Digital Program

The Munich Cyber Security Conference (MCSC) offers a unique space for exchanging and discussing solutions to the manifold challenges in information and cyber security.  Focusing on the role and responsibility of decision-makers, the conference emphasizes effective strategies and agile management concepts to deal with the current threat landscape and also provides insight into the future […]

On November 10, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted the first workshop of the event series “Democracy 2.0: Strengthening Liberal Values in the Age of Digital Disruption.” Together with Dr. Regine Grienberger, Director for Cyber Foreign and Security Policy at the Federal Foreign Office, Kevin Leiser MdB, Member of the Defense Committee and Deputy Member […]

On December 1, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany will host the inaugural event of the German-American Trade and Tech Dialogue.  The GATTD is a strategic dialogue on the transatlantic trade and tech agenda, fostering understanding and trust among key transatlantic policy-makers as well as business, academia, and civil society representatives. Through regular meetings over the […]

On September 9, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted an exclusive breakfast discussion on Transatlantic Trade: Supply Chain Security and Sustainability with Laure Lane, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at United Parcel Service (UPS). The event will be moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Director of the Aspen Institute Germany. The COVID-19 pandemic […]

On February 14-15, 2023, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted the German-American Trade and Tech Conference.  As part of the German-American Trade and Tech Series, the 1.5 day conference in Berlin was designed to foster understanding and trust among key German and U.S. policy-makers as well as business and think tank representatives. It contained a mix of […]

On November 23, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany and Telefónica Germany hosted a Digital Dish on “Competition and Regulatory Challenges in Digital Markets” with Andreas Mundt, President of the German Competition Authority, Michael König, Adviser Digital Markets Act, European Commission, Dr. Julia Pohle, Research Fellow in the group ‘Politics of Digitalization’, Berlin Social Science Center […]

On October 20, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany and Telefónica Germany hosted a Digital Dish on the topic of “The New Geopolitics of Global Supply Chain Resilience” with Andreas Audretsch MdB, Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Group Alliance 90/The Greens, Bernard Kuiten, Director a.i. Information and External Relations Division, World Trade Organization, Simone Menne, President, American […]

As a collaborating partner, the Aspen Institute Germany is delighted to announce the second edition of the International Conference “Ethics and Artificial Intelligence” that was hosted by the Aspen Institute Italia, TIM, Noovle, and Google Cloud on June 24-25 in Venice (Italy). With this event, Aspen Institute Italia, TIM, Noovle and Google Cloud promoted an in‐depth […]

On June 13, 2022, from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. (CET) Aspen Germany and Aspen Digital (Washington, D.C.) hosted an exclusive roundtable discussion on Information Disorder Report: The Impact of Mis- and Disinformation in the Digital World, with input from Vivian Schiller, Executive Director of Aspen Digital, former President and CEO of NPR and Global Chair of News at Twitter, and Ryan […]

On May 19, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany and Telefónica Germany hosted a “Digital Dish” on “The German G7 Presidency 2022 – Shaping Power in the Face of Global Digital Policy Challenges” with Dr. Jörg Kukies, State Secretary at the Federal Chancellery and G7 Sherpa. The event was moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Director of […]

On April 12, 2022, 6:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., the Aspen Institute Germany, in collaboration with the Hertie School’s Centre for Digital Governance, hosted an online discussion on the role of platforms and news media in Russia and Ukraine. Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the war has increasingly been fought online. […]

Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine has laid bare the existential threat posed by authoritarian states to the global democratic order. To suppress independent voices and free expression at home, the Russian government is clamping down on Western tech companies, which now find themselves in the center of the conflict. Social media and other tech companies face difficult decisions […]

When Joe Biden took the oath of office on January 20, 2021, Germany and the EU were eagerly waiting to revive transatlantic cooperation. This was and is particularly urgent in the area of the digital economy, where different approaches to digital taxes, competition policy, new technologies, and other issues deeply divide the partners. Although expectations […]

