Episode 61: Economic Transformation, Demographic Change, and Social Divisions in Buffalo, NY

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke talks with participants in the AICGS project on social divisions in Germany and the United States, which recently visited Buffalo, NY. Deanna Troust, founder of 3 Stories Communications based in Washington, DC; Mohammad Khanjar, PR consultant at Scholz & Friends in Berlin, Germany; and Elizabeth Hotary, AICGS Program Officer, shared their impressions and findings. In Buffalo, the participants explored the experiences and challenges of economic and demographic change as well as their impact on society and politics with representatives of local government, civil society organizations, and academic research institutions. Deanna Troust and Mohammad Khanjar discuss the local community engagement initiatives’ creative efforts to serve the needs of diverse communities and help bridge social and economic divisions in Buffalo and explore parallels and divergences between Buffalo and Dortmund, Germany, which the participants visited earlier this year. The AICGS project “Social Divisions and Questions of Identity in Germany and the United States” seeks to establish new connections within and between communities and is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Host Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS Guests Elizabeth Hotary, Program Officer, Foreign & Security Policy and Society, Culture & Politics, AICGS Mohammad Khanjar, PR consultant, Scholz & Friends Deanna Troust, Founder, 3 Stories Communications