Managing post-Brexit relations between the UK and the EU is a special challenge in the security sector, and all parties seem to agree that this requires a specific framework, insulated from the broader negotiations. A few basic principles were put forward to facilitate what will inevitably be a delicate transition.
The international system is at a highly uncertain stage of transition, both in terms of the economy and of politics and security. Following the acceleration in growth and trade (in part, certainly positive) owing to the globalization mainly of the 1990s, a series of tensions have become manifest in the form of regional crises and global instability. Profound technological changes – those macroscopic in the financial sector, but not only – have had a direct effect on the social structure of individual states and on balances of power.
Investments, culture, sharing: three elements that pundits and professionals consider indispensable to making System Italy resistant to cyber threats.
The 16th edition of the Aspen Institute Italia Seminar on Values and Society is held in collaboration with The Aspen Institute.
The three-day seminar is dedicated to the memory of Aspen Institute Italia co-founder Ennio Presutti, who passed away in 2008.
The 8th edition of The Aspen Institute Italia Seminar on Leadership, Globalization and the Quest for Common Values was held in collaboration with The Aspen Institute
The three-day seminar is dedicated to the memory of Aspen Institute Italia co-founder Ennio Presutti, who passed away in 2008.
Several topics were debated at the first biennial conference of the Aspen Junior Fellows Alumni, a group embodying a wealth of up-and-coming young talent already adept at conscientiously applying the ethos of Aspen Institute Italia from having taken part in the Aspen Junior Fellows initiative. The focus of the event was to discern, through the exchange of experiences and views, the challenges facing leaders of the future.
Kick-starting discussions at this Talk-debate event was the observation that art and democracy are closely-intertwined expressions of humanity. Art has accompanied man since prehistoric times. The successions of cultures over the centuries have produced an artistic heritage that was an embodiment of their community and their founding values. It was suggested that the period in which the secular modernity of humanity made its greatest strides was undoubtedly the Renaissance, not only in the arts and aesthetics, but also in the technical and political realms.
The participants at this National Conference noted that after a decade of profound economic and social crisis, some encouraging signs are emerging on a macroeconomic level that lend hope to the possibility of reestablishing a virtuous circle between the financial system, the real economy, and society at large. It was acknowledged, however, that there are still many challenges to be addressed, including regulation and the technological acceleration that has led to the advent of the fintech phenomenon.
Creating and nurturing a local innovation ecosystem with wide potential spinoffs for the economy is a great challenge, but real success stories are still relatively rare. Israel may well be one such case, particularly looking at Tel Aviv and Silicon Wadi. More broadly, the Israeli economy has come to share several traits with the most advanced and creative innovation centers.
It was noted during this talk-debate session that there are signs of economic recovery in Italy, though the indicators are half those showing for Europe and even lower in proportion than those for Spain, a country which usually registers similar performance to Italy. The level of foreign investment remains very low, with the relationship between Italy and the United States, for instance, being very skewed.
Women have a growing role in the armed forces, in the general sector of security and in peacekeeping operations. The issue of gender – of the role and power of women – will figure prominently on the agenda of the upcoming G7 meeting in Canada. Clearly, Italy’s commitment during the Taormina G7 and its efforts to keep the spotlight on the discussion of gender equality in international settings played a key role in ensuring this political success.
It was noted, at this Aspen Junior Fellows meeting and debate session, that twenty-five years ago in December 1993, the Delors’ White Paper on “Growth, Competition and Unemployment” imbued the expression “Information Society” with political significance. In those years, a great wave of innovation was, through the spread of the internet, about to trigger a profound transformation. Never before in history has such intense change taken place in so short a time. Yet this was described as just the beginning, with technological innovation, especially digital advances, driving this change.
Discussions at this national roundtable opened with the observation that the tax reforms signed into law by the Trump administration have an air of momentousness about them and have a significant impact on corporate taxation, with the company tax rate reduced from 35% to 21%. The impact on personal income tax is, however, decidedly more modest, with the tax rate cut by merely 2.6 percentage points, dropping from 39.6% to 37%. In addition, the former measure is, at least in theory, permanent, while the latter – for reasons tied to US parliamentary rules – will end in 2025.
