About this Event
New Spaces. Creative Thinking. Shared Futures.
The Next Frontiers symposium is a trans-Atlantic symposium exploring how culture, science, technology, business, politics, and design will shape the future of our societies. Taking place in 2026, when the United States marks its 250th anniversary, it reflects on a defining national characteristic: the enduring drive to look forward.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” speech, the symposium looks not only on the nation’s rich historical foundation but also on its tradition of imagining what comes next. Kennedy challenged the nation to continue embracing the pioneer spirit of exploration, innovation, and social progress, emphasizing that the pursuit of new frontiers is essential to national and human advancement.
Throughout American history, leaders have returned to this language of renewal and possibility. President Ronald Reagan, in his farewell address, picked up the forward-looking theme, describing the United States as a nation strengthened and continually renewed by people “from every country and every corner of the world,” whose energy and aspirations carry the country toward ever new frontiers.
The "American Spirit" has influenced, not only the U.S. but also, Germany. From post-war reconstruction to the establishment of democratic institutions and strong trans-Atlantic ties, Germany’s modern political, economic, and cultural landscape has been profoundly shaped through collaboration with the United States. Today, both nations continue to navigate new frontiers - whether in science, technology, social innovation, or cultural exchange.
Building on this shared legacy, the symposium brings together leading experts from the U.S. and Germany to explore the next frontiers across multiple fields while emphasizing the historical bonds and shared aspirations that have connected our nations and driven global progress for the past 80 years.
The Program
DOORS OPEN AT 8:15 AM
8:30 am - 10:15 am
FUTURE VISIONS: Breakfast Inspiration Keynote with Frederik Pferdt, Author, former Google Chief Innovation Evangelist
S1: “What’s Next Is Now” — A Mindstate for Your Next Frontier
Everyone wants a better future. Few know how to create one.
In this opening keynote, Frederik G. Pferdt invites you into a simple but powerful shift:
your future doesn’t begin somewhere ahead. It begins within you.
Drawing on his work at Google, Stanford, and with leaders around the world, Frederik introduces a future-ready mindstate that reshapes how you see uncertainty, decide, and act.
Instead of waiting for clarity, you’ll learn to move with it.
Instead of following trends, you’ll begin creating what’s next.
This is not about predicting the future.
It’s about practicing how to shape it—through small, intentional choices that bring your better tomorrow to life.
Followed by a Future Visions discussion, featuring Frederik Pferdt and Christina von Messling (Foresight Factory London). Moderated by Felix Zeltner (Award winning journalist and Founder at Remote Daily)
BREAK
10:30 am - 11:45 am
Technology & Climate: The Outer Space Frontier I - Lecture and Conversation
S2: The Internet of Animals: How Wildlife Can Help Forecast Disasters, Disease, and Environmental Change
The collective wisdom of the Earth's animals provides an immense bio-treasure of unprecedented information for humankind. Learning from animals in the "Internet of Animals" can help us predict natural catastrophes, forecast global zoonotic disease spreads, or safeguard food resources while monitoring in situ every corner of the planet. The evolved senses of animals as well as technical sensors on animal-borne tracking tags enable local earth observations at highest spatial and temporal resolution. To protect and understand the ecosystem services provided by animals, we need to monitor individual animals seamlessly on a global scale. At the same time, these unprecedented life-history data of individual wild animals provide deep, novel insight into fundamental biological processes.
The ICARUS initiative, an international bottom-up, science-driven technology development of small, cheap and autonomous IoT (Internet of Things) sensing devices for animal movement and behavior is aiming towards this: wearables for wildlife. The resulting big data available in the open-source data base Movebank helps understand, monitor, predict and protect life on our planet.
Featuring Martin Wikelski (Director of the Department of Migration of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Honorary Professor at the University of Konstanz), moderated by Jan Lüdert (Head of Programs at the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York City).
This event is co-hosted by the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York
11:45 am- 12:45 pm
International Relations: The Outer Space Frontier II - Panel Discussion
S3: Who “Owns” the Moon? Establishing Norms in the New Space Race
As activity in space accelerates—from satellite constellations to lunar missions, resource extraction, and exploration beyond Earth—who sets the rules, and who stands to benefit? In this conversation, space law expert Stephan Hobe, astrophysicist Gioia Rau, and science reporter Kenneth Chang discuss controversial perspectives on governance and discovery to unpack spaceas a scientific frontier, as well as an emerging economic and political sphere.
