The German American Conference at Harvard (GAC) is a student-led conference organized on a yearly basis since 2008. [1] The conference brings together American and German leaders from business, politics, and academia with students. [2] [3] By building a community of aspiring and established leaders in the United States and Germany, the conference aims at bettering transatlantic relations. [4]
According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt the German American conference has developed into an important "transatlantic summit". [5]
Until 2014 the conference was called German Conference at Harvard. [6]
Year [7] | Theme | Dates |
---|---|---|
2008 | Germany in the Modern World | 12 April |
2009 | Division and Unity | 19-20 February |
2010 | Addressing Global Challenges: Directions for a New Decade | 19-20 February |
2011 | Future | 18-19 February |
2012 | Decidedly Indecisive? The German Angst of Leadership | 17-18 February |
2013 | The End of the West as we Know It? | 15-16 February |
2014 | The US and Germany: Drifting Apart? | 14-15 February |
2015 | Germany and the U.S.: Building Our Future | 30-31 October |
2017 | Connecting Future Generations | 7-9 April |
2018 | In Our Own Hands | 5-7 October |
2019 | Breaking Barriers | 1-3 November |
2020 | Neustart | October - November (Virtual Event Series) |
2021 | The Future of Problem Solving | 21-24 October |
2022 | If not now, when? | 28-30 October |
2023 | Think Beyond | 27-29 October |
2024 | Hard Conversations | 15-17 November |
There was no conference in 2016 because the conference date was moved from fall 2016 to spring 2017.
Since 2015 the German American Conference at Harvard features an Innovation Lounge. Participants are given the chance to interact with Startups, Think Tanks and industry leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. The German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche has described this Innovation Lounge as a "Schlaraffenland" for startups.
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