No singular moment in history can define a generation. But a series of moments, linked by the stubborn arrow of time, can form the foundation for how a cohort of people views, experiences, and understands the world.

The Next Generation grew up with a united Germany. They came of age with an America at war. Some call them millennials, others Generation Y, and few agree on exactly what it means to be one of them.

Their lives have been defined by globalization, conflicts, and technology, though they may be the last generation to remember what life was like before the...

The Next Generation sees the world through a number of lenses that color their views on all global issues, including the US-German relationship. These lenses center on the belief in, and demand for: transparency, accountability, diversity, equality, and representation. Each of these beliefs cuts across multiple issues at the heart of the US-German relationship and forms a pillar for future cooperation. Recognizing that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, the Next Generation also applauds its predecessors’ achievements in strengthening the US-German relationship, while also giving a twist to time-proven solutions to transatlantic challenges.

The demand for transparency and...

The Next Generation often faces criticism that it is self-centered. This report tried to walk the line of introducing new topics and ideas shaped by our beliefs while acknowledging the value of what has been built by the generations before us.

The twenty-first century presents a host of opportunities to expand knowledge beyond traditional constructs, by drawing on the vision, ideas, and capabilities of the young population in Germany and the United States—the Next Generation prism. This report presented a few elements of this vision—defined by the key principles of transparency, accountability, diversity, equality, and representation—and put...