Seasons Greetings to all in the Yale family in Germany,
I hope this finds you and yours happy, healthy and enjoying the Advent/Hannukah festivities, Christmas markets and crazy weather that Germany is offering up this year. The club had many fun events and gatherings this year - a few highlights:
March: We had our Annual General Meeting online (a few Zoom traditions have stuck). In Berlin the Yale School of Architecture welcomed for a Bauhaus Erde talk and reception, and in Munich Dialogues on Democracy welcomed The New Yorker staff writer Joshua Yaffa to talk about is reporting in Russia and Ukraine.
April: Munich Dialogues on Democracy welcomed political warfare expert Matt Armstrong for a talk on the politics of information warfare.
In May and July our Frankfurt group met for Stammtische at one of Frankfurt's oldest apple wine pubs and at Westend's Westbar.
October: Over 80 people joined the Yale/ Oxford University Society Berlin cocktail evening at Hotel La Stue. I was not able to be in Berlin, but the feedback was exuberant (repeat in 2024?!). Also in Berlin, alumni event with Prof. Thomas F. Remington “Rebuilding Germany after the War.”
In Munich, Dialogues on Democracy welcomed Yalie David Frum for an eveing about how the world see’s America right now going into and election year.
November: Joshua Yaffa returned to Munich Dialogues on Democracy with his friend Nastya Stanko, one of Ukraine’s premier war correspondents, followed by a celebration of five years of Dialogues on Democracy at a networking reception where we polished of 80 pizzas and more bottles of wine.
If I was more technically inclined, this is where I would embed the cool video that the Munich International School film club made for us to celebrate what we've been able to do as a community. You can watch it HERE.
In New Haven – Yale beat Harvard to become Ivy League champs at The Game.
In addition, with the generous support of our members, The Yale Club of Germany has been able to sponsor post-graduate research fellowships at Yale through the Bavarian American Academy. Thank you so much to all who have donated to the club to make this possible - if you are interested in supporting this project, you can find more information here: As you can see, the Harvard and Duke alumni clubs also sponsor students - it's a great way to give back to our community.
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And now for the "Vorschau" - what can we look forward to in 2024?
Frankfurt Stammtisch January 12th at Westbar: https://www.westbar-frankfurt.de. Please RSVP to Laura Sprague (laura.sprague@aya.yale.edu) if you would like to join.
In Munich, the Dialogues on Democracy calendar has three exciting guests lined up:
February 1st, staff writer at The Atlantic, Franklin Foer, will join us to talk about Joe Biden's White House and his best selling book The Last Politician, Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's future. The evening will be moderated by our Berlin-based member Johannes Thimm, Deputy Head of the Research Division for the Americas at The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin). More info HERE.
February 22nd Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale, Ian Shapiro, will join us with the topic Angry Populist Politics: Why it is Happening and What to do About it. We are looking at a stellar moderation from the German Council on Foreign Relations for this even. Watch the website for more information!
May 16th Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard University and co-author with Steven Levisky of the global bestseller How Democracies Die will join us to talk about his latest, Tyranny of the Minority. More information HERE.
You can keep abreast of our actives by joining our Facebook group, signing up for our newsletter on the website, or just watching the website for updates. As you know, we do not require dues at the Yale Club of Germany; we do however have yearly running costs to maintain the website and for some organizational fees to keep our status as an “eingetragene Verein.” We would be very grateful if you would consider a donation to the club – any amount you feel appropriate (we suggest €20) and do include your name and contact information if you would like a tax exempt letter for German taxes.
Thank you! Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season, and looking forward to fun activities in 2024.
Boola Boola,
Bartley
