Chicago in Retrospect

On a weekend in the midst of April we set out for our final mission to Chicago. After driving a few hours out of Athens, finally signs of larger civilization appear again next to the interstate. There is a train, buildings higher than two levels, and more than two street lights. After about seven hours of driving North West we hit the Windy City. 

One of the highlights of the program at the Global Leadership Center is the annual presentation of the student’s work to experts from the field of international relations. For this year, the German Consul General Herbert Quelle is the one chosen to listen to our presentations for more than two hours. The topic range is far spread. In three months research, the student teams covered issues ranging from Human Security in the context of the European Refugee Dilemma, Water Security at the Euphrates and Tigris River, or Cyber Security and user rights within the context of the Transatlantic Bridge. 

The schedule for our mission is set and clear: - arrival prior to midnight on Thursday, - re-gathering with the individual groups to go over the presentations, - breakfast with some mysterious star lawyer downtown Chicago on Friday morning, - rushing over to the Goethe-Institute, where the presentations were to be held, - unofficial ending of the program. 

                                                                        Fortunately, our hostel is right downtown Chicago. Therefore we only walk a few minutes to reach the huge skyscrapers of the business district. I mentioned some mysterious star lawyer above. Yes, indeed, this meeting turns out to be special. The lawyer has an office the way I only knew out of Hollywood movies: 44^th floor, highly polished furniture and windows enabling a fantastic view on Lake Michigan. The lawyer proudly speaks about his annual salary and presents himself as one of the wealthy very top one percent of the American society. Even more interesting to me sounds his involvement in assisting the Bush Administration in finding a response to the 9/11 attacks. On an overarching note, he concludes that all in all America did a pretty good job waging the “War on Terror”. 

Soon after these insights we head a few blocks over to the Goethe Institute, the place where our presentations were to be held. They all in all go very well and conclude without any major breakdowns, although everybody is excited. Eventually, both Teaching Staff and German Consul are delighted about our findings. Mr. Quelle invites the students for a short tour to his consulate. With that visit, the official part of the Chicago trip ends.