Maya Malkani Wins GMF’s Blog Competition on Transatlantic Cooperation
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is pleased to announce Maya Malkani as the winner of the GMF Blog Competition on Transatlantic Cooperation, which is sponsored by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division.
GMF asked participants to explore, in the words of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, “what has the transatlantic relationship meant to you, and how can we preserve it and make it even stronger for future generations.”
The competition ran from April 30 to July 31, 2014, and received 49 entries, out of which 27 were selected for publication on the GMF Blog. Entries were judged on three key criteria: relevance, breakthrough ideas, and number of unique visitors.
Malkani, a 2009 GMF Manfred Worner Seminar fellow, is also the country director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy within the United States Department of Defense. She is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence. Her professional experience also includes time with the Eurasia Group, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt, United States Agency for International Development, Zurich Canton School for Adults, and United Nations Radio. Her blog post argues that governments and institutions like NATO must engage the next generation and actively articulate the value of transatlantic partnership.
Read the winning entry “Managing 21st Century Change within the Transatlantic Community.”
Malkani will now participate in next year’s GMF's Brussels Forum, thanks to the generous support of NATO’s Public Policy Division.
Honorable Mentions
GMF also recognizes the contributions of Sheril Kirshenbaum, Jason Knoll, and Sebastian Schwark, who will gain access to the newly created Brussels Seminar on Global Security.
Kirshenbaum, a 2012 GMF Marshall Memorial fellow and a director at the Energy Poll at the University of Texas, asserts that the crisis in Ukraine has highlighted the EU’s energy insecurity and points to the transatlantic partnership as a potential solution. The entire blog can be found at “A Call for Transatlantic Energy Diplomacy.”
Knoll, a high school teacher in Verona, Wisconsin, argues that teacher exchange programs would forge transatlantic connections that would target broad audiences, not just policymakers. The entire blog can be found at “Teachers and the Transatlantic Relationship.”
Schwark, a 2005-2006 GMF ASPA Congressional fellow and a vice president at Hill + Knowlton Strategies, writes that the EU needs to embrace renewable energy to lessen its dependence on Russian gas and achieve greater energy security. The entire blog can be found at “The Tragedy of Flight MH17 and the Need for a Sound Transatlantic Energy Strategy.”
GMF thanks all contributors for their thoughtful responses and readers for their engagement in the discussions prompted online.
This project was implemented by GMF's Transatlantic Leadership Initiatives, which offer rising leaders dynamic opportunities to hone their leadership skills through transatlantic engagement and cooperation.