As institutional partner, the Aspen Institute Germany is delighted to announce this year’s Munich Cyber Security Conference Spring Forum, titled “Aspiring to Realizing Cyberspace´s Full Potential – (Re)Building Trust and Security in a Digital World.” Addressing top level managers and executives from the private and public sectors, the Munich Cyber Security Conference (MCSC) offers a unique […]

As institutional partner, the Aspen Institute Germany is delighted to announce this year’s digital edition of the Munich Cyber Security Conference. Founded in 2014, the MCSC represents an outstanding space for exchanging and discussion solutions to the numerous challenges in information and cyber security. The event sheds light on the responsibility of decision-makers and on effective […]

In our third episode, our host and podcast producer Roberta Ahlers spoke with experts Dagny Lüdemann, Chief Reporter Science, ZEIT ONLINE, Dr. Jens-Uwe Grooß, Institute for Energy and Climate Research, Stratosphere Division (IEK-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Marie Richter, Managing Editor Germany, NewsGuard Technologies, Roberta Schmid, Media Analyst, NewsGuard Technologies, Dr. Charlotte Unger, Senior Research Associate, […]

In the second episode of our Media Literacy Podcast, our host and podcast producer Roberta Ahlers speaks to the distinguished experts Valentin Abel, Parliamentary Group of the Free Democrats, Member of the German Bundestag, Lutz Güllner, Head of Division, Strategic Communication, Task Forces, and Information Analysis (SG.STRAT.2), European External Action Service, Dr. Sonja Thielges, Senior Research […]

Complementary to our transatlantic student conference, which was held in November 2021, and to our handbook “Medienkompetenz meistern – Tipps von Schüler*innen für Schüler*innen” our media literacy podcast “Medienkompetenz meistern” is exclusively available in German. Today we published episode one.  In our first episode, distinguished experts determine the meaning of “media literacy”, emphasise its importance to […]

From November, 3 to 5, 2021, the Aspen Institute Germany organized a digital student conference on the topic “(Social) Media in Times of Global Crises? How to build trust and distinguish fake news from facts”. Our digital conference taught students from Berlin, Dresden and Silicon Valley in California how to deal competently with misinformation and […]

The third workshop was opened by two keynote speeches. Semjon Rens, Public Policy Director, Regulatory and Economic Policy for the D-A-CH countries, Facebook, described the Bundestag elections from the perspective of a social media platform and addressed the influence of social media platforms on the election campaign. Lena-Maria Böswald, Program Associate at Democracy Reporting International, […]

The second workshop was devoted to a more in-depth discussion of the three core topics raised in the first workshop. It was held in moderated small groups. The sessions on platform regulation dealt with the gray areas of disinformation and there, above all, with the question of who bears responsibility for it: platforms, legislators, platform […]

In the first workshop, we discussed basic questions of self-perception, the understanding of one’s own role and the role of other actors in the information ecosystem, in particular the responsibility towards voters/followers and readers. Thereafter, we talked about our own experiences with fake news and disinformation in our daily work and  focussed on getting to know […]

The Aspen Institute Germany organized a panel discussion on February 3, 2022 from 14:00 to 15:00 (CET) with Marie Richter, Managing Editor Germany at NewsGuard Technologies; Tabea Rößner, Chairwoman of the Digital Committee at the Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen parliamentary group, Member of the German Bundestag; Johannes Baldauf, Public Policy Manager, Facebook Germany/Meta, and Fabian Walter, Managing Director of Steuerversum GmbH, content creator on the TikTok channel @steuerfabi. […]

On Dec. 15, 2021, the fourth workshop of the project “Engaging German Influencers” took place. The focus was placed on the four central topics that stood out in the previous meetings: Misinformation, hate speech on the Internet, forms of discrimination and conspiracy theories, and how to deal with them. The goal of the workshop was […]

From November 3 to 5, 2021, Aspen Institute Germany hosted a digital school conference on the topic of (Social) Media in Times of Global Crises: How to build trust and distinguish fake news from facts. The digital conference aimed to teach students from Berlin, Dresden, and California’s Silicon Valley how to deal competently with false […]

