challenges it has created.
Migration played a pivotal role in the U.S. elections, and it looms prominently in political debates in Germany ahead of elections next month. On January 15, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion with Victoria Rietig, the Head of the Center for Migration at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and award-winning journalist Molly O’Toole.
On December 16, the ACG held a special edition Kaffeepause with Cameron Adabi, deputy editor at Foreign Policy, and Rüdiger Lentz, senior political advisor for the firm of Rud Pedersen. They discussed the vote of no confidence in the Bundestag and the upcoming elections in Germany.
A few days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled into exile, on December 12, the ACG and the Center for Middle East and Global Order (CMEG) on December 12, for a virtual discussion with Dr. Bente Scheller, Head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Middle East and North Africa Division, and Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Founder and Director of CMEG. They discussed the larger global impact of the end of Assad’s regime and the uncertain future for Syrians.