From 14 to 17 October, over sixty Bucerius Summer School alumni met in New York for this year’s Bucerius Governance Talks on "New York: The Global City”.  Theo Sommer and the German Ambassador to the United Nations, Peter Wittig, opened the program the day after Germany was elected to a seat on the Security Council. The new configuration of the Security Council, with Germany, India, South Africa joining Nigeria and Brazil, among others, provided an interesting backdrop to the next day’s panel on the ‘Problem Solving Capacity of the United Nations in the 21^st Century’ with David Harland of the UN’s Peacebuilding Support Office and Edith Lederer, the Associated Press’ UN Correspondent. This was followed by a dynamic discussion of world affairs between Theo Sommer and Henry Kissinger, where shifting balances of power and the emergence of China were key themes. Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department brought an American perspective to the follow on discussion the next day.  With New York City also a global financial centre, the Governance included a lively panel debate on the implications of the global financial crisis between Jake Siewart of the US Treasury and Winnie O’Kelley, the Deputy Business Editor of the New York Times. New opportunities that have opened up for global businesses were further highlighted by Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and CEO of Alcoa.

Detailed Program