Events: The Bertelsmann Stiftung Europe’s Future Program Featuring at the 2023 Munich Security Conference

We will feature three separate presentations at the 2023 Munich Security Conference between Feb. 16 and Feb. 19, including the U.S.-German Futures Forum, a new study from the Project Sovereign Europe, and new data from eupinions.

The U.S.-German Futures Forum – Data for Good: Tech Insight for Security and Democracy

As part of the U.S.-German Futures Forum, organized by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, U.S. Department of State, German Federal Foreign Office, and American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University, the Amerikahaus Munich will host a panel discussion exploring how public and private spheres might partner more effectively on the identification, mitigation and prevention of potentially cataclysmic security threats such as Denial of Service attacks, wiper malware, and ransomware demands as well as physical threats – including an examination of early lessons learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This event will begin with opening remarks from Kemba Walden (Principal Deputy National Cyber Director, White House) and Regine Grienberger, (Cyber Ambassador, Federal Foreign Office).

Afterwards, Melinda Crane (Senior Political Analyst, Deutsche Welle) will moderate a panel discussion featuring David Van Weel (Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)), Phil Venables (Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President of Google Cloud, Google), Yasmin Al-Douri, (Co-Founder, Responsible Technology Hub), and Carisa Nietsche (Associate Fellow, Center for a New American Security (CNAS)).

The event will take place on Thursday, February 16, 2023 from 20:15 to 21:45 CET, with a preceding reception at 19:15 CET. Register your attendance here.

New Study – “Keeping friends closer: Why the EU should address new geoeconomic realities and get its neighbours back in the fold”

Together with the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), we are presenting our soon-to-be-released study entitled: “Keeping friends closer: Why the EU should address new geoeconomic realities and get its neighbours back in the fold.”

The study sets out to measure the interconnectivity between the European Union and its neighbouring countries and to compare these interconnections with those of the EU’s peers and rivals: the US, China, and Russia. Specifically, the study deals with interconnectivity in five areas: trade, finance, technology and know-how, infrastructure and labour mobility. In doing so, the study seeks to identify and measure the extent of these interconnections and to draw out the key geoeconomic implications for the EU.

The new report will be presented by Richard Grieveson (Deputy Director, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) and our very own Christian Hanelt (Senior Expert for the EU Neighbourhood and the Middle East).

The event will take place on Friday, February 17th, 2023 from 12:30 to 13:15 CET and can be viewed via your webbrowser or the Global and European Dynamics Twitter account.

A Conversation on the Power of the Past – eupinions

On Saturday, February 18, Isabell Hoffmann (Senior Expert and head of our EU polling platform eupinions), will host a conversation among Anne Applebaum (Journalist & Historian), Timothy Garton Ash (Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford) and Michael Thumann (Foreign Policy Correspondent in Moscow & Berlin, Die ZEIT) on how nostalgia is used as a powerful political tool.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought toxic nostalgic rhetoric (back) to the international stage, further escalated by his invasion of sovereign Ukraine in February 2022. His ongoing territorial war has sent shock waves across the European continent evoking past trauma of war, displacement and destruction, which in turn hampers the type of decision-making and leadership needed at this critical intersection.

Today, Europeans are simultaneously exposed to the siren of the “good old times” and the horrors of the “good old times.” How does it shape their views, attitudes and decisions as national and European politicians? How does it affect the way in which they pledge solidarity and send support to Ukraine? This event will address these questions and explore the power of the past over the political present by delving into empirical research, historical facts and political realities.

Feel free to join us for the conversation!

About the author

Brandon Bohrn works as a project manager for the “Europe’s Future” program at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. His work centers around U.S-German affairs and transatlantic relations. Previously, he worked as a project manager for transatlantic relations with the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington.