Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V.

What Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. does

The Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. (DBG) is a Berlin-based registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1949 — originally as the Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft — to promote German-British dialogue across cultural, political, social, and economic domains. The organization operates a small national secretariat of approximately six employees and coordinates a nationwide footprint of fourteen regional chapters. Its flagship asset is the Königswinter Conference series, now in its 76th iteration, complemented by specialized tracks including Jung Königswinter (youth), Economic Königswinter, and Defence Königswinter. The DBG marked its 75th anniversary on 14 November 2024 and recently launched the Königswinter Future Lab in Berlin on 16 April 2026.

Revenue mechanics combine individual membership fees, corporate memberships, donations, and event sponsorships; no public financial disclosure is available. Leadership consists of Chairman Thomas Matussek, Deputy Chairman Dr. Rupert Graf Strachwitz, and Executive Director Mari Mittelhaus. The DBG has cultivated long-running institutional partnerships with the British Council, the British Embassy in Berlin, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Bundestag, the British-German Forum, and the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award. Operationally the DBG delivers value through convening, programming, and diplomatic facilitation rather than through proprietary technology products or data assets.

The DBG has increasingly aligned itself with formal bilateral statecraft, including active engagement around the Kensington Treaty (German-British Friendship Treaty) signed on 17 July 2025 and ratified by the Bundestag in March 2026. The 76th Königswinter Conference is scheduled for Manchester in June 2026, marking the first time the flagship forum is held outside Germany. The organization's value proposition rests on institutional credibility, network reach, and trusted convener status within the German-British bilateral ecosystem rather than on technology, intellectual property, or scale economics.

Name

Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V.

Legal name

Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V.

Website

https://debrige.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. is a Berlin-based non-profit founded in 1949 that convenes German-British dialogue through the Königswinter Conference series, specialized forums, and fourteen regional chapters across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Diplomacy & Bilateral Relations Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Government & Public Sector Conferences (MPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Cultural diplomacy
• Bilateral relations
• Membership association
• Conference organization
• Civil society dialogue

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Individual and corporate membership fees support the organization. Membership fees are tax deductible under Article 10b Income Tax Act (§10b EstG), with receipts (Zuwendungsbestätigungen) issued to members.
2. Donations: Single or regular donations from private individuals and companies. Donations are also tax deductible and donors receive official donation receipts.
3. Sponsoring: Corporate sponsors receive promotional benefits including exclusive hosting of events or participation in events. Sponsoring contributions can be claimed for tax purposes.
4. Donations in Kind: Other forms of support including provision of rooms or vehicles for conferences and covering entertainment costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. is a registered non-profit membership association that promotes German-British discourse on cultural, political, social, and economic topics. It organizes flagship conferences (Königswinter, Jung Königswinter, Economic Königswinter, Defence Königswinter) that convene decision-makers from both countries, runs 14 regional groups across Germany hosting local events and lectures, and publishes conference reports and newsletters.

Product overview

The Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. is a non-profit cultural and diplomatic organization that operates as a collection of conference programs and regional networks rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings center on four variants of the Königswinter Conference series (the main annual conference, the youth-focused Jung Königswinter, the Economic Königswinter, and the Defence Königswinter), supported by a Germany-wide network of regional groups that organize local events, lectures, and conversation circles. The society further offers publications and reports, a newsletter, and individual and corporate membership programs. All offerings are oriented toward fostering German-British dialogue on political, cultural, social, and economic matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Königswinter Konferenz
• Jung Königswinter Konferenz
• Economic Königswinter Konferenz
• Defence Königswinter Konferenz
• Regional Groups Network
• Membership Program

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• British CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2018Collaboration on UK/Germany 2018 programme celebrating deep cultural relations between Germany and Britain, including short films on German-British friendships, film competitions, event programmes and more.
• The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Germany e.V.minorOthersConnected through the regional network section, representing the Duke Award programme within the DBG network.
• British Embassy BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on events including visits by Lord Cameron and the British state visit. The society facilitates engagement between British officials and German stakeholders.
• German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernmental partner providing opening statements at Königswinter Conference and supporting youth exchange initiatives, including joint declarations on expanding UK-German youth exchanges.
• British-German ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK counterpart organization; alumni from Jung Königswinter Conference and British-German Forum gather for joint events such as the New Königswinter Future Lab.
• German BundestagcoreOthersHost of major events including speeches by Prince of Wales at the Central Remembrance Ceremony marking Germany's National Day of Mourning.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Chatham House: London-based international affairs institute with high-level convening power similar to the flagship Königswinter Conference; competes for the same corporate-sponsor and senior-decision-maker attention as DBG, though on a global rather than bilateral agenda.
• British Council Germany: UK government's primary cultural-relations arm in Germany and a documented strategic partner of the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft; overlaps in cultural diplomacy, lectures, and educational exchange, but operates at a much larger scale.
• Goethe-Institut: Germany's official cultural-promotion organization abroad; overlapping cultural-diplomacy mission and similar partnership profile with German government entities, though operating globally and at significantly larger scale.
• Aspen Institute Germany: Runs leadership seminars, conferences, and transatlantic dialogue programmes in a similar convening space as DBG; comparable in membership-driven conference culture but with a wider thematic remit.
• Körber Foundation: Hamburg-based foundation running comparable international dialogue formats (e.g., Körber Global Dialogue, Young European Leadership seminars) with much larger resources and a broader geographic scope.

Direct peers

• Deutsch-Amerikanische Gesellschaft (Atlantik-Brücke): Closely analogous German civil-society organization fostering transatlantic (German-American) dialogue through conferences, lectures, and a young-leaders programme — same membership, conference, and network model as DBG.
• German-British Chamber of Commerce: Bilateral business-focused counterpart to DBG, providing networking, trade promotion, and corporate-membership services between Germany and the UK; comparable on corporate membership model though narrower (commercial, not cultural/political).
• British-German Forum: UK counterpart organization explicitly paired with the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft, with joint alumni events such as the New Königswinter Future Lab and shared Jung Königswinter pipeline.
• Deutsch-Französische Gesellschaft: Parallel Franco-German friendship society organizing conferences, cultural events, and youth exchanges; structurally similar bilateral-society model aimed at sustaining German-French dialogue.

Emerging players

• Royal United Services Institute (RUSI): Defence and security think tank in London; directly comparable to DBG's Defence Königswinter track as a convening forum for bilateral UK-German security-policy dialogue, though not a membership-based society.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/debrige_berlin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEpyt4YzHS-tHeF7o8W4rlA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/debrige

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V.