Topics that will be covered during YTL26 are the following:

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• Middle Powers in a Multipolar World: Making sense of complexity and navigating it: The rules-based international order that shaped the post-war decades is under growing strain. With great power competition intensifying, multilateral institutions weakened, and traditional alliances being tested, middle powers like Germany and Canada face a defining question: how do you project influence, protect your interests, and uphold your values when the old playbook no longer applies? Both countries bring complementary strengths, yet both also face the limits of acting alone. We will explore the strategic options available to middle powers, examine where German Canadian coordinationhas worked and where it has fallen short, and ask what a genuine middle power coalition might look like in an era of geopolitical fragmentation.

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• Strukturwandel: When Regions and Industries Transform Together: Structural change is nothing new but its current pace and simultaneity are unprecedented. The twin pressures of decarbonization and digitalization are not just reshaping individual industries; they are redrawing the economic geography of entire regions. The challenge is the same: how do you manage decline in legacy sectors while building the conditions for what comes next? And crucially, who bears the cost? We will examine how companies, workers, and governments in Germany and Canada are responding to structural transformation, where the transition is succeeding, where it is generating social and political friction, and what both countries can learn from each other's experience on the ground.

 

• 75 Years of Partnership: A Relationship Built for the Moment: In 1951, Germany and Canada established official diplomatic relations — a milestone that, given the events of just five years earlier, carried profound symbolic weight. 75 years later, that relationship has grown into one of the most multifaceted bilateral partnerships in the transatlantic world, spanning trade and investment, scientific collaboration, cultural exchange, and shared commitments on security and climate. But anniversaries are most valuable not as occasions for celebration alone, but as prompts for honest reflection. What has this partnership delivered? Where has it underperformed its potential? And as the international environment grows more turbulent, how can Germany and Canada deepen and modernize a relationship built on shared values for a world that looks very different from 1950? We will trace the arc of 75 years, hear from voices across business, politics, civil society, and culture, and look ahead to what the next chapter of this partnership could and should look like.

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Travel to and from the Study Tour:

All participants are responsible for their travel to Düsseldorf and from Berlin.

The selected participants can either cover the participation costs themselves or individually find sources of funding to cover the costs through applying to relevant foundations, universities, institutes, organizations and companies. In some cases, the young leader's employer may cover the costs for them. We welcome sponsorship by companies and employers and will provide the participants with a letter of support for this purpose.