In many countries, societies are facing complex social, economic and ecological challenges, such as demographic change, the digital revolution and climate change. German and international experts from different fields, sectors and hierarchical levels representing the political, administrative, business and scientific communities as well as civil society meet in the context of the International German Forum. They discuss approaches towards and ideas about these issues, exchange experiences and find possible courses of action. The Forum is a platform for discussing and spreading innovative approaches. The aim is to learn from each another through interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue.

The idea for the Forum arose from the Federal Chancellor’s dialogue on Germany’s future conducted in 2011 and 2012, in which she discussed the question “How do we want to live in the future?” with citizens and experts.