North America
The North America Regional Office in Washington, D.C. is composed of two pillar programs. The Transatlantic Dialogue Program fosters political dialogue among political, business, scientific and cultural multipliers from the US, Canada and Germany and develops innovative liberal approaches and solutions to transatlantic issues. The World Order and Globalization Hub fosters dialogue among political, business and scientific multipliers by encouraging increased mutual understanding within the global economic landscape. Both initiatives seek to facilitate a transfer of knowledge among experts in order to make a worldwide contribution to social and economic progress.
News
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Study and Information Tour to Germany for U.S. and Canadian Political Professionals
The Transatlantic Dialogue Program of the North America Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation was delighted to bring a delegation of U.S. American and Canadian political professionals to Kiel, Lübeck, and Berlin for a productive and insightful week-long study and information tour to facilitate exchanges between U.S., Canadian, and German political professionals on the transatlantic relationship.
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“The NATO-Russia Standoff: What Does it Mean for the Future of European Security and the Transatlantic Relationship?”
On Monday, February 28, 2022, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Regional Office North America was delighted to welcome Michael Link, Member of the German Federal Parliament, Spokesperson for European Affairs for the Free Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, and Member of the Board of Directors for FNF to Washington.
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"Empowering Liberals to Win: Election Campaign Best Practices”
In January 2022, the North America Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF)
convened a seminar for election campaign professionals titled “Empowering Liberals to Win: Election
Campaign Best Practices.” Leading campaign professionals from political parties across the world
came to Washington, D.C. to hear guest speakers discuss campaign trends in the United States and to
share best practices. -
“Defining a New Global Economy: World Order and Globalization Hub Alumni Conference”
The World Order and Globalization Hub hosted an alumni conference for past study tour participants virtually on December 15 and 16, 2021. The conference featured a variety of past study tour participants from both recent and older tours, who all hailed from geographically diverse locations. This contributed to productive conversations regarding the Hub’s future 2022 topics, as well as the future of the digital economy.
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“An Evolving Global Economic Order: The Future of the Bretton Woods Institutions”
The World Order and Globalization Hub welcomed a delegation of eleven trade experts in November for a seven-day study tour focused on the future of the Bretton Woods institutions. During the week, the delegation held 13 different meetings with over 15 experts in the fields of international trade and global financial institutions.
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Comeback postponed - The USA at the WTO
President Biden wanted to use the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO to signal the US comeback one of the guarantors of the global trading system and show American willingness to increase cooperation on global trade issues. However, because of the spread of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron the meeting has been postponed indefinitely. This comes at a time when the WTO faces immense challenges from countless different angles.
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"The Current State of Transatlantic Relations: An Assessment"
The Transatlantic Dialogue Program of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation North America held its annual conference on the “Current State of Transatlantic Relations: An Assessment” in Warrenton, Virginia from November 4 – 7, 2021. The conference brought together political professionals working in diverse sectors across the United States, Canada, and Germany to discuss issues and contemplate policies at the forefront of the transatlantic discourse.
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“Flexible Work, Rigid Systems: The Rise of the Gig Economy”
The World Order and Globalization Hub welcomed a delegation of seven international experts on the gig economy to Washington, DC and Boston, MA. The goal of the study tour was to foster a more global understanding on the gig economy, namely the type of jobs it includes, who participates in gig work, and the opportunities provided by the sharing economy to promote flexibility while still maintaining equitable working conditions.
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"Campaigning in Germany: The Federal Election of 2021"
On the occasion of the German Federal Election of 2021, the Regional Office North America of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation brought a bi-partisan delegation of 12 U.S.-American campaign experts and political professionals to Berlin for a weeklong study tour.
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“Megatrends in the 21st Century: Time to Rethink the Way the West Makes Economic Policy?”
On Tuesday, September 14, 2021, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation North America, in cooperation with the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies, was pleased to host a luncheon discussion with Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy, State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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“German Election 2021: Bracing for a Post-Merkel Era”
The election in September 2021 will be Europe’s biggest this year and will mark the end of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign as leader of Germany. MP Michael Link provided our network with a most candid insight into what the political situation in Germany might look like in a post-Merkel era and outlined the issues the Free Democrats would like to see addressed by the new government.
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WITA & Friedrich Naumann Foundation Webinar: Transatlantic Dialogue on U.S., EU and Global Trade
With a new U.S. Administration promising to re-set transatlantic and global relations, and Europe in the midst of its own transitions, 2021 will be a year of change in trade and transatlantic relations. On April 13, 2021, the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation held a transatlantic dialogue of U.S., EU and global trade.
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Virtual Event: Do We Need a Reset for Transatlantic Relations?
With the election of President Joe Biden in the United States, leaders and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic grew optimistic that relations between the U.S. and Europe would improve. Yet in the first months of the Biden presidency, disagreements on how to approach trade with China and ongoing concerns about the Nordstream 2 pipeline project cast doubt on how effectively the U.S. and E.U. will be able to work together as partners.
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Attack on the Capitol: In What Ways is the Media to Blame?
In an interview with rbb, the head of our Washington D.C. office discusses the role that the media played in the creation of the ‘Trump myth'. It was the media’s rationalization and normalization of Trump that made Trump so dangerous, as Claus Gramckow analyzes.
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Attack on the Capitol: Biden Takes Over a Country Torn Apart
The saga of the seemingly never-ending presidential election reached an inglorious culmination yesterday. Traditionally, the U.S. Congress' certification process for the election results is a dry and formal affair. But this year, the day will go down in U.S. history as one of the most tumultuous days in U.S. domestic politics.
Social Media
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The group had two more great meetings in Berlin today! The first one was with Array, MP Array and Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Human Rights & Humanitarian Aid, on German and EU security and defense policy. The second one was with Jens Wiegmann, Editor Array, who gave us a tour of Array’s newsroom and TV studio and shared his insights on the current digital and print media landscape in Germany. Afterwards, participants went on a historical walking tour of Berlin before having dinner with political professionals in Berlin.
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Today, the group visited the Array Headquarters at the Truman-Haus in Potsdam and got an introduction to the international work of the foundation from Sascha Tamm, Head of Department, Transatlantic Dialogue and Latin America. Afterwards, they learned all about the role of German political parties and the differences and similarities between campaign strategies in Germany and the US from Iris Froeba (Head of Department, Digitalization, Free Democratic Party), Christian Noebel (International Officer), and Daniel Djaziri (Campaigns and Event Manager). Next up was an insightful conversation at the Federal Chancellery with Ludwig Blaurock, Deputy Head of Division for Federal Chancellery Security Policy; Nonproliferation and Arms Control; Bilateral Relations with the United States, Canada, Northern, Western and Southern Europe, and Turkey. Then, Michael Link MP, Coordinator for Transatlantic Relations for the Federal Foreign Office, spoke about current foreign policy issues and the state of transatlantic relations. After visiting the cupola of the Bundestag, the group met with Marcus Pindur, Array-Correspondent for Security Policy, to talk about the war in Ukraine.
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Our study tour participants in Germany spent today in Leipzig! There, they first met with Sven Morlok, Chair of the FDP Caucus in the Leipzig City Council, Former Deputy Minister President and State Minister of Economics, Labor, and Transportation. The group also went on a walking tour through historic downtown Leipzig! And had the honor of meeting with U.S. Consul General Ken Toko at the Array to discuss issues relevant to the transatlantic relationship.
