In this sophomore season, Leadership in Action goes inside the minds of skilled negotiators and practitioners, as they attempt to solve some of the world’s most intractable challenges. This trio of episodes begins with the story behind how the United Nations managed to contain the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. From there, we’ll turn the clock back to 1997, as the British government hands over of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. The season will wrap up by peeling back the curtain on the 2015 negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program.

The Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship (BFF), formerly known as the Congressional European Parliamentary Initiative (CEPI), is a hybrid experience that convenes over the period of six months. Fellows start with an in-person trip in Brussels to kick off the fellowship, followed by an engaging, four-month virtual program in which they meet once a week with experts related to the year’s topic. The Fellowship comes to a close with a trip to Washington, D.C., where fellows are able to further engage in person. A final publication providing concrete policy recommendations related to the topic is written by the fellows themselves, published at the end of the BFF program.

In Summer 2023, the Bertelsmann Foundation will host its second annual Summer Enrichment Series. During the months of June, July, and August, selected students and recent graduates will be invited to attend a complementary, in-person dinner and roundtable conversation each month at its office in Washington, DC. This year’s thematic focus will center around the past, present, and future of the transatlantic relationship.