On November 11, 2021, Aspen Institute Germany and Telefónica Germany hosted a Digital Dish event on Resilience in the Digital Age: The Future of European, Transatlantic and International Cybersecurity with Dr. rer. pol. Annegret Berndiek, Deputy Research Group Leader EU External Relations at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, State Secretary Dr. Markus […]

The Aspen Institute Germany held its fourth annual AI Conference over the course of December 1-2, 2021. During the Aspen Berlin AI Conference, participants from across the world came together in a hybrid setting for discussion formats including keynotes, two-on-one conversations, panel discussions, and seminars. With hindsight, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed political discussions on […]

On September 8, 2021, the Aspen Institute Germany together with Microsoft Berlin hosted a hybrid event on Transatlantic Perspectives on Digital Sovereignty with Mario Brandenburg, MdB and Spokesperson on Technology Policy of the Free Democratic Party Germany, Jeff Bullwinkel, Associate General Counsel and Director of Corporate, External & Legal Affairs at Microsoft Europe, Dr. Frances […]

On April 20, 2020 Aspen Germany and its event partners, Microsoft and the State Representation of Hamburg in Berlin, hosted the final event of its workshop series on “Overcoming the Conundrums of the Great Decoupling.” This transatlantic discussion focused on the specific policies that governments should consider in light of increased AI automation and the […]

On April 12, 2021, Aspen Germany together with Telefonica Germany will host a virtual “Digital Dish” and Basecamp On-Air event on “What Future For EU-China Tech Relations?” with Prof. Alessia A. Amighini, Co-Head, Asia Centre; Associate Senior Research Fellow, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI); Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Università del […]

On November 24, 2020, Aspen Germany together with the Körber Foundation hosted an online discussion entitled “Special Session: A New Global Digital Order?” in the framework of this year’s Berlin Foreign Policy Forum with Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chair, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; Former Executive Chairman and CEO at Google and Co-Founder of Schmidt-Futures. […]

On November 2, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (CET), Aspen Germany hosted a virtual workshop on “Tech and the Worker: Automation and the Education Cycle ” with Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of the Institute for the Future (IFTF); and Dr. Max Neufeind, Author, Speaker, and Policy Advisor on the Digital Transformation and the Future of Work. This workshop focused […]

On November 17, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual EU-China summit simulation focusing on the political dynamics at play in the Euro-Chinese tech policy space. The EU and its member-states are undergoing a massive rethink on technology’s impact on its economy, security, and democracy. Brussels has made its quest for “digital sovereignty” a key strategic priority for the […]

On September 17, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. CEST, Aspen Germany will host a virtual workshop on “Tech and the Worker: Rethinking the Social Contract” with Joanna Bryson, Professor of Ethics and Technology at the Hertie School; and Lisa Herzog, Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and the Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the […]

On Septemper 21, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual book presentation and discussion looking at the new publication “How to Lose the Information War” with Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Fellow at The Wilson Center; and Irene Maria Plank, Director for Strategic Communication at the Federal Foreign Office. Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections was a […]

On July 14, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted the first event of its series on “Tech and the Worker: Overcoming the Conundrums of the Great Decoupling.” The event focused on lessons from past industrial revolutions and featured presentations from Robert C. Allen, Global Distinguished Professor of Economic History at New York University in Abu Dhabi and […]

On June 18, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “The Not-So-International System? Geo-Politics of Tech and COVID-19” with Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital; Aleksandar Stojanovic, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, AVA; Jennifer Zhu Scott, Founding Principal, Radian Partners; and Hinrich Thölken, Special Envoy for Digitalization and Digital Transformation, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. […]

On May 27, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “Data Conundrums in the Age of COVID-19” with María Álvarez, Public Policy and Government Relations Manager, Google; Chris Boos, Co-founder PEPP-PT Initiative; Founder and Managing Director, Arago; Member of the German Government’s Digital Council; and Ulrich Kelber, Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of […]

