Conference Reports

Last update: 19 July 2007

 

Anglo-German Foundation Conferences, Workshops or Seminars are frequently followed up by a book or a conference report that disseminates the results from the bilateral events.

Most conference reports are published here, while some of the major reports will also appear as an edited book version on our publications page.

You can download all recent conference reports free of charge from this site (see link for each publication below). You may need to install Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader to view the PDF files.

Latest Conference Reports

Conference Report
‘Trading Up’: Improving and extending the European carbon market

6th Conference of the British-German Environment Forum

The 2007 Spring European Council in early March decided to target a 20% cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) production by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. The Council also allowed for a 30% cut if an international
agreement is reached. This sets a new challenge for policy makers in Europe. Thus the timing of the sixth British-German Environment Forum in Berlin on 26–27 March 2007 - with the aim of developing ideas and consensus to move forward the policy debate on solutions to climate change, and in particular the carbon market – could hardly have been better. The conference heard of the serious problem the world faces in limiting the output of GHGs as countries such as China and India rapidly industrialise. The EU, with the UK and Germany in the vanguard, has led the way in developing mechanisms to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the meeting heard about the successes – and failings – of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and debated how Germany and the UK together might be able to generate the political momentum required to rise to the challenge. The discussions and debates of the bilateral conference in Berlin, involving senior representatives from government, business, research and civil society at national and international level, are summarized in this conference report.

July 2007

Conference Report
Indicators for Education for Sustainable Development: a report on perspectives, challenges and progress

 by Alan Reid, Jutta Nikel and William Scott

This document reports on contemporary perspectives, challenges, and progress in the development and implementation of indicators for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in 2006. It discusses key issues in indicator methodology and the application of indicators to the field of ESD; existing and emerging critiques of indicators in social policy settings; and a range of ESD indicator projects underway in Europe.

December 2006

  • For free download of complete paper (2.29 MB) please click here

Briefing paper
Raising productivity levels in Britain and Germany

by Heiko Fritz

The level of productivity has been a subject for concern for more than a century in the UK, as it has always lagged behind major competitors on the world market such as the US, Germany and Japan. By contrast, German productivity levels have traditionally been relatively high. However, since reunification a serious productivity gap between eastern and western Germany has opened up. For this reason, raising productivity either on the country level or regionally has to be considered a major task for economic policy in both Germany and the UK.

This briefing paper is the result of the seminar ‘Raising Productivity Levels in the UK and Germany’, which was part of the Search for Solutions series and was held on 8 September 2004 in London.

May 2006

  • For free download of complete paper (148 KB) please click here

Conference Report
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM AVIATION

Edited by Jacqueline Cottrell

This conference, organised by the NGO Green Budget Germany and Environmental Consultancy eftec, set out to evaluate market-based instruments for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. Particular emphasis was placed on Germany and the United Kingdom, as these two countries have contributed considerably to the discussion of this topic on the international agenda. The timing of the conference was very pertinent, as the UK aimed to advance the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme during its EU Presidency in the second half of 2005. The discussions and debates of the November conference are summarized in this conference report

February 2006

  • For free download of complete report (302 KB) please click here

AGF Conference Report
Germany's Economic Performance: From Unification to Euroisation

Jens Hölscher and Rob Hayward

The London conference aimed to deepen the understanding of Germany's economic performance at the turn of the 21th century. The period under observation and analysis stretched from Germany's unification in 1990 over the death of the German Mark to first experiences with the EURO. Particular attention was given to East Germany. The discussions and debates of the bilateral conference in London are summarized in this conference report.

August 2005

  • For free download of complete report (86 KB) please click here

AGF Conference Report
Employment and Social Policies for an Ageing Society
Britain and Germany Compared

Academic Convenors: Gerhard Naegele and Alan Walker; Text: Christopher Pick

Hardly a week passes in Germany or in the UK without a newspaper headline referring to the ‘pensions crisis’ or the ‘pensions timebomb’ . Has then the welfare state passed its sell-by date? Can, and should, governments abdicate from one of the core principles of the welfare state, to ensure that their citizens enjoy a reasonably prosperous and comfortable old age? It was to consider these issues – and, more importantly, the complex demographic, economic, social and political realities that lie behind the over-simplified media treatments – that the Anglo–German Foundation brought together a wide range of experts from the UK and Germany. The discussions and debates of the bilateral conference in London are summarized in this conference report.

