Themes Jung Königswinter Conference

The date of this year's Jung Königswinter Conference has been confirmed: The 52nd Jung Königswinter Conference will be taking place in Berlin at the European Academy from July 31 - August 5. Topics are to be announced and will be publicised on this website soon.

The 51st Jung Königswinter Conference (July 19-22 July 2011) was held under the headline

"A World in Motion – impacts of global developments on Germany and Great Britain"

Please click here for the final topics: PDF download:

Political trends

World politics have been set in motion when the peoples of Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East pushed their autocratic governments to introduce reforms and abandon rigid political structures.

What are our common sets of  democracy and can these be directly transferred to countries in Africa and Asia? Can the West truly act as a role model?

Do our countries need to be afraid of the newly evolving governments e.g. in the Arab/Muslim countries,  in terms of political stability and with a view to migration and our access to natural resources such as oil?

What are the lessons Germany and Great Britain have learned  from the recent revolutions for their foreign policy and with a view to their business interests? Can the Western countries be satisfied with its own performance and diplomatic handling in the course of  the revolutions?

What roles can NGOs and corporations play in the political approach to setting up new structures?   

If we will not be able to bring stability to Afghanistan with an international coalition of 35 countries what are the consequences for our international role in the future?

Economic trends

The financial crisis and the indebtedness of several EU Member States is shaking the Community’s monetary union and the prevalence of the Euro itself. Some argue for a fundamental restructuring of the global financial system but is there the political will in our countries and in others to do so and can it be achieved ?

Can the we master the challenges to the Euro zone and will the common currency be sustained? Is this also in the British interest ? Do we rather risk a return to national monetary systems and a break up of one of the main pillars of the EU?

Will the emerging economic world players such as China, Brazil and India take advantage of the economic and financial crisis mainly experienced in the West?

How can our two countries, the EU and the West in general, keep up competitiveness with the new global players and regain economic strength?

How does demography effect the future economic and financial stability and well-being?

What do we consider to be the greatest threats to the future of our societies: economic, environmental or other issues?

Societal trends

Societal unrest is not only taking place in distant regions but in our home countries as well. In Germany and to a lesser extent in Great Britain the electorate is demanding greater say in political, economic, transport, health and social projects at local level. The extended use of direct democracy and the growing impact of grassroots movements are new developments which are highly debated, at least in Germany.

Are social media (internet in general, facebook, twitter etc.) accelerating the tendency towards the creation of grassroot movements and to which extent are they facilitating the expression of political protest?

What effect does the communications revolution and the rising educational attainments of the young are likely to have on the conduct of politics in a range of developing countries?

What are the reasons why the citizens show growing interest in local projects and want a greater say in the decision-making process?

There seems to be a growing divide between the elites and political class of our countries and the ordinary people which threatens social cohesion and political participation, do we need to review and renew the social compact?

What role will immigrants, especially Muslim immigrants, have in Europe in the course of the next 50 years as they have a larger demographic and a growing political weight ? What role and participation are we ready for them to enjoy ? Will the desire of a country to preserve its cultural identity always be at odds with robust immigration ? Can Europe have a multicultural future?

The 52nd Jung Königswinter Conference will take place from June 12 - 17, 2012.