The recent attack on the U.S. Capitol and incidents in other Western democracies – such as the attempt to storm the Reichstag building in Berlin in August 2020 – demonstrate how fragile our democracies are. On January 15, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion with Pam Campos-Palma, Political Strategist and Consultant, and Alexander Sängerlaub, Director of futur eins; and moderated by ACG Fellowship alum Dr. Nicholas Boston, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Lehman College of the City University of New York, and Visiting Professor of Communications at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.
On Wednesday, January 6, the world was watching as thousands of pro-Trump protesters convened outside the U.S. Capitol. They disrupted a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes and formalize Joe Biden’s election victory. After breaching the perimeter, the rioters occupied and vandalized parts of the building.
As the first event of 2021, the ACG and Freunde des American Council on Germany hosted a discussion with Juliane Schäuble, the U.S. Correspondent for the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel and NPR’s Rob Schmitz.
As we head into the holiday season, we might find our travel plans impacted by Covid-regulations. On December 15, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion with Ricarda Lindner, Regional Manager for the Americas and Director of the U.S. Office of the German National Tourist Office, and Guy Martin (1991 ACG Journalism Fellow), Senior Correspondent for Conde Nast Traveler and Senior Contributor at Forbes, on the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry.
The Austin-Koblenz sister city relationship was established in 1992. The partnership connects citizens through a variety of cultural and economic exchanges and has had a strong focus on education and workforce development. On December 11, the ACG hosted a discussion with Mayor Steve Adler of Austin and Lord Mayor David Langner of Koblenz on the current issues confronting their respective communities, workforce preparedness, and how they are preparing for the future.
This virtual event was part of the American Council on Germany’s new series titled [virtual] Transatlantic Town Halls: German-American Mayors Forum, held under the auspices of WunderbarTogether USA 2020, a comprehensive and collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.
In July, Germany assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the European Council. Germany took on this role at a critical juncture for the European Union. The public health and economic implications of the corona crisis, Brexit, and the rising tensions between member states are just some of the issues that have been on the European agenda. On December 9, the ACG hosted a webinar with Dr. Ulrike Guérot, Head of the Department for European Policy and the Study of Democracy at the Danube University in Krems (Austria) and the founder of the European Democracy Lab in Berlin, on the achievements and shortcomings of the German European Council Presidency.