Merkel's future dialogue - learning from each other

Addis Ababa, June 8, 2012( WIC)- Chancellor Merkel invited some 100 international students to join a discussion with her, and British and Norwegian counterparts, David Cameron and Jens Stoltenberg, on how to deal with the challenges of the future.

"There's a lot going on here" – that was German Chancellor Angela Merkel's summary at the end of the her so-called future dialogue Thursday evening in Berlin. Over the last year, Merkel has been discussing with scientists, citizens and teenagers what life in Germany should be like ten years from now. Called "Learning from each other – new paths in the relationship between citizens and the state," the debate hopes to gather suggestions on how to learn and live in the future. Merkel, on Thursday, stressed that politics had to consider long-term developments rather than merely look at the next elections.

"If everyone is impatient, then I'm the one who has to remain patient," Merkel said about the debt crisis. Some 90 students from 25 countries had been invited by the Hertie School of Governance, a private Berlin university for politics and governance. Also invited were British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg. Both are considered well versed in matters of modern democracy in the Internet Age and new forms of citizen participation. Cameron regularly debates with students to stay in touch with his electorate. Norway's Stoltenberg, after the Breivik murders, initiated a broad public discussion about the Utoya tragedy.