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      • 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.

                      • Milan
                        • 7 April 2017
                         
                         

                        Culture, creativity, design: resources for growth

                          Enjoying financial success and great international appeal but needing a rethink of its offerings and prospects was how participants at this roundtable described the Italian interior design industry, with the sector having reached a peculiar historical juncture. It was noted that the 2017 edition of the Salone del Mobile international furniture fair set new records in terms of attendance numbers and interest attracted among an extensive audience of foreign visitors.

                        • Rome
                          • 4 April 2017
                           
                           

                          The Italian economy and youth: resources and goals

                            This Aspen Junior Fellows meeting and debate session got underway with the observation that the performance of the Italian economy was marked by a succession of dips and spikes up until the 1970s, a period when the country underwent a dramatic decline in its competitiveness. Certain large firms disappeared while others disintegrated. The country’s industrial base endured the emergence of a new technological paradigm (ICT), the spread of global value chains, and an opening-up to international markets.

                          • Rome
                            • 29 March 2017
                             
                             

                            Enabling factors to develop sustainable transportation in Italy

                              Discussions at this national roundtable emphasized that sustainable mobility is a fundamental underpinning of any goods and people transport system that, while meeting movement and transportation needs, does not give rise to negative environmental and health impacts but rather contributes to ensuring improved quality of life.

                            • Milan
                              • 27 March 2017
                               
                               

                              Industrial policy and digital transformation

                                Smart factories, interconnected cities, and fifty billion objects hooked up to the internet by 2020: these were some of the facets of the digital revolution flagged by the roundtable participants as transforming the economic and social fabric of both advanced and developing countries. This ramping-up of technology was regarded as a game-changer, opening the doors to Industry 4.0, the promised benefits of which are manifold, including maximum volume flexibility, faster transition from prototyping to mass production, increased productivity, and reduced waste.

                              • Castelvecchio Pascoli (Lucca)
                                • 2 March 2017
                                 
                                 

                                The Aspen Institute Italia Seminar on Values and Society

                                  For the eleventh year running and in conjunction with The Aspen Institute, the Aspen Seminar on Values and Society was held in Italy.

                                  The seminar is dedicated to commemorating Ennio Presutti, one of the founders of Aspen Institute Italia, who passed away in 2008.