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 21, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion on energy security, as part of their virtual series Democracies und Pressure: Challenges for the Global Liberal Order, Samantha Gross, Director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and Dr. Rainer Quitzow from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS).
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. On June 20, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Stephan Detjen, Chief Correspondent for Deutschlandradio.
On June 7, the American Council on Germany and 1014 hosted a discussion with political scientist Dr. Benjamin Denison, on what a regime change may mean for Russia and transatlantic relations. This event is part of a series titled Democracies und Pressure: Challenges for the Global Liberal Order.
On Friday, June 3, the American Council on Germany and the German Embassy in Washington, DC hosted a virtual discussion with public health experts Dr. Nicole Lurie, U.S. Director of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and former Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), and Prof. Dr. Veronika von Messling, Director-General for Life Sciences in the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research; and moderated by journalist Arthur Allen. They discussed global public health as a priority for the G7 Summit as we try to come to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 27, the American Council on Germany hosted a discussion with ACG Board member Michael Heinz, Chairman and CEO of the BASF Corporation and Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, about the impact of the current crisis on the Germany economy.