Eidtorial

Although every year represents the beginning of a new story, 2018 began slowly in Germany, mainly because of the lengthy negotiations that were conducted over the formation of the governing coalition. Internationally, the political trends from the previous year continued unabated, and their impact is still being felt today: multilateralism is facing considerable pressure; the ongoing Brexit negotiations have almost completely brought the European Union to a political standstill, and the US is withdrawing from multilateral agreements while vehemently calling for stronger commitment from other NATO members. Russia and China have begun taking advantage of this situation to pursue their strategic goals and expand their international influence. At the same time, populist parties and movements have gained strength in countries ranging from Italy to Brazil. The xenophobic riots that occurred in some German cities are a particularly alarming reflection of these broader development. Ultimately, the growing sense of insecurity among the population, which plays into the populists’ hands, is also partly driven by globalisation and digitalisation, and the impact that the resulting changes are having on almost all areas of life.

These examples are demonstrative of just some of the many wide-ranging tasks and challenges faced by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. In line with our three-year leitmotif, ‘Germany. The next chapter’, we contribute to debates that shape Germany’s future. Our leitmotif focuses on the current health of our democracy and the core issue of education, which is crucial to our country’s viability. The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung also seeks to identify aspects that bind our society together, and that will help carry us forward into the future.

This annual report provides an overview of some of the many activities that the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung undertook in 2018. Alongside the additional information available on www.kas.de, it is a reflection of the enormous level of commitment, competence and dedication expressed by our staff at home and abroad. We would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of them. Our international staff often work under particularly challenging conditions. This point was especially underscored five and a half years ago when the Egyptian police searched and closed our office in Cairo. It was not until December 2018 that an Egyptian court finally acquitted our members of staff.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the committee members for their constructive cooperation, the ‘Friends of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’, the donors, sponsors and all of our partners for their considerable support. We will continue to do our utmost to live up to the trust that they place in us.

This year’s report clearly demonstrates that people around the world have begun writing the ‘next chapter’ of their lives and society – whether in digital or analogue form. It is time, therefore, that we also wrote the next chapter of our country together. We hope that you will provide us with your support in doing so.

You can download the full report as pdf.