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 April 13, the American Council on Germany, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, the NVRC, and the Verband Region Stuttgart hosted a discussion with Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) and Cem Özdemir, Bundestag Member (The Greens) about the subnational dimension of foreign policy. The conversation was moderated by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Executive Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Executive Director of The Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Director of the ACG’s Eric M. Warburg Chapter in Boston
Each week, the ACG hosts a Kaffeepause, or coffee break, with a Berlin-based journalist. On April 12, Gordon Repinski, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at The Pioneer, spoke about the political landscape of Germany leading up to the federal elections later this year.
How can the strengthening of transatlantic relations and collaborations between Europe and the US support sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) on both sides of the Atlantic? How can a Feminist Foreign Policy contribute to the protection and expansion of SRHR? On April 7, 1014 and CFFP, with the support of the American Council on Germany discussed these questions with Heather Boonstra, Vice President of Public Policy at the Guttmacher Institute; and Leah Hoctor, the Senior Regional Director for Europe at The Center for Reproductive Rights; and moderated by Nina Bernarding, Executive Director of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy.
How have governments responded to the economic crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what will be the consequences? On Tuesday, April 6, a panel discussion with Wolfgang Schmidt, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance of Germany, Angella MacEwen, Senior Economist, Canadian Union of Public Employees, and Branko Milanovic, Professor and Senior Scholar, the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, the Graduate Center, CUNY, addressed the inequalities revealed and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the public policy tools available to ameliorate those inequalities, and the likely paths economies can take in the recovery from the pandemic. This public online event was moderated by John Torpey, Director, European Union Studies Center, and organized with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Washington office. It was co-sponsored by the American Council on Germany, Colorado European Union Center of Excellence, University of Florida Center for European Studies, and Stone Center on Inequality at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
As Germany heads into the election season, on April 6, the ACG hosted a Kaffeepause with Politico’s Chief Europe Correspondent Matthew Karnitschnig.