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.
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 Monday, September 13 the ACG held a discussion with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth on the morning after the second television debate between the three candidates for Chancellor.
On September 10 the American Council on Germany for a discussion on the impact of 9/11 today with Souad Mekhennet and Elmar Theveßen, German journalists who have worked to piece together the developments leading up to September 11, 2001 and to analyze the profound global impact of the day on politics and society.
On September 9, the ACG hosted a discussion about the current situation in Afghanistan and future prospects for the region with Bundestag member Omid Nouripour, who serves as the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the German parliament. With thanks to the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung for supporting this event.
On September 8, the American Council on Germany and 1014 held a transatlantic conversation with Judy Dempsey, Editor-in-Chief at Carnegie Europe; Dr. Markus Kaim, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs (SWP); and Dr. Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
On Monday, August 30, the ACG hosted a kaffeepause with journalist Miriam Hollstein, Chief Political Reporter for FUNKE Zentralredaktion. She discussed the first debate of the three leading candidates for the Chancellor.