Democratic Resilience & Memory

Dr. Stefan Belz is Lord Mayor of Böblingen, Germany. He focuses on local politics, European cooperation, remembrance culture, and strengthening civic dialogue and city partnerships.

Current Position

2018-: Lord Mayor of Böblingen, responsible for the strategic leadership of a city of
53,000 inhabitants and 1,300 employees.

Previous Experience

2000-2012: Researcher in aerospace engineering and complex systems design at the University of Stuttgart
Specialist in international cooperation and systems management

Key Assets

Executive leadership experience in local government
Combines scientific and administrative expertise

Project Idea

German-French-Polish city partnership model – remembrance, youth exchange, resilience

Lale Yildirim is Professor of History Education, whose research focuses on historical thinking and learning in diverse and migration societies, empirical research on historical culture, participatory digital public history, and questions of agency, participation, and historical identity.

Current Position

2024-: Professor of History Education at Kiel University; Principal Investigator in the DFG
Collaborative Research Centre Production of Migration.

Previous Experience
2021-2024: Junior Professor (Tenure Track), University of Osnabrück
2016-2021: Lecturer, Freie Universität Berlin
Former Board Member, German History Education Association (KGD)

Key Assets
Secured more than €4 million in competitive research funding
Leading scholar on migration, memory, and history education

Project Idea
Trilateral memory lab – German, French, Polish shared & contested histories

An author and foreign policy expert, Jérémie Gallon is Head of Europe at McLarty Associates, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and award-winning biographer of Kissinger and Pompidou.

Current Position
2020-: Managing Partner & Head of Europe at McLarty Associates; Non-Resident Senior
Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Previous Experience
2019-2022: Adjunct Professor, Sciences Po
2017-2020: Managing Director, American Chamber of Commerce France
2015-2017: Senior Political Adviser to the EU Ambassador to the United States (EEAS)

Key Assets
Extensive transatlantic network and experience
Combines diplomacy, business, and public affairs expertise

Project Idea
European Security Council led by Weimar Triangle – history, culture & EU foreign policy

Daria Mudzo-Wieloch is Director of the German-Polish Science Foundation, fostering science diplomacy through bilateral and trilateral research cooperation in the humanities and social sciences.

Current Position
2013-: Executive Director of the German-Polish Science Foundation.

Previous Experience
Over a decade of leadership within one of the key institutions supporting German-Polish academic cooperation

Key Assets
Deep expertise in bilateral cooperation and scientific exchange
Strong network across German and Polish institutions

Project Idea
Weimar Triangle science diplomacy toolbox – democratisation, participation, resilience

Paweł Zerka is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. As the European Council on Foreign Relations’ lead analyst on public opinion, Paweł Zerka spearheads the organisation’s polling and data research on foreign affairs.

His other areas of study include global trade policy, Latin American politics, as well as Poland’s and France’s role in the European Union. Based in the Paris office, Zerka has been part of the ECFR team since 2017, having worked previously as a foreign policy expert in Poland. He holds a PhD in economics and an MA in international relations from the Warsaw School of Economics. 

Current Position
2017-: Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Previous Experience
2016-2017: Head of International Relations and Foreign Affairs, WiseEuropa
2009-2016: Head of the “Global Horizon of Europe” Programme, DemosEuropa

Key Assets
Recognised voice on European public opinion and strategic foresight
Extensive experience in European policy analysis

Project Idea
Weimar initiative for Europe grounded in public opinion