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.
2020 has been overshadowed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. National governments, societies, health care systems, and multinational corporations have raced to contain a constantly evolving public health crisis. As we enter the fall, the COVID-19 pandemic shows little signs of abating – but this is not the time to give up. On September 28, the Council hosted a conversation with ACG Board Member Dr. Franklin W. Maddux, Global Chief Medical Officer and Member of the Management Board of Fresenius Medical Care, who discussed how agility, ingenuity, and innovation have helped come to terms with the pandemic.
On September 25,the ACG hosted a webinar on the future of e-mobility with Michael D’Orazio, President at Sportiva; Stefan Knupfer, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company; James Schulte, Director at Exelon; Eric Tanenblatt, Global Chair, Public Policy & Regulation at Dentons; and moderated by Elke Rehbock, Partner at Dentons and ACG Board Member. This event is held in partnership with the Chicago International Trade Commissioners’ Association.
On September 23, 2020, the ACG hosted a Transatlantic Discussion with German Ambassador to the Unites States, Dr. Emily Haber and former United States Ambassador to Germany, John B. Emerson on the topic “Knowing each other? Mutual Perceptions across the Atlantic”. This event is part of the virtual Road to Election Night & Beyond, which is organized in cooperation with several Berlin-based transatlantic institutions and political foundations. More information on the event series can be found here: https://landing.berlin-election-night.de.
TikTok is a social media application that is primarily intended for entertainment and is especially popular among teenagers. Nevertheless, the U.S. President has declared TikTok a risk to U.S. national security. The American government accuses Bytedance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, of passing on user data to the Chinese authorities. Bytedance rejects the accusations. TikTok is to be banned in the USA if the company is not sold. Potential buyers include Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart. Due to the global dominance of Apple and Google operating systems, a ban of TikTok in the U.S. would probably have worldwide implications.
On September 22, the Freunde des ACG hosted a virtual discussion with Christoph Keese, CEO of Axel Springer hy GmbH, and John Lee, Senior Analyst at Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).
Predicting the future is difficult under any circumstance – but it is especially hard during a period of unprecedented uncertainty. One thing is certain: The coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of billions of people all over the globe. But, what are the lasting changes? What will our communities look like after the pandemic? Are there any lessons we can learn from this moment in history that can shape the world of tomorrow?
On September 16, the ACG and 1014 hosted a conversation with futurists Maria Bothwell, CEO of Toffler Associates, a future-focused strategic advisory firm based in Washington DC, and Gerd Leonhard, CEO of The Futures Agency in Zürich and a European speaker, film-maker and author who focuses on the nexus of humanity and technology, to learn what a post-COVID world might be like.