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      • Venice
        • 23 October 2015
         
         

        A Western Digital Renaissance: drivers and boundaries

          The starting premise of discussions at this International Conference was that there can be no doubt over the internet’s role today, and in the future, as the major driver of growth – just as the automobile was in the past, with its allied infrastructure and linked industries, and with the creation of new social realities, changed habits, and altered lifestyles. It was noted, however, that the digital revolution goes a step further, as the size of this new “engine” is, in fact, ontologically driven.

        • Rome
          • 14 May 2015
           
           

          The spirit of Europe. What Europeans can do together for a political Union

            Reviving the spirit of Europe means, first and foremost, returning to the roots of the political and cultural project of integration. While maintaining a critical stance with regard to the Union’s current practical shortcomings, we must not forget the exceptional results that have been achieved in terms of rights and guarantees that European citizens today consider normal but which are not at all so in many other parts of the world. In that sense, the ideal and historical dimension must also be combined with a pragmatic vision aimed at the efficient tackling of present priorities.

          • Venice
            • 6 March 2015
             
             

            Assessing risk: business in global disorder

              Opening proceedings at this two-day international conference was the observation that 2014 marked a definitive return to the limelight for geopolitics. The transition towards a more unstable era and the ability of the international, institutional and business communities to cope with it served as the central focus for a debate that also sought to map the new geographic and sector-specific risks at play.

            • New York
              • 10 February 2015
               
               

              Italy: we are open for business

                Firm grounds for optimism clouded by fears of old: this was the sentiment most repeated throughout the debate at the third “Italy meets the United States of America” Summit in New York, with this year’s edition entitled “Italy: we are open for business”. The event, organized by the Italian Business & Investment Initiative, Aspen Institute Italia, and the Council for Relations between Italy and the United States, was aimed at illustrating to US investors the opportunities offered by Italy for incoming and outgoing investment.

              • Rome
                • 16 December 2015
                 
                 

                The world in 2016: Italy, Europe and the United States

                  Kick-starting the panel discussion accompanying the launch of the latest issue of Aspen Institute Italia’s Aspenia journal was the observation that in the twenty years since the founding of the journal in 1995 by Giuliano Amato, along with other prominent members of the Institute, the world has changed beyond recognition.

                • Rome
                  • 11 December 2015
                   
                   

                  Youth Forum – New Jobs for New Generations

                    Emerging from discussions during the Med 2015 Youth Forum – devoted to the topic “The challenge: new jobs for new generations” – was the finding that investment in infrastructure, in the Internet of Things, and in renewable energy, along with a shift towards a greater grassroots focus, are the factors that could bring about a decisive breakthrough to the problem of youth employment in the Mediterranean.

                  • Rome
                    • 9 December 2015
                     
                     

                    Italy’s cybersecurity and safeguards for businesses

                      With almost three years having passed since the Italian Prime Ministerial Decree of January 24, 2013, which set out “Strategic guidelines for national cyberspace protection and ICT security”, this national roundtable event afforded an opportunity to take stock of what has been accomplished so far to implement that directive.

                    • Rome
                      • 3 December 2015
                       
                       

                      Italy’s business scene

                        Serving as the springboard for discussions at this Meeting for the Aspen Junior Fellows was the observation that Italy’s fortunes will pick up again, and that it is armed with this knowledge, along with a strong drive, high ideals, and continuous training, that younger generations in the country must face the future and do business.

                      • Brussels
                        • 30 November 2015
                         
                         

                        Energy Security as a Priority for Europe’s Foreign Policy

                          This International Workshop was organized jointly with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), in cooperation with the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and with the support of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The discussions were structured so as to contribute to the development in progress of a “Global Strategy” for the European Union, which will be officially presented by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, in June 2016.

                        • Milan
                          • 25 November 2015
                           
                           

                          Is reputation everything? Building a trust-based pact with clients

                            This Meeting for the Friends of Aspen focused on the precious commodity of consumer trust, characterized as difficult to earn and even harder to keep. It was noted that new communications technologies have enabled the widespread availability of information today, making transparency a prerequisite for winning consumer trust in brands. To that end, new business tools are being developed, such that there is now talk in the United States of the emergence of a reputation economy.

                          • Milan
                            • 23 November 2015
                             
                             

                            Betting on Southern Italy to stimulate economic development

                              Driving discussions at this National Interest roundtable event was the acknowledgement that, more than 150 years on from the unification of Italy, the plight of the nation’s southern regions continues to be the major sticking point for the country’s growth. It was suggested that an examination of the integration and development successfully achieved by the former GDR would help pinpoint the sorts of measures needed to kick-start an effective process of regional convergence in Italy.

                            • Milan
                              • 20 November 2015
                               
                               

                              The future of labor

                                The focus of the 14th annual Conference for the Aspen Junior Fellows was the profound transformation undergone by the concept of labor due to major advances in technology, which are changing the way labor is organized, the forms it takes, and where it is performed. Indeed, the institutions that regulate it and the role of workers in increasingly digitized and automated production processes are also changing, while the balance of power between labor and capital has shifted.

                              • Milan
                                • 16 November 2015
                                 
                                 

                                Beating the crisis: Italy’s manufacturing renaissance

                                  Running through discussions at this national roundtable was the acknowledgement that the opportunities offered by the technological revolution currently in progress pose a challenge for Italy, namely: that of deploying innovation to preserve the nation’s position as the second largest manufacturing country in Europe.

                                • Rome
                                  • 28 October 2015
                                   
                                   

                                  Institutions, democracy and lobbies

                                    The issue of the representation of special interests is currently taking on particular importance within the Italian political system: this is occurring as a result of political parties’ declining monopoly over the function they used to have of intermediating interests, and due to the emergence of the governance paradigm more open to identifying a role for the stakeholders within the process of public decision-making.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 27 October 2015
                                     
                                     

                                    The value of art: on culture and markets

                                      Kick-starting the panel discussion at the launch of the latest issue of the Institute’s Aspenia journal was the recognition that Milan was, is, and will continue to be Italy’s creative thinking capital.

                                    • Milan
                                      • 19 October 2015
                                       
                                       

                                      New rules and digital challenges: where is the banking sector headed?

                                        The focus of this fourth edition of the annual National Conference on the Italian banking system was the future of a sector being squeezed between, on the one hand, a veritable regulatory deluge that has contributed to reduced profit margins, and, on the other, new competitors from associated sectors that already existed (shadow banking) or are entirely new (fintech), which threaten business that has always been the preserve of the banks.

                                      • Cesano Maderno (MB)
                                        • 12 October 2015
                                         
                                         

                                        Focusing on Italy’s industrial sector and on foreign investment: policies and tools

                                          The chief thrust of discussions at this national roundtable was that Italy’s manufacturing base has demonstrated a great capacity for responding and adapting, even though the continuing economic crisis has seen a major industrial downsize. Indeed, between 2008 and 2014, the number of Italian firms fell by about 47,000, a drop primarily involving small and medium-sized firms, while manufacturing potential as a whole shrank by 18%.

                                        • Rome
                                          • 7 October 2015
                                           
                                           

                                          Supporting pension funds to stimulate economic growth in Italy

                                            Launching discussions at this national roundtable was the observation that the Italian pension system has undergone several attempts at reform over the past 25 years. From the Dini reforms to the more recent Fornero efforts, a succession of reform packages have accorded priority to balancing the public finances which underpin the first and most important pillar of the Italian pension system – namely, the state pension.