THIRD COUNCIL FORUM IN BERLIN

By fabianNews

THIRD COUNCIL FORUM IN BERLIN

 

Since the foundation of the Council of the German American Conference e.V. at Harvard in 2016, the annual Council Forum remains one of the highlights, connecting former and current organizers of the German American Conference and we are excited to have continued this tradition in 2019.

Of course, such a big event would not possible without numerous supporters and, therefore, we would like to extend a special thank you to our speakers (Constanze Stelzenmüller, Frank Pieke, John Kornblum, Noah Barkin, and Jan Brecke), supporters (Haniel Stiftung and Hoesch&Partner Versicherungsmakler) as well as our host in the Federal Foreign Office and council presidium member Peter Beyer (MdB and Transatlantic Coordinator).

 

DAY 1

The program of the Council Forum started at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After everyone had arrived in the beautiful library of the building, Council-Chairman Fabian Baldauf welcomed all guests and introduced Philipp Simons, Co-Chair of the 2019 German American Conference who traveled all the way from Boston to be with us for the Council Forum.

  
Taking place on November 1st/2nd 2019, Philipp gave a quick introduction to the impressive program the conference team did put together and announced several of the keynote speakers for this year's German American Conference which includes President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Former Federal Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrück, Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Friedrich Merz, and Siemens USA CEO Barbara Humpton just to name a few.
Hereafter, Council board member Constantin Weiss introduced our keynote speaker and China-expert Prof. Dr. Frank Pieke, Director and CEO of the Mercator Institute on China studies.
After Mr. Pieke's keynote provided great in-depth insights into current Chinese politics, John Kornblum (Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany), Constanze Stelzenmüller (Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and presidium member of the Council) and journalist Noah Barkin joined him for a panel discussion on the topic of "The rise of China and its impact on transatlantic relations".
After the official program, a reception in the Federal Foreign Office's 'Bonner Loch' kicked off the more informal part of the evening with drinks and chats, where everyone had the great opportunity to meet old and new Harvard friends as well as GAC friends.
 
A fantastic first day of the Council Forum ended with joining the GetYourGuide office opening party in Northern Berlin, hosted by GetYourGuide-CEO and GAC-alumni Johannes Reck.

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DAY 2

The second day of the event took place in a truly vibrant and unique location: The Soho House Berlin.

After the annual general meeting of the Council took place, several workshops on the future of the Council and the German American Conference followed and we were glad to have Philipp Simons (Co-Chair of the 2019 German American Conference) with us to discuss how the Council can best support the conference in the years to come.

 

Finally, for interested participants, Jan Brecke, author and executive coach, impressed the audience with fascinating insights into the future of leadership.

 

During the following transatlantic dinner with presidium member Sascha Spoun, the Council team continued the discussions on the future of the Council before the Council Forum found its perfect ending to an intensive and successful time during the subsequent "Transatlantic Drinks" at the SoHo House. Everyone had the chance to actively engage in discussions with the speakers and interesting guests, reflect on the inspiring moments of the last days and celebrate the successful start of many more Council events to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this part, we would like to thank all guests, our generous sponsors and everyone else who has helped us make this event so memorable.  Special thanks to the Hoesch & Partner team around Leon Glaser and Frank Buchholz!

Thank you!

The Council Team

P.S. A full catalogue of event pictures will be uploaded soon here on our website.

 

 

Supporters