- April 04, 2022
On Monday, April 4, 2022, the Aspen Institute Germany kicked-off this year’s Laboratories of Democracy Initiative. The institute welcomed the fourteen participants of the 2022 cohort for a first virtual get-together. Each year, the project brings together seven American state legislators and seven representatives of the German Landtage to facilitate a values-based discussion on current international policy challenges on a subnational level and to build new transatlantic networks. In addition to virtual meetings, this year’s cohort will meet in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on May 10-14, 2022, and in Trenton, New Jersey, on September 13-17, 2022. At these meetings, participants discuss innovative policy solutions and opportunities for transatlantic cooperation, visit best practices in the region, and meet with local representatives from politics, business, science, and academia. Each exchange is dedicated to a core topic that is relevant on both sides of the Atlantic, with this year’s cohort focussing on climate and energy. During the first virtual meeting, the legislators shared and discussed challenges and initiatives in their states regarding this topic.
We are excited to welcome an excellent, competent, and diverse group of legislators to our 2022 cohort: Barbara Becker MdL (CSU), Member of the Bavarian State Parliament; Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D), Member of the California State Assembly; Hannes Damm MdL (Alliance 90/The Greens), Member of the State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Representative Anna Eskamani (D), Member of the Florida State House of Representatives; Silke Gebel MdL (Alliance 90/The Greens), Chairwoman of The Greens in the Berlin House of Representatives; Assemblymember Don Guardian (R), Member of the New Jersey General Assembly; Daniel Karrais MdL (FDP), Member of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg; Tamara Müller MdL (SPD), Member of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate; Senator Marc Pacheco (D), Dean of the Massachusetts State Senate; Senator Ann Rivers (R), Member of the Washington State Senate; Gerd Schreiner MdL (CDU), Member of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate; Senator Ryan Weld (R), Majority Whip of the West Virginia State Senate; Christian Winter MdL (SPD), Member of the State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Senator Andrew Zwicker (D), Member of the New Jersey State Senate.
The project is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
