SHAPING FUTURE LEADERS
The Czech-German Young Professionals Program (CGYPP) is an international network for young experts, multipliers, movers and shakers from Germany and the Czech Republic. The program interlinks the fields of academia, business, media, politics, public administration and NGO.
Each year since 2008, 12-14 young professionals from Germany and the Czech Republic are invited to participate in a series of workshops, and to collaborate on relevant economic, political and social issues. CGYPP connects people with different professional backgrounds.
By exchanging and sharing experiences and perspectives, the participants not only broaden their horizons, improve communication and intercultural skills but also increase their social capital.
CGYPP 2023 Topic
Searching for common ground: sustainable future for democracies
Europe finds itself in a time of multiple challenges. While Europeans were still struggling with the economic aftermath of the Covid pandemic and had to cope with the effects in their societies, there is war again in Europe since February 2022. The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine is shaking the European peace to its foundations. At the same time, democracies across the world are confronted with China’s greater ambitions and are looking for policies to counter its hostile influence and find ways to break out of economic dependence. The resulting impact on European society, including Czech and German ones, such as inflation, energy crisis and insecurity, is together with affects of climate change an enormous burden. Yet the democratic framework of European societies must cushion these crisis. As the recent elections in Italy demonstrated, the trend of right-wing populist forces gaining strength in Europe is also continuing. Stable and sustainable democracies with strong institutions and resilient societies are therefore the very base for and future perspective and cooperation.
In order to find sustainable perspectives for a common Europe, we must therefore talk about the possibilities of resilient and sustainable democracies. In this context, cross-border dialogues are indispensable. The CGYPP would therefore like to devote itself to these questions in 2023.
- What lessons do German and Czech societies as Europeans learn from the past pandemic years?
- How can the need for peace be anchored in our societies?
- What must the democracies of the future look like in order to enable peaceful, fair and secure cohesion in Europe?
- In three seminars, we would like to focus on the impacts of the crisis on Czech and German democracies and on the necessary conditions for stable democracies in the future.
These and other topical questions are addressed during the 14th year of the Czech-German Young Professionals Program (CGYPP).
THE OUTCOME OF THE PROGRAM
The outcome of the Czech-German Young Professionals Program (CGYPP) is a growing international network of committed and talented people. It offers the chance to make valuable contacts with both participants and visiting experts from Germany and the Czech Republic.
Group interaction between current and past participants,
a lively atmosphere and the high level of commitment all promote the enduring exchange of ideas and experiences.
The network is kept alive by annual meetings, other Alumni events as well as via social media.
A really nice mixture of receiving and giving. During the three seminars, I gained confidence in the topic and it motivated me to dig deeper myself. Thank you very much for this privilege to get to know so many inspiring people.
Klára Bulantová,
Heinrich Böll Foundation Prague
CGYPP gave me inspiration, a great network and empowered me for my future career path.
Franziska Stölzel,
Škoda Auto
The program takes you into a very different environment, where you meet people that you would never have met elsewhere, and think about things that you would otherwise never have encountered.
Christof Strejcek,
business analyst
This programme means for me a highlight this year in terms if personal development. I got a deep insight into the theme of digitalization, met great people bringing different perspectives and got a lot of inspiration for my personal and professional life.
Jana Lachmann,
German Embassy Prague
This programme means for me a highlight this year in terms if personal development. I got a deep insight into the theme of digitalization, met great people bringing different perspectives and got a lot of inspiration for my personal and professional life.
Jana Lachmann,
German Embassy Prague