Join our esteemed panel to gain insight on the current state of the Syrian civil war, and Europe´s role in a possible political solution, which will be moderated by Susanne Koelbl, author and foreign-affairs correspondent for Der Spiegel.
Do the current events and crises that dominate the headlines keep you up at night? Do you ever wish that someone would help you make sense of it all? Our professors here at the Hertie School are there for you, and they've even brought pizza.
Join guest moderator Susanne Koelbl, author and foreign-affairs correspondent at Der Spiegel, and our estemmed panel of experts featuring Dr. Heinrich Kreft, Chair of Diplomacy Andrassy University, Mr. Christian Hanelt, Bertelsmann Stiftung Senior Expert for Europe and the Middle East, Dr. Abdelkarim Omar, European representative of the self-administration of North-East Syria and Mr. Fehmi Vergili, European representative of the European Syriac Union.
As with our ‘Policy and Pizza’ sessions, this is an opportunity to engage directly with practitioners and leaders shaping the world of policy and international relations in a meaningful way. Bring your questions! This discussion is being held in collaboration with the student-run EPIS Thinktank, whose research focuses on foreign affairs and security policy. The event is public and will be hosted at the Forum of the Hertie School in Berlin. There will be no live stream. Due to limited seating, registration is required. The event will be held in English. Free drinks and pizza will be served from 6:00 pm, and the talk will begin at 6:30 pm.
Please register in advance via the form on right or by sending an email to m.poet[at]hertie-school[dot]org
Meet your Speakers
Moderator: Ms. Susanne Koelbl
Ms. Susanne Koelbl is an author, lecturer and foreign correspondent for Der Spiegel.
She has reported from war zones and crisis centers in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia and Northern Asia, and in 2014 won the Liberty Award for her reports on the civil war in Syria.
Dr. Heinrich Kreft
Dr. Heinrich Kreft M.A., B.A. (USA), holds the Chair for Diplomacy at Andrássy University Budapest and is the Director of its International Relations and European Studies program. He is also the Director of its Center for Diplomacy. Previously, he was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (July 2016 - August 2020), Special Ambassador for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue and for International Academic Relations, and Deputy Head of the Policy Planning Staff of the Federal Foreign Office.
Mr. Christian Hanelt
Mr. Christian Hanelt is a reknown political scientist, and is considered to be the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Middle East and North Africa expert as well as a specialist on the European Union's foreign and neighborhood policy.
Dr. Abdelkarim Omar
Dr. Abdelkarim Omar is the foreign affairs representative of the Autonomous Administration of North-Easth Syria (AANES), and that organisation´s primary representative in Europe
Mr. Fehmi Vergili
Mr. Fehmi Vergili is the European representative and co-chair of the European Syriac Union, an organisation formed in 2004 which is an alliance between different Assyrian/Syriac political and cultural organizations in Europe.
Meet the team
- Matthew Poet, Associate Student Recruitment
