Social Divisions and Questions of Identity in Germany and the United States

June 13, 2023

Consequences for Politics and Society

An Exchange Outside of the Metropolitan Areas

A Three-Year AGI Project – Final Conference

In recent years, open communication and compromise have been neglected in many communities where individuals retreat to a space in which they feel most secure. The AGI program aimed to establish new connections within and between communities by bringing individuals together for an honest exchange of important societal issues.

The three-year project addressed divisions in both German and U.S. societies by focusing on a number of underlying factors including social, demographic, economic, geographic, and identity dynamics. It highlighted personal exchange and open communication in order to reconnect people and overcome the existing polarization and divide, both within communities and across borders. During each program year, participants visited one city in Germany and the United States for week-long personal meetings with local government and civil society stakeholders to learn about the cities’ efforts to develop cohesive communities. The selected German-U.S. sister cities were: Akron, OH, and Chemnitz, Saxony (year one); Buffalo, NY, and Dortmund, North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) (year two); Glendale, AZ, and Memmingen, Bavaria (year three).

During this conference, representatives from each program year will reflect on their experiences and lessons learned and share ideas and possible solutions that may find application in communities, large and small, across Germany and the United States.


This 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).

  • 8:30 – 9:00 am
    Registration and Light Breakfast
  • 9:00 – 9:15 am
    Welcome
    Jeff Rathke, President at AGI
  • 9:15 – 10:00 am
    Presentation and Discussion: Year One Akron, OH, and Chemnitz, Saxony
    Dillon Cathro, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    Matthias Diermeier, German Economic Institute (IW Köln), Cologne
    Teresa Eder, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington DC
    Terron Ferguson, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC
    Fiona Harrigan, Reason Magazine, Washington, DC
    Juliane Jelinek, Technical University Chemnitz
    Moderator: Elizabeth Hotary, Communications Officer, AGI
  • 10:00 – 10:15 am
    Coffee Break
  • 10:15 am – 11:00 pm
    Presentation and Discussion: Year Two Buffalo, NY, and Dortmund, NRW
    Yasmin Al-Douri, Technical University Munich
    Lynn Engle, SUNY at Buffalo State College and Buffalo-Dortmund Sister City Ambassador Exchange Program, Buffalo, NY
    Mohammad Khanjar, Scholz & Friends, Berlin
    Julia Sattler, University of Dortmund
    Astrid Schmidt-King, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD
    Vanessa Simpson, Lidl U.S., Arlington, VA
    Deanna Troust, 3 Stories Communications and Truth in Common, Washington, DC
    Moderator: Susanne Dieper, Director of Programs & Grants, AGI
  • 11:00 – 11:15 am
    Coffee Break
  • 11:15 am – 12:00 pm
    Presentation and Discussion: Year Three Glendale, AZ, and Memmingen, Bavaria
    Itzel Hernandez, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC
    Friedrich Opitz, German-American Institute Saxony (DAIS), Leipzig
    Alexander Thamm, Kosmopolis.org, Berlin and Kreuth, Bavaria
    Monica van der Haagen-Wulff, University of Cologne
    Carolynn Welch, Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI), Buffalo, NY
    Moderator: Susanne Dieper, Director of Programs & Grants, AGI
  • 12:00 – 12:30 pm
    Final Discussion
  • 12:30 – 2:00 pm
    Lunch Reception

Location

American-German Institute Conference Room

1776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036


American-German Institute Conference Room
1776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036