On June 10, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “COVID-19, Tech and Ethics in Democratic Societies” together with Christiane Woopen, Chair, European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) & Director, Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health (CERES). We explored the ethical trade-offs the use of technology […]

On May 14, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “Digital Sovereignty & Gaia-X in Times of Crisis” together with Danyal Bayaz, Member of the German Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Special Representative of Start-ups for The Greens; Marco-Alexander Breit, Head of Artificial Intelligence Unit, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; and […]

On May 6, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “Germany Mobilizes Tech: Whole of Technology Responses to COVID-19” together with Peter Albiez, Country Manager Germany, Pfizer; Thomas Jarzombek, Commissioner for the Digital Industry and Start-ups and Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Member of […]

On April 17, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “AI and the Fight Against COVID-19” together with Anna Christmann, Member of the German Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Spokeswoman for Innovation and Technology; Nicolas Miailhe, Founder & President of The Future Society; and Shannon Vallor, Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data […]

On April 30, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted a virtual conversation on “COVID-19 and German Tech Policy” together with Saskia Esken, chairperson of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and member of the Bundestag. This on-the-record discussion focused on how German policy-makers can shape tech policy that helps Germany recover from the twin health and […]

On March 31, 2020, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a virtual Zoom-based conversation on “COVID-19, Tech and Democratic Readiness” together with Sir Julian King, former European Commissioner for the Security Union (2016-19). This conversation looked at national and EU actions to protect democracies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It touched on a range […]

On November 25, 2019 the Aspen Institute Germany hosted an exclusive dinner discussion with Internet pioneer Vinton G. Cerf – who serves as Vice President & Chief Internet Evangelist at Google – in the context of this year’s Internet Governance Forum in Berlin. The discussion revolved around the global governance of AI and was moderated […]

On November 21, 2019, the Aspen Institute Germany had the pleasure of hosting a National Security and Technology Crisis simulation at the Embassy of Estonia in Berlin together with the Atlantic Council. The G7 crisis simulation brought together a group of International security experts from Germany, Europe and the US. Today’s world is more connected […]

On December 2, 2019, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a Digital Dish on the “Blockchain Strategies of Germany and the EU” together with Thomas Heilmann, Member of the German Bundestag (CDU); Katharina Gehra, CEO & Co-Founder, Immutable Insight; Co-author, Block52 Podcast; Supervisory Board, Fürstlich Castell’sche Bank; and Daniel Resas, Associated Partner at Schnittker Möllmann Partners […]

The digital revolution is causing some of the most profound and accelerating societal challenges of the 21st century. The potential for a common transatlantic digital market could unleash a new wave of inclusive growth for both sides of the Atlantic. But differences in legal systems, political priorities and the rising tide of populism threaten potential […]

On September 19, the Aspen Institute Germany partnered with the Embassy of Spain to Berlin to launch its inaugural Digital Dish luncheon series with a debrief on the 2017 Hamburg G20 Summit and an outlook on global governance with Lars-Hendrik Röller, Chancellor Merkel’s top economic advisor and G7/20 Sherpa. The conversation focused on the themes […]

On October 4th, a group of 50 senior and next generation experts from politics, business, academia and civil society came together to attend the Aspen Institute Germany’s second “Digital Dish” lunch with Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and former DNC chair. The event was held in the Telefónica […]

The Aspen Institute Germany’s first annual Berlin AI conference – Humanity Disrupted: Artificial Intelligence and Changing Societies – brought together more than 350 top policy-makers, entrepreneurs, computer scientists, academics and representatives from business as well as media at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation in Berlin on March 14-15, 2018. Throughout the two days of the conference, […]

On April 6, the Aspen Institute Germany held its 3rd Digital Dish focusing on state and local digital strategies with Christian Rickerts, State Secretary at the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, and Dr. Natalia Jaekel, Digital Special Envoy for the Land of Baden-Württemberg. The event compared efforts to tackle digitalization in […]

