2005/2006 Fellow | KAS, SWP and FE | Berlin
Eighteen years after my BUKA year, I still think about my fellowship year almost every month — my research, the people I met, and the things I learned. Professionally, being a German Chancellor Scholar was a recognition that helped me get positions at the British Consulate in New York, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion Peace and World Affairs. Personally, the fellowship broadened my horizons and left me with a livelong love and appreciation of your country.
One of the things I frequently think back to is what we were told at the AA during our study tour in 2006: ‘Auswaertige Kulturpolitik is an investment in the future without knowing what the future is.’ Now, as the chief communications officer at a non-profit that helps immigrants and refugees, and in a time of tightening budgets, I recognize it’s hard to keep what you cannot quantify. But please know that this fellowship matters. It matters every time I think back to my research project and consider whether the work I do now is communications/public diplomacy or propaganda. It matters every time I have a deeper understanding of the Russia-Ukraine war because I studied with 10 Russian scholars. It matters any time someone makes a stereotypical comment about Germans, I’m able to offer a richer perspective.
From the war in the Middle East, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the rise of extremism in both of our countries, we are in a moment where we desperately need people who seek to understand different perspectives, learn from each other, and find common ground. The BUKA fellowship is one really important contribution to a better world. I hope you find a way for it to continue.
MfG and vielen dank!
– Erin Taylor