With the Moon as a testing ground for a new space race, how are norms and rules being shaped in real time? Can existing legal frameworks keep pace with commercial ambitions, geopolitical interests, and technological breakthroughs? Who has the right to extract, benefit, and profit from space resources—and how are those benefits shared? And as we expand further into space, can it remain a global commons, or is competition for access and ownership already reshaping the rules?
Featuring Stephan Hobe (Director of the Institute for Air Law, Space Law and Cyber Law and Chair for Public Internation Law, European Law, European and International Economic Law at the University of Cologne) and Gioia Rau, (The Catholic University of America). Moderated by Kenneth Chang (The New York Times)
BREAK
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Business & International Relations: The Capital Frontier - Luncheon Fireside Chat
S4: Investing in Innovation, Resilience, and Sustainable Progress
As the United States celebrates 250 years of democratic and economic development, the spirit of the Next Frontiers call, not only for technological exploration and scientific advancement but also, for bold thinking about how capital is mobilized to meet the defining challenges of our time. From post-war reconstruction and the strengthening of democratic market economies to today’s climate transition and digital transformation, the trans-Atlantic partnership between the United States and Germany has demonstrated how investment, innovation, and economic cooperation can drive long-term prosperity and stability. Increasingly, leading family offices are playing a catalytic role—deploying patient, values-aligned capital and partnering with institutions to accelerate innovation, scale solutions, and bridge public and private priorities.
In our conversation with Daniel Levine, Founder and Managing Partner of Tenfore Holdings, we will explore how capital markets and investors are evolving to meet the demands of a changing world. Drawing on his experience investing in data-driven and growth-oriented enterprises, Levine will discuss how innovation, financial transparency, and long-term strategic investment contribute to economic resilience and sustainable progress.
The program, introduced and moderated by Andrew Sollinger, CEO & publisher of Foreign Policy, will highlight finance not merely as an economic mechanism, but as a defining frontier of the 21st century—one in which the United States and Germany continue to collaborate in pursuit of shared prosperity and global stability.
Featuring Daniel Levine (Founder and Managing Partner of Tenfore Holdings), and Andrew Sollinger (CEO & Publisher of Foreign Policy)
2:30 pm - 4:00 PM
Society & Democracy: The Stewardship Frontier
S5: The Next Frontier and New Realities: Leadership in a Multipolar World
Inspired by the spirit of renewal and global engagement that defined President John F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier” speech, this conversation explores what political leadership looks like in an increasingly multipolar world. As power diffuses across regions and institutions, today’s leaders face a more complex landscape — one marked by strategic competition, democratic backsliding, and shifting alliances.
Saskia Brechenmacher of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Steven E. Sokol of the American Council on Germany bring deep expertise on democracy, transatlantic relations, and global governance to a timely discussion on how leaders can navigate these challenges. As democratic systems face mounting pressures from technological disruption, geopolitical volatility, and declining public trust, the speakers will discuss how transatlantic partners can pioneer new approaches to civic resilience, institutional renewal, and democratic engagement. What does principled leadership require in an era without a single dominant power center? How can democratic values be advanced amid rising geopolitical tensions? And what lessons, if any, can be drawn from past moments of transformation like the early 1960s?
This panel invites participants to reflect on the responsibilities — and possibilities — of leadership in a world that is once again being redefined.
Featuring Saskia Brechenmacher (senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program) and Steven E. Sokol (President of the American Council on Germany)
This event is co-hosted by the American Council on Germany
BREAK
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Arts & Culture: The Cultural Frontier - Panel Discussion
S6: Storyliving the Future - How Immersive Experiences Reshape How We Connect and Imagine
As technology blurs the boundaries between physical and digital space, storytelling is becoming storyliving. In immersive environments, audiences no longer observe — they participate. The session explores how experiential design, spatial storytelling, and emerging technologies are redefining how we gather, connect, and imagine together, engaging all senses and triggering emotions such as empathy. In an era of rapid change, shared experience becomes cultural infrastructure for the next frontier.
Featuring Jasmin Jodry (Emmy award winning Creative Director), Stephanie Riggs (CEO & Co-Founder, Nia. Experience Innovator), Randy Weiner (Playwright and Producer - Masquerade, Sleep No More), and Erica Boecke (Founder, Liberty & Co. and Creator of XP Land)
Thank you to our program co-hosts and partners, the ACG, DWIH, and the University of Cologne New York Office, as well as to Vitra for generously hosting us for our opening reception and keynote. Thank you also to Campus OWL, Deutsches Haus at NYU, Goethe-Institut New York, Heidelberg University Association, UAS7, The University of Freiburg, and UA Ruhr North America for your support.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
873 Broadway, 873 Broadway, New York, United States
USD 0.00
