Meeting of the Open World Discussion Club with Karsten VOIGT, a German Politician, in Odessa

09 September 2014, 17:03

Arsenii Yatseniuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation, in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Promotion of Intercultural Cooperation NGO, initiates an informal meeting for young experts and professionals in international relations, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and community activists of Odesa with Karsten VOIGT, a German politician (Bundestag member in 1976–1998, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in 1994–1996). The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, at the conference hall of Odesa National University (Frantsuzskyi bulvar 24/26, the new building) at 5 p. m. (registration starts at 4:30 p. m.).

During the meeting, we will analyze the events that took place in Ukraine over the last months, in particular the tense Ukrainian–Russian relations and the international situation around them.

Karsten Voigt worked as a coordinator of German–North American Cooperation at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2010, and was a member of the German–American “Atlantic Bridge” (Atlantik-Brücke) organization, an association established to promote dialogue and understanding between Germany and the USA. Mr Voigt studied history, German, and Scandinavian languages and literature at the universities in Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Frankfurt from 1960 to 1969. From 1969 to 1972, he was chairman of the Jusos, organization of Young Socialists in the SPD. 

From 1976 to 1998 he was a member of the Bundestag, a member of the foreign affairs and defense committees.  Mr Voigt was also a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 1977 to 1998, chairman of the Defense and Security Committee between 1989 and 1993, Vice President (1992–1994) and President (1994–1996) of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Member of the Atlantic Initiative Council, Senior Research Fellow and Member of the Board of the German Council on Foreign Relations (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik), member of the Kuratorium (Supervisory Board) of Aspen Institute in Berlin, Kuratorium of Einstein Forum in Potsdam, as well as a member of the International Relations Committee and Turkey Task Group of the board of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. His monograph titled “Religion and Politics. Comparison of the Situation in Germany and the USA” was published in 2007.

Working language of the meeting: Ukrainian and German (interpreting will be provided).

Location: Odesa, Conference hall of Odesa National University (Frantsuzskyi bulvar 24/26, the new building).

In order to attend the meeting, please register using the following contact details: [email protected]    

attendees must register in advance. Seats are limited.

REFERENCE INFORMATION:

The Open World Discussion Club is an educational project of Arsenii Yatseniuk’s “Open Ukraine” foundation for socially active youth. Its goal is to bring up a new generation of responsible leaders. Every month, the Foundation arranges lectures by well-known experts, politicians, and community leaders for discussion of the ways for effective solution of social problems in Ukraine and in the world.