- January 29, 2024
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- January 29, 2024
The kick-off meeting of the fourth cohort of the “Laboratories of Democracy Initiative” took place on Monday, January 29, 2024. The project brings together 30 state legislators from Germany, the US and Canada each year to facilitate a values-based discussion on current international policy challenges on a subnational level and to build new transatlantic networks. Each exchange is dedicated to a core topic that is relevant on both sides of the Atlantic. The theme of this year’s cohort is critical infrastructure, focusing on the threats coming from natural disasters and extreme weather, pandemics, as well as cyber-attacks and sabotages.
The Aspen Institute Germany welcomes the thirty participants who will be traveling to Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, from March 12-16, 2024, and Austin, Texas, USA, from June 11-15, 2024.
Aspen Germany is pleased to announce this year’s cohort: Representative Brad Barker (R), Member of the Montana House of Representatives; MLA Charles Chiasson (New Brunswick Liberal Party), Critic for Transportation and Infrastructure in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick; MdL Julia Eisentraut (Alliance 90/The Greens), Member of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia; MdL Alena Fink-Trauschel (FDP), Member of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg; Representative Brian Harrison (R), Member of the Texas House of Representatives; MdL Lea Heidbreder (Alliance 90/The Greens), Deputy Chairwoman of the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate; MLA Robert Henderson (Prince Edward Island Liberal Party), Opposition Whip in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island; Representative Jason Hughes (D), Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives; MdL Bijan Kaffenberger (SPD), Member of the State Parliament of Hesse; MLA Samir Kayande (Alberta New Democratic Party), Deputy Assistant Opposition Whip in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; MdL Cornelia Klisch (SPD), Deputy Chairwoman of the SPD Parliamentary Group in the State Parliament of Thuringia; MPP Natalia Kusendova (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario), Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs; MLA Michael Lee (BC United), Shadow Minister for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation; Representative Karianne Lisonbee (R), Majority Whip in the Utah House of Representatives; MLA Brandon Lunty (United Conservative Party of Alberta), Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; MdL Helmut Martin (CDU), Deputy Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate; MdL Ansgar Mayr (CDU), Member of the CDU parliamentary group executive board in the State Parliament of Baden- Württemberg; MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ontario Liberal Party), Member of the Provincial Parliament of Ontario; MLA Steven Myers (Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island), Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action of Prince Edward Island; Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R), Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate; Delegate Lily Qi (D), Member of the Maryland House of Delegates; MPP Matthew Rae (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario), Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; MdL Heide Richter-Airijoki (SPD), Member of the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt; Representative Cindy Ryu (D), Member of the Washington House of Representatives; MdL Tanja Schorer-Dremel (CSU), Deputy Chairwoman of the CSU parliamentary group in the State Parliament of Bavaria; Representative Matthew Soper (R), Member of the Colorado House of Representatives; Senator Pat Spearman (D), President Pro Tempore in the Nevada State Senate; MLA Heather Sweet (Alberta New Democratic Party), Opposition Deputy House Leader in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Senator Löki Gale Tobin (D), Member of the Alaska State Senat.
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).
