SPECIAL PROJECTS

ENERGY INITIATIVE

CDS is excited to announce the emergence of its special energy initiative (e¹) that focuses on renewable energy and energy efficiency. In addition to existing CDS programs that address energy issues, we have developed a specific set of new exchange programs that concentrate on the technologies, policies, and best business practices affecting new energy solutions.

The official mission of the energy initiative is to foster professional exchanges in three areas of energy: transport, electricity, and heating. The new and existing programs that fall under this compelling initiative will examine renewable energies, energy efficiency, and energy conservation. The initiative is led by Emily Schmidt, CDS’s Washington, D.C. representative, and Wilson Rickerson, a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange alumnus and renewable energy policy expert.

Robert Fenstermacher, Executive Director of CDS, has been passionate about climate change and alternative energies for years and is glad to make this area a priority for CDS:

Global warming and securing sustainable energy sources for the future are issues that cannot be solved by one country. They require cooperation from communities around the world. Our energy initiative is exciting in that it directly enhances this cooperation by enabling both present and future practitioners and policymakers to share best practices and learn strategies from their international counterparts.

To support the initiative, CDS will offer short-term study tours as well as longer-term internship programs to young to mid-level professionals. The majority of programs will involve U.S.-German exchanges with additional countries added where sound partnerships and strategic links to CDS’s broader goals can be made. These countries may include the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Poland.

CDS will continue its funding strategy that includes a combination of private and public grants in addition to program fees. To date, CDS and its partners have obtained program-specific funding from the Heinrich Böll Foundation North America, Germany's Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung), and Germany's Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). For more information, please contact Emily Schmidt, eschmidt@cdsintl.org.