February 2005

AGF Conference Report
Academia-Business Links in UK and Germany:
Policy Outcomes and Lessons Learnt

European Research Institute, University of Birmingham

The academic world is undergoing rapid change – scientists and students are identifying new opportunities as entrepreneurs, multinational companies are basing their investment decisions on proximity to leading research centres, and policymakers throughout Europe are looking for new incentive schemes to maximize the economic and social output from academia. This conference report provides an overview of experience gained with policy changes in the field of academia-business interactions from a theoretical and empirical perspective.

August 2004, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (124 KB) please click here

AGF Conference Report
Strategies for Seniors and Sport

Landessportbund Berlin

Physical activity has only recently become a social policy priority. There are two reasons for this heightened attention: (i) health-care and other costs have increased due to inactive lifestyles and (ii) demographic changes require new thinking in many areas, especially concerning how to support activity and foster independent living in older age. The Strategies for Seniors and Sport conference on 27 and 28 May 2004 at the Sports
Academy of the Landessportbund Berlin hosted 25 physical activity and health experts
from Germany, the UK and Canada to consider these issues. This conference report summarizes their discussions.

July 2004, published online only


Conference Report
Britain as a Model of Modern Society? German views

During the 19th and 20 th century the Germans had a continuous perception of Great Britain (or England) which covered many areas and was used for many purposes. One of the primary aims of this international conference in Berlin - in association with the Großbritannien-Zentrum/Berlin and the Zentrum für vergleichende Geschichte Europas/Berlin - was therefore to mediate an overview of this perception and to identify general trends and blind spots within it. The discussions and debates are summarized in this conference report.

July 2004


Conference Report
Wage Inequality, Technology and Institutions

This workshop in Bonn in association with the Institute for the Study of Labour examined the reasons for the substantial differences across Anglo-Saxon and continental European countries in terms of wage inequality. It brought together leading international researchers to discuss the most recent theoretical and empirical advances in this research area. The unpublished minutes summarize the findings and discussions of the conference.

July 2004

Conference Report
Ecotaxes in Germany and the United Kingdom - A Business View

Edited by Jacqueline Cottrell, Green Budget Germany

The conference “Ecotaxes in Germany and the UK – A Business View” was organised by Green Budget Germany in cooperation with the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation and the Anglo-German-Foundation. Its main focus was to compare and contrast the ecological taxation systems in the UK and Germany and its underlying logic in this context was to investigate why ecological taxation is communicated, perceived and received so differ-ently
in the two countries and to lay foundations for future research.

June 2004

Conference Report
Integrated Regional Production and Logistics Management -
A Promising Perspective For European Regions?

European experts met at this workshop in Wuppertal with the aim to consider the latest thinking about regional production and consumption of food products and its links with transport and urban/regional planning. The purpose was to create very practical approaches to reducing freight movement and greenhouse gases whilst improving regional sourcing of high quality food products. The unpublished minutes summarize the findings and discussions of the conference.

June 2004

AGF Conference Report
New Members, New Structures

Anglo–German Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Hans Böckler Stiftung

Some 30 German and British union activists – from leaders and senior policy-makers to workplace organisers – plus policy-makers, researchers and academics took part in the Trade Union Forum 2004. The debate and discussion focused on understanding why unions in both Germany and the UK are facing a potential membership and organisational crisis and how they are developing innovative policy and activity to meet this challenge.

June 2004, published online only

AGF Conference Report
"From Fossil to Future Fuels"

Anglo-German Foundation

How to push forward the gradual but critically important switch from ‘fossil fuels' to ‘future fuels' was the topic of the fifth British–German Environment Forum, which met in Berlin in February 2004. The 60 participants represented the spectrum of activity in sustainable energy in both countries: politics and policy-making (at local, national and European levels), technological and commercial development, and research, reporting and campaigning. Three main challenges were debated: how to reduce dependence on imports of fossil fuels; how to promote a more rapid take-up of sustainable and energy-efficient practices and technologies and how Germany and the UK can more effectively pursue common aims within the international energy system.

