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Rome

27 September 2017

Africa in the new energy century

Africa is changing. Some countries are growing and forging ahead, while others are moving more slowly. The whole continent has major potential, and yet it often remains unfulfilled. The most important thing in the midst of this change is to envisage a sustainable scenario. Updated legal systems are crucial to any future progress: without regulations, it is more difficult to attract private investments. Innovation must also be an ingredient of this progress and the way business is done needs to be tweaked. This applies particularly to the strategic energy industry.

Rome

21 September 2017

The fourth industrial revolution: rethinking Italy’s job market and the welfare system

Though acknowledged as unpredictable in its consequences like every momentous turning point of the past, the fourth industrial revolution was hailed by participants at this national roundtable as entirely unique in terms of its pervasiveness, the profundity of the transformations induced, and the speed of the changes occasioned, marking something of a “progressive watershed” between one age and another.

Rome

25 July 2017

Trump and the politics of uncertainty

Looking at the Trump presidency, the international media – and actually, the American media, too – have lost sight of some background data that have to do with America in general, and far less with the White House. This point emerged from a discussion with Walter Russell Mead, known above all for his studies on the various schools of American foreign policy (from this standpoint, Trump is a “Jacksonian President”) but also thoroughly versed in the United States’ political culture and electoral cycles.

Rome

7 July 2017

The migration challenge. Human mobility and development in the 21st century

The starting premise of discussions at this roundtable on migration, organized by Aspen Institute Italia, was that current tensions within Europe demonstrate how Italy has effectively become – and is being seen by its continental partners – as a buffer state: a country deputized to serve as a “shock absorber” in the new geopolitics of the Mediterranean.

Milan

3 July 2017

Business as a creative community: changing paradigms

Kick-starting discussions at this national conference was the observation that it is customary to consider creativity as an expression of individual genius, or to associate it with an extravagance and fancifulness far removed from the workings of the economy and corporate business. Moreover, the concepts of artistic or aesthetic creativity and economic or productive creativity are often perceived as antithetical.

Milan

26 June 2017

How can the school system help Italy’s competitiveness?

The participants at this national roundtable vehemently challenged the veracity of a popular – now verging on hackneyed – belief that the Italian education system only churns out mediocrity. Nothing – it was felt – could be further from the truth. The tenor of education and training at an international level leans favorably towards the traditional system adopted in Italy which is based, in its essentials, on the Giovanni Gentile model.

San Donato Milanese (MI)

22 June 2017

The future of Energy

The starting premise of proceedings at this Meeting for The Aspen Junior Fellows group was that any discussion regarding energy of the future entails an examination of technological considerations as well as geopolitical prospects, both of which were seen as hinging on the energy transition currently underway.

Milan

19 June 2017

A fair tax system to ensure economic growth for citizens and businesses

The participants at this national conference recalled, by way of introduction, that two objectives are pursued through taxation systems, namely: the social purpose of ensuring there are resources for essential community services, and the economic aim of fostering business and investment. It was underlined that these systemic objectives are undermined when fairness and certainty are wanting.

Milan

13 June 2017

Smart buildings, smart energy: the future of intelligent infrastructure

Participants at this national roundtable highlighted smart energy and smart building as key components of the smart city concept. “Smartness” in urban contexts was seen as entailing the pursuit of two main objectives: efficiency in the face of resource scarcity, and a higher standard of living. To achieve these goals, it was deemed essential to focus efforts on three fronts in particular. Firstly, infrastructure is a necessary though insufficient precondition for services to be able to respond to complexity, which in urban contexts stems from an admixture of markedly varied needs.

Milan

8 June 2017

Migration: Challenges and Opportunities

A key premise of discussions at this annual conference for the Friends of Aspen group was that the phenomenon of migration, which has emerged in recent years as a major factor of change, not only presents obvious difficulties but also opens up Italian society and the national economy to an injection of new vigor. This is – it was suggested – has been demonstrated by the high level of dynamism of the many firms established, including through years of crisis, by foreign nationals.

Rome

31 May 2017

The future of government: imagining the Italy of tomorrow

The pursuit of security and a desire for greater certainty were recurrent themes in discussions at this national roundtable on the future of government in Italy. It was observed that Western democracies – beset by populist movements of various ilks and engulfed by ongoing economic crisis – are struggling to arrive at a new order and are, above all, failing to fully meet the needs and demands of their citizens.

Savelletri di Fasano (Brindisi)

26 May 2017

Doing business in Southern Italy: challenging, but possible

The participants at this national roundtable emphasized that the steadfast development of Italy’s southern regions (the so-called “Mezzogiorno”) is an indispensable precondition for kick starting the national economy. To that end, in a pragmatic spirit and leaving rhetoric aside, it was deemed essential that the South be viewed as offering real prospects for boosting the country’s level of growth.

Perugia

14 May 2017

Consumption trends and “Made in Italy”

The attendees at this National Conference kicked off their discussions by observing that the “Made in Italy” label boasts major successes and a strong ranking in the world economy as regards quality products. Yet it cannot survive on past laurels alone: the sharp contraction of the domestic market calls for firms to seek out opportunities in far-off countries and to win over new cohorts of consumers.

Milan

9 May 2017

Cross-generation roundtable – The museum of the future

Italy’s network of museums has undergone major changes over the last three years, following reforms that have made the idea of museums as national institutions a strategic linchpin. It was noted by participants at this cross-generation roundtable that, within this framework, there are four objectives that characterize a museum’s mission: conservation, training, exploratory research, and marketing.

During the debate, the following unresolved issues associated with these common objectives emerged as both crucial and controversial:

Milan

8 May 2017

Una bella “impresa”!

This National Interest event was convened in the spirit and intent of constructing a positive narrative for Italian industry around the concept of the “ultimate enterprise” (la bella impresa), in an effort to counter a widespread “anti-industrial” mindset, and replace it with a new narrative on what “being in business” – and especially on “being in manufacturing” – entails. The session afforded an opportunity to discuss industry, the Italian economy, young people, and what the future holds.

Rome

19 April 2017

Italy and the US: a renewed security partnership

This Conference provided an opportunity for participants to examine the partnership between Italy and the United States – rooted, as it is, in a history of cultural ties that are even deeper than the political relationship – against the backdrop of the current state of international play, which is rapidly evolving and marked by powerful destabilizing factors. The Southern front, that is, the entire Mediterranean basin, was singled out as the source of the most direct security risks, in respect of which bilateral cooperation is important for both countries.

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