Aspen Institute Germany

Calling all Influencers and Content Creators from Central and Eastern Europe who want to make a positive impact to reduce mis/dis-information online! 📣📣 We are now opening the applications to be a participant of the 2025 #InfluencersAgainstDisinfo project. In this project you will have the opportunity to exchange with experts and deepen your understanding of the challenges of disinformation and develop strategies to inform your audiences responsibly and objectively. This project will also feature online workshops and two study trips, to Berlin and Vilnius where you will get the chance to engage with local experts. To apply, please complete this online https://lnkd.in/gqbuEPUr We are excited to hear from you! You can find more information on our website https://lnkd.in/d6k6b87k

2024 passed in a whirlwind. Many of you have participated in our projects, events, and publications to further the ideas the Aspen Institute Germany stands for: convening and engaging people to find solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. And without your support, your engagement, and your enthusiasm all this would not have been possible. Among the many exciting highlights that we were delighted to accomplish, we want to share a few with you: At the festive Gala celebrating 50 Years of Aspen Germany, we presented the Shepard Stone Award to Joachim Gauck in recognition of his life’s work, with the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, holding the laudation. We are delighted to share Mr. Gauck’s remarkable acceptance speech with you: https://lnkd.in/eP2NiMz9 (available only in German). We also honored the late Edzard Reuter for his continued commitment to Europe and the transatlantic bond and his contributions to Aspen Germany. You can find our jubilee publication here: https://lnkd.in/egSAVdfb. Another highlight in this special year was the unforgettable U.S. Election Night 2024 with almost 1,700 participants sharing their excitement for the U.S. elections across the pond and with more than 20 partners from think tanks, media, and business. A true Team effort! We were also delighted to be once again the official partner, together with the SOG, of the Federal Government for the Civil Society & Think Tank Forum of the Berlin Process for the Western Balkans, handing over the policy recommendations to Chancellor Scholz and heads of states and governments from the Western Balkans. Beyond those highlights, we worked on many projects like the German-American Trade and Tech Dialogue, our Laboratories of Democracy, or leadership seminars, and started new ones like our Future Cities go Glocal, our Social Media Influencer Project, and the first ever Socrates Seminar in Germany. The Aspen Team says THANK YOU for your support! Let’s continue travelling this journey together, working towards more just and sustainable societies. We wish you Happy Holidays and hope to see you again next year for many of our exciting projects as we keep “Growing with Aspen!”

In the latest issue of Berlin Perspectives (Institut für Europäische Politik e.V.) , Stormy-Annika Mildner examines the impact of the “America First” policies on the EU and Germany in particular. She points out weaknesses in Germany’s export-oriented growth model and the European economy in general, which are exacerbated by the challenges of the green and digital transformation. Find the full publication here: https://lnkd.in/eCQ3rG2q

We are happy to share our newest “In A Nutshell” authored by Jackson Janes: “Free Reigns for the President? U.S. Congress after the Elections”. In this spotlight, he reflects on the U.S. elections 2024 and how the newly gained close Republican majorities will influence Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency. He empathizes, that whilst the president does have large executive capabilities, those powers will be balanced and checked. Furthermore, the individual members of Congress and the House of Representatives will pursue their own agendas. Find out why and how that could be a problem for the president elect in our publication: https://lnkd.in/ers5T4Sv #Trump #presidency