April 2004, published online only

AGF Conference Report
Modernisierung im britischen und deutschen Gesundheitswesen -
was können wir voneinander Lernen

Anglo-German Foundation

Great Britain and Germany have been debating the shortcomings of their health care systems for a good many years. The two countries are approaching modernisation from two different starting points. How the two countries deal with the various challenges, and what alternatives and future strategies they have developed in the health field, was the theme of the conference entitled "Modernising the British and German health care systems - what can we learn from one another?”, that brought together specialists from higher education, the media, think-tanks, the civil service, politics, medicine, and health planning and management in both the public and private sectors. The discussions and debates are summarized in this conference report.

November 2003, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (934 KB) please click here

Press Coverage: Ärzteblatt, Financial Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung

AGF Conference Report
Current Themes in UK Health Care.
How are They Approached in Germany?

Anglo-German Foundation

This seminar, organised jointly by the Anglo-German Foundation and the King's Fund, brought together specialists from higher education, the media, think-tanks, the civil service, politics, medicine, and health planning and management in both the public and private sectors to discuss how current issues in UK health care are being approached in Germany. The seminar focused on examining how the German experience can inform three live themes in current health care policy debate and development in the UK: National efforts to improve quality, decentralising power to local communities and encouraging market forces in order to improve performance. The discussions and debates are summarized in this conference report.

April 2003, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (113 KB) please click here

AGF Conference Report
Tomorrow's Welfare State

Anglo-German Foundation and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

The second British–German Trade Union Forum - organised jointly by the Anglo-German Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation - brought together some 41 representatives of German and British trade unions to discuss the nature and scope of ‘tomorrow's welfare state'. The meeting was timely, as consensual assumptions that have governed social policy for many decades in both the UK and Germany are being vigorously challenged. The most influential and most powerful impetus for change is coming from the heart of the two centre-left governments that is asking fundamental questions about the nature and funding of the welfare state. The discussions and debates of the bilateral conference in Berlin are summarized in this conference report.

August 2003, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (100 KB) please click here

AGF Conference Report
Sustaining Food, Sustaining Farmers

Anglo-German Foundation

The fourth conference of the British-German Environment Forum brought together some fifty experts from government, farmers' associations, NGOs, universities and the media in both countries to explore issues of sustainability in agriculture and food production. Forum participants investigated the complex interconnections between agriculture, rural communities, and every part of the food production chain. The discussions and debates are summarized in this conference report.

January 2003, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (113 KB) please click here

Conference Reports 2002

Conference Report
The Countryside in the 21th Century: Anglo-German Perspectives

Unpublished conference report of the first meeting of the Anglo-German Rural Geographers at Wissenschaftszentrum "Schloss Thurnau", Bayreuth University,
4.-7. September 2002

AGF Conference Report
Flexicurity - Employability and Security in a Flexible Global Labour Market

Anglo-German Foundation and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

The balance between security and flexibility is a crucial element of future employment policy and a key challenge for Europe's workers and employers. This was the main conclusion of the first-ever German-British trades union forum, organised jointly by the Anglo-German Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The meeting brought together for the first time over thirty representatives of the trade union movement in Germany and Britain and of leading think-tanks in both countries. The discussions and debates are summarized in this conference report.

August 2002, published online only

  • For free download of complete report (939 KB) please click here

Conference Report
Comparing London and Frankfurt as World Cities.
A Relational Study of Contemporary Urban Change

The unpublished conference papers summarize the research project and provide the transcriptions of the launch discussions in London (Anglo-German Foundation, 19 Nov 2001) and Frankfurt (Finanzplatz e.V., 30 Jan 2002).

For more information please contact

Conference Report
The Future of Conservatism? - Die Zukunfts des Konservatismus

The unpublished conference report summarizes the findings and discussions of a German-British Symposium which took place in Wildbad Kreuth, Bavaria, Germany,
19 - 21 April 2002

Conference Reports 2001

Conference Report
In Control of their Lives?

The unpublished minutes summarize the findings and discussions of a Seminar comparing the views, values and experiences of 18 to 25 year olds in Derby, Hanover and Leipzig, 20/21 April 2001