On April 18, 2018, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a „Digital Dish“ examining Germany’s Digital Policy in 2018: Priorities and Challenges. About 30 high-level guests were able to discuss with Members of the Bundestag Dieter Janecek (Alliance 90/The GREENS) and Thomas Jarzombek (CDU) the opportunities and challenges that digitalization holds for Germany and how they […]

On April 19, 2018, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted for the first time a joint get-together with the alumni of the Aspen Leadership Program and the “Bundestag and Congress Staffers Exchange”. In a discussion with Tyson Barker, Program Director and Fellow at the Aspen Institute Germany, Steven Hill, Journalist-in-Residence, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) and […]

On the morning of October 15, 2018, the Aspen Institute Germany in cooperation with Microsoft Germany, the Italian Embassy in Berlin, and the Aspen Initiative for Europe hosted an exclusive workshop on “AI and National Security.” About 30 high-level guests were able to discuss with Wendy R. Anderson, General Manager, Defense and National Security at […]

On November 20, Aspen Germany hosted its 5th digital dish examining the role of the European Union in bringing digital competitiveness to Germany. The wide-ranging conversation touched on the progress made in the Juncker Commission’s signature initiative – the Digital Single Market—as well as national and EU-wide discussions of a digital tax. Finally, speakers talked […]

On December 7, 2018, the Aspen Institute Germany – in partnership with the Aspen Institute U.S. and Microsoft – hosted a one-day December NextGen Network AI-Workshop in Berlin that brought together a group of Germany’s future leaders to examine opportunities and ethical challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence. Participants discussed what core values will be most […]

On the morning of March 14, 2019, the Aspen Institute Germany in cooperation with Microsoft Germany, the Italian Embassy in Berlin, and the Aspen Initiative for Europe hosted an exclusive workshop on “AI and the Future of Work.“ In two rounds about 40 high-level guests along with representatives and experts from government, business, and international […]

The Aspen Institute Germany’s second annual Berlin AI conference – Humanity Defined: Politics and Ethics in the AI Age – brought together more than 350 top policy-makers, philosophers, computer scientists, academics and representatives from business as well as media at the State Representation of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin on March 28-29, 2019. We explored this year’s […]

On May 16-17, 2019, the Aspen Institute Germany and the Ministry of the Interior, Digitisation and Migration of Baden-Württemberg hosted their high-level conference „Berlin CyberSecurityForum 2019“. It brought together more than 250 European, American and international top policy makers, legislators, engineers, hackers, civil society, academics and representatives of the business, privacy and security communities as […]

On June 03-04, 2019 the Aspen Institute Germany, in cooperation with the Aspen Institute Central Europe, hosted a workshop on “New Avenues of Cooperation and Enhanced Consultation” in Berlin. The participants from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Germany engaged in discussions on the political economy of Central Europe, focusing on common interest and […]

The Aspen Institute Germany hosted an exclusive workshop on „AI & Bias“ in cooperation with Microsoft Germany in the morning of June 4. Speakers included Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa (Cornell University), Professor Corinna Bath (University of Braunschweig), Lorena Jaume-Palasí (The Ethical Tech Society), Professor Dr. Eric Hilgendorf (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Joana Reicherts (Microsoft Germany) and Maximilian Poretschkin […]

On October 22, 2019, the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a “Digital Dish” on the CDU digital strategy with Nadine Schön, deputy chairwoman of the CDU/ CSU Bundestag group and lead voice on the “Digital Agenda.” The discussion focused on the digital charter, digital infrastructure, e-governance, tech-education, and data sovereignty, but also explored geopolitical issues concerning […]

Aspen Germany hosted its third annual AI Conference over the course of one week from December 7-11, 2020. During the Aspen Berlin AI Week, top policymakers, innovators, philosophers, academics, and representatives from business, media, and civil society from across the world came together in a virtual setting for discussion formats including keynotes, two-on-one conversations, panel […]