
News

Mountains and Fields: The second meeting of the 2025 cohort of the “Forum Future Agriculture in Colorado
On their trip to Boulder, Colorado, from May 19 to 23, 2025, the 2025 cohort of the forum focused on the issue of land use conflicts between renewable energy and agriculture in rural areas.

Aspen In-Depth: Maneuvering a Risky World: EU Economic Foreign Policy – A New Doctrine for a New Geopolitical World
In the latest issue of Aspen In-Depth, Stormy-Annika Mildner, Claudia Schmucker, and Elisabeth Saulnier analyze the EU’s economic foreign policy.

Subnational actors without borders: Laboratories of Democracy delegation trip to Toronto
From May 13 to 17, 2025, the second trip of the annual “Laboratories of Democracy” program took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Aspen Institute Germany hosted two 5-day in-person and several meetings this year between German, U.S., and Canadian state and provincial legislators.
At the Aspen Institute Germany we want to promote values-based leadership, constructive dialogue, and international cooperation to tackle today‘s most pressing global challenges: geopolitical and geoeconomic conflicts, climate change, the health crisis, cyber risks, digitalization.
Events
- AI Tech Dialogues: “Geopolitics Meets Cybersecurity – The Human-AI Dynamic”
- The third and final event of the 2025 AI Tech Dialogue titled “Geopolitics Meets Cybersecurity – The Human-AI Dynamic” will take place on June 16, 2025. This event will offer a platform to jointly discuss the opportunities and risks of AI adoption for cybersecurity processes. Together, we want to explore how AI is already used […]
- Jun 16, 2025
- Future Cities Go Glocal: Digital Global Townhall Conference
- On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, the Aspen Institute Germany will host a Digital Global Townhall and bring the first cohort of the Future Cities Go Glocal project to a close. The conference will feature vital panel discussions and exchanges on key themes of climate change, energy security, sustainability, and digitalization as a cross-cutting issue, along with […]
- Jun 17, 2025
- U.S.-German Forum Future Agriculture: Transatlantic Recommendations Voting & Finetuning
- On June 18, 2025, a virtual meeting on “Transatlantic Recommendations Voting & Finetuning” will take place for participants in the 2025 U.S.-German Forum Future Agriculture. The Aspen Institute Germany and project partner, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will welcome the sixteen participants of the 2025 cohort for a virtual meeting. As part of the project, the Institute […]
- Jun 18, 2025

Publications

Policy Report: Future Cities Go Glocal – Climate Change, Energy Security, Sustainability
In the publication of the first cohort of the “Future Cities Go Glocal” project, the 20 urban actors from New Delhi, Berlin, Nairobi and Mexico City present their policy recommendations for sustainable, just and future-oriented cities.

Spot On: Digitalpolitik unter Trump 2.0: Herausforderungen und Perspektiven für die transatlantische Zusammenarbeit
In the latest Aspen Germany “Spot On”, Stormy-Annika Mildner, Molly Hall, and Vincent Tadday examine the state of digital policies in the United States and the EU under the second Trump Administration.

Wachstum, Nachhaltigkeit und Sicherheit: Deutschland und die regelbasierte Handelsordnung — ein Blick auf die WTO, G7 und G20
In this anthology by the Econoomic Forum of the SPD (Wirtschaftsforum der SPD) all around sustainable economic rosperity, Stomy-Annika Mildner and Claudia Schmucker analyze Germany’s role in the most important forums of the international rules-based trade order.
Podcasts

Episode 68: Change of Power in Berlin – Change of Course in the West? Merz, the Coalition and the Transatlantic Relationship
With Sarah Schmidt, ARD-Correspondent in Washington and Dr. Melanie Amann, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, DER SPIEGEL.

Episode 67: The Anti-Trump Movement: Protest, Politics and Power Struggles in the U.S.
With Dr. Ralf Borchard, US-Correspondent, ARD Studio Washington, and Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor, Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Episode 66: Made in Isolation: How U.S. protectionism is changing the economy.
With Prof. Dr. Dr. Ulrike Malmendier, Cora Jane Flood Professor of Finance at the University of California in Berkeley and Member of the German Council of Economic Experts, and Bernd Lange, Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on International Trade.
Programs

Digital
The Digital Program deals with the far-reaching social transformation processes of digitalization.

Europe
The Europe programs focuses on the future of Europe with a particular focus on the Western Balkans, EU enlargement, and questions of strategic autonomy.

Leadership
The Aspen Leadership Program facilitates exchange between people in leadership positions to foster values-based leadership.

Public
The Public Program provides a forum for open and constructive dialog between decision-makers and a broader audience on a wide range of current global challenges.

Transatlantic
The Transatlantic Program facilitates an open, values-based dialogue on key challenges facing the transatlantic partnership.
About
The Aspen Institute Germany is an independent, non-partisan organization committed to promoting values-based leadership and open discourse on society, policy and global challenges.

Our Mission
The Aspen Institute Germany promotes values-based leadership, constructive dialog among conflicting parties, and Euro-Atlantic cooperation to support and enhance a strong open society.

Our history
The Aspen Institute Germany was founded in 1974 by Shepard Stone as the first Aspen Institute outside the United States. Founded in the midst of the Cold War, it promoted U.S.-German dialog with the Eastern Bloc.

Our Team
Director Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner has led the Aspen team since January 2021. Our Transatlantic, Digital, Public and Europe Programs are being supported by a team of currently 21 staff members.

Aspen international
In addition to the founding institute in the USA, the global Aspen network includes independent institutes in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia), France (Paris), Germany (Berlin), India (New Delhi), Italy (Rome), Japan (Tokyo), Mexico (Mexico City), New Zealand (Queenstown), Romania (Bucharest), Spain (Madrid), UK (London), and Ukraine (Kyiv).













