Dear Atlantic Council Community,

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlantic Council has extended its period of remote work until at least Tuesday, September 8, the day after Labor Day.

At the same time, however, we have never reached more people through our publications, our events and our outreach.

What’s more, we are doing it at a crucial moment, when the United States faces the triple challenge of the worst pandemic in a century, the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression and the most widespread anti-racism protests in more than fifty years.

During our 13 weeks of remote work, we have convened more than 220 events – both large and public and small and private – with more than a half million participants. Our website has attracted twice as much traffic as is usual at this time of year – some 25,000 page views each day.

A return to our offices isn’t the same as a return to work. In many respects, our team has seldom worked more effectively. At the same time, we look forward to welcoming international visitors to our Washington headquarters again, convening physical meetings and enjoying the company of our Atlantic Council colleagues in our offices.

In that spirit, we will continue to monitor and re-evaluate our plans and keep our community apprised with any new developments. As always, our highest priority remains the health and safety of our community.

Some businesses in the greater DC area and in many states across the country have begun to open more fully. Indeed, many businesses must reopen physically to survive. That is not the case for the Atlantic Council. While there was a first-mover advantage in beginning remote work, that is far less the case in considering the timing and nature of our return.

Thus, we have decided to continue our remote work due to the continued lack of an effective vaccine, the continued limits on universal testing ability and remaining uncertainties about how this virus spreads.

Regardless of when and how we physically return to the office, the Atlantic Council remains committed to flexible work policies. Many school schedules remain unclear. There will also be differences that grow out of pre-existing medical conditions of staff or family members. We are offering our staff maximum flexibility to suit their differing personal circumstances in dealing with COVID-19.

Since our move to remote work, the Atlantic Council has innovated, collaborated and delivered impressively on our mission, which is now more urgent than ever, of “shaping the global future together” with friends and allies. That mission suggests two sorts of “together” – “together” as an Atlantic Council team and “together” as a global Atlantic Council community.

I am very proud of the innovative, caring and collaborative spirit with which our team has managed this tumultuous time.

It is in this spirit that we have launched our newest global ideas platform, Atlantic Council FrontPage, one of our many digital innovations from this period. This has become a platform-of-choice for the world’s preeminent policy makers and thought leaders and has expanded our ability to convene truly global audiences.

For more information about the Atlantic Council’s coronavirus programming, please sign up to our Coronavirus Alert and make sure to visit the section of our website dedicated to our coronavirus coverage. For information on how you can support the Atlantic Council’s work, please click here.

Seldom has the work of the Atlantic Council been so robust. Seldom have the simultaneous issues we face been so challenging. We appreciate the support and engagement of all those who are helping us advance our mission at this historic moment.

All my best,

Frederick Kempe
President and CEO
Atlantic Council

If you have any questions, please email us at coronavirus@atlanticcouncil.org.