As we approach the end of the year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the milestones, insightful discussions, & impactful recommendations we’ve achieved in this year’s Civil Society & Think Tank Forum 2024, co-organized by the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft e.V. & the Aspen Institute Germany. ✅ Stakeholder Consultation Survey: In the spring, we asked for input about the essential topics from civil society’s perspective to cover in the forthcoming Civil Society & Think Tank Forum 2024. ✅ Preparatory Forum in Skopje (July 9-11): To kick off this year’s forum, we gathered 130 organizations into seven thematic working groups to develop policy recommendations on issues facing the Western Balkans. ✅ Stocktaking Study: 10 Years of the Berlin Process: Marking the Berlin Process 10th anniversary, the forum commissioned a study of the Berlin Process to provide a roadmap of initiatives, milestones, & challenges. See a link to the study below ⬇️ ✅ Advocacy Meetings: Rapporteurs presented recommendations & received feedback with key gov stakeholders through several meetings in the fall. See a link to the recommendations below ⬇️ ✅ Sherpas Meeting: In the lead-up to the Berlin Process Summit in October, we convened the forum’s rapporteurs with Berlin Process sherpas from the Western Balkans & special representatives from Germany & Norway for discussions. ✅ Foreign Ministers Meeting: Representatives of the forum presented recommendations to the foreign ministers & special envoys assembled. ✅ Civil Society and Think Tank Forum in Berlin (October 9-11): For the marquee event of the forum, we brought civil society from 130 organizations to discuss their recommendations with gov representatives on the sidelines of the Berlin Process Summit, as well as w/ the Youth Forum & Business Forum. ✅ Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit: Civil society at the Berlin Process Summit! We personally handed policy recommendations to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Ursula von der Leyen, and other leaders in a defining moment of this year’s forum. ✅ Stocktaking Studies in Dialogue: Continuing our activities, we discussed three stocktaking studies with insightful studies reflecting on the Berlin Process’ 10th anniversary. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany for its generous support. We also thank our rapporteurs, Institute for Democracy Societas Civilis Skopje - IDSCS, Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia, Reactor - Research in Action, Riinvest Institute, RESET, PPNEA, and the Montenegro Media Institute, as well as the authors of our stocktaking study, Marika Djolai and Silvana Mojsovska. This initiative continues in 2025! We’re excited to build on these achievements as we look to follow-ups, advocacy, and an official handover event next year. #CSF2024 #BerlinProcess #WesternBalkans

The Aspen Germany team had the honor of attending a training at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) led by Simon Vaut, government director at the BMWK. We thank Simon for taking the time to explain to us the dynamics of public administration in Germany and the craft of political speech-writing. We had an insightful discussion on the workings of the federal government and delved into the intricacies of ministerial administration. Simon shared his experiences as a speechwriter as well as deputy head of division in the division of energy security and provided us with insights into the role of communication within government. We really enjoyed this unique visit and appreciate the opportunity of learning more about the BMWK and his work. 

New #SpotOn Policy Brief out now! In “Trump’s Second Act: Transatlantic Relations Under Trump 2.0,” Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Katja Greeson, Molly Hall, Tobias Röttger, Lena Sielaff, Tim Stark, Talia Stringfellow and Vincent Tadday analyze what Trump’s second presidency means for transatlantic relations. The next administration will create new challenges for European partners, from security, trade, and climate and energy policy to digital policy, global governance, and democracy. A clear and consensual European strategy is necessary as Europe braces itself for the impending global “shake-up” under a Trump 2.0. The publication is part of the SpotOn series in which the Aspen Institute Germany gives selected authors a voice to analyze and reflect on current affairs and thus reflects the personal views of the authors. The format serves the open discourse on pressing social and political challenges and opportunities. You can read the publication here: https://lnkd.in/gZu7xWFn

As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we are proud to share a very interesting article by Prof. Dr. Volker Berghahn from our anniversary publication. Prof. Dr. Volker Berghahn is a historian of German and modern European history at Columbia University, New York, and a Fellow of the ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY. In this article, he describes the early days of the founder of the Aspen Institute Germany and his many remarkable achievements. We are very thankful to Prof. Dr. Volker Berghahn for this article. #aspen50 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/egSAVdfb

As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we’re excited to share a fascinating article series by Ruth Girardet, Member of Court at The University of Edinburgh and Lead Moderator at the Executive Leadership and Rising Leader Seminars at Aspen Institute UK. In her series, Ruth takes us through Aspen Germany’s key events and achievements, summarizing each decade from the 1980s to the present. A big thank you to Ruth for her dedication and effort in creating these insightful articles! Read the full series here: https://lnkd.in/egSAVdfb

As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we are happy to share this article by Steffen Hebestreit, the Government Spokesperson for the Federal Government of Germany and Head of the Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung. In his artcile he celebrates the close partnership between the Aspen Institute Germany and the Federal Press Office. We thank Steffen Hebestreit for this insightful article! #aspen50 Find the full article in our publication: https://lnkd.in/egSAVdfb