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      • Rome
        • 10 June 2015
         
         

        Cross‐generation roundtable – Business: the value of rule of law

          Underpinning discussions at this Aspen Junior Fellows roundtable were lawfulness and merit as dual pillars of intergenerational solidarity. It was observed that illegality curbs growth and social mobility, rewards the undeserving by distorting competition, and widens social gaps. Its victims are the young and honest businesses. Figures were cited showing that, between 2006-2012, Italy’s resultant “reputational deficit” led to an estimated 16 billion euro loss in foreign investment.

        • Milan
          • 8 June 2015
           
           

          From obstacle to opportunity: how European institutions can help businesses and improve the job market

            We need a new way of narrating Europe. We need it above all to counter the populist drift that has made anti-Europeanism its motto.  Data provided by the Eurobarometer, the instrument measuring the belief of European citizens in the idea of Europe, shows that the vision of the founding fathers is in free fall. In 2008, 75% of Italian citizens were strongly convinced that the European project was a good thing, while today there is a risk that this percentage will drop below 50%.

          • Venice
            • 22 May 2015
             
             

            Demographics and migration in Europe: multiple challenges for complex societies

              The global imbalances reflected in demographic trends, in terms of  economic and safety levels, are huge, and must be considered as a central factor in devising any realistic  policy options.  Whatever happens, there will be waves of migrants heading for Europe, as well as North America and the other wealthy countries in the world, with numbers undoubtedly increasing whenever there are any major conflicts underway.  Faced with this reality and given the difference in the number of young workers compared to pensioners and the overall burden of the continent’s welfare syst

            • Venice
              • 22 May 2015
               
               

              Confidence, responsibility, merit: leaving Italy’s partisan divisions behind

                Discussions at this Aspen Seminars for Leaders session centered around trust, accountability and meritocracy as the keys to piecing back together a country suffering for some time now from serious afflictions and dysfunctions. The picture painted was one of institutions that do not trust the general public or private enterprise, with the result that the country’s political and economic life is marked by growing hyper-regulation. This excess of rules was characterized as the product of a lack of trust, and, in turn, as producing greater corruption and disreputable behavior.

              • Venice
                • 22 May 2015
                 
                 

                Sustainability and new technologies in a consumer culture

                  There can be no denying that a huge paradigm shift underway and that both the crisis and the irruption of new technologies are undoubtedly contributing factors.  It means there is more information available and that it is accessible by a great many people and we are witnessing a strengthening of the relationship between “equals”.  This means that when deciding to buy one thing rather than another, consumers are increasingly likely to place greater trust in the opinions of other consumers who have actually tried out the product in question than in the information provided by compan

                • Venice
                  • 22 May 2015
                   
                   

                  Health in the 21st century

                    This session of the 2015 round of Aspen Seminars for Leaders focused on the key role of health and wellbeing in ensuring Italy’s development and prosperity. It was noted, in this regard, that medicine has taken incredible strides in recent years thanks to new discoveries, a case in point being the advances made possible by the mapping of the genome, which enable diseases that were untreatable up until a few years ago to be successfully fought.

                  • Venice
                    • 22 May 2015
                     
                     

                    Focus on industry: an agenda for growth

                      The picture that emerged from the work of the 2014 Focus on Industry session of the Aspen Seminars for Leaders was of an Italian industrial system that was holding up well, even through the crisis, and particularly so in those sectors exposed to international competition. This year’s session saw the participants aiming higher, with a view to putting forward an agenda for Italian industry growth, the goal being not merely to ensure resilience, but rather to provide the underpinnings for a veritable industrial renaissance.

                    • Venice
                      • 22 May 2015
                       
                       

                      Developing and innovating infrastructure

                        The opportunity to restart work on the country’s infrastructure involves and brings together those operating in the transport and services sector, public administrators and those who use it.

                      • Rome
                        • 20 May 2015
                         
                         

                        Markets, competition, rules: Italy, Europe, and everyone else

                          Antitrust regulations take a truly dynamic approach to the issue in question.  They adapt to the continual evolution of the markets, and objectives evolve with time.  Globalization and the international crisis are both factors that have a significant effect on competition. The original inspiration behind America’s 1890 Sherman Act has more-or-less been forgotten but its objective, in fact, was to protect small businesses from “the giants”.

                        • Rome
                          • 6 May 2015
                           
                           

                          Combating counterfeit products to protect businesses and consumers

                            Proceedings at this national roundtable kicked off with the participants acknowledging that the illicit trade in goods and services, today more than ever manifested by smuggling and, more importantly, by product piracy, is an endemic and growing phenomenon in both Italy and Europe.

                          • Genoa
                            • 19 April 2015
                             
                             

                            Reshaping the present and the future: innovative ideas, strategies, and visions

                              Setting the stage for discussions at this National Conference was the observation that, in today’s increasingly heterogeneous world, innovation would seem to be an obligatory strategy for steering the major environmental, economic and social transformations that the world is facing. It was emphasized, however, that innovative processes are not spontaneous phenomena, and indeed have their own precise logic and conditions that enable them to thrive.

                            • Bresso (Milan)
                              • 15 April 2015
                               
                               

                              Health challenges for Italian businesses: thinking global

                                This meeting for the Aspen Junior Fellows focused on ways in which Italy’s great store of health knowledge and learning might be deployed to come to grips with rapidly evolving challenges in the health sector. It was noted, for instance, that life expectancy has increased by three months a year since 1951. This trend, combined with a drop in birth rates, has determined an outlook for Italy marked by a rapidly aging population, with social repercussions of major significance in the near future.

                              • Milan
                                • 30 March 2015
                                 
                                 

                                Of youths and robots. The digital enterprise and its future

                                  The panel discussion accompanying the launch of the latest issue of the Institute’s journal Aspenia was kick-started with the observation that while robots are still not even close to being human, they have certainly become central to the workplace and industry. Although some view automation and robotics as potential threats to employment, it was felt that they actually offer young people and others besides new work opportunities.

                                • Milan
                                  • 23 March 2015
                                   
                                   

                                  Regulating banking foundations in Italy: legislation or negotiation?

                                    The opening premise of debate at this national roundtable was that Italy’s banking foundations are complex entities, operating as both investors and key players in the financial sector, but also as leading actors in the non-profit sector, an important component of any participatory democracy (like that in Italy) called upon not only to produce economic goods but values as well.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 19 March 2015
                                     
                                     

                                    Women in business. Innovation and technology: the Israeli experience

                                      This talk-debate session, sponsored by the Valore D association, Aspen Institute Italia and Women for Expo, explored the approaches and trends that characterize female entrepreneurship, the distinguishing features of this segment of the business community, as well as existing weaknesses that could undermine its development and growth. The event was organized as part of Aspen Italia’s Women in Business project, which aims to create a transnational network of debate and reflection in support of female leadership.

                                    • Rome
                                      • 18 March 2015
                                       
                                       

                                      Innovation and market trends in a knowledge society

                                        Internet, an ongoing revolution. With its many regulatory questions still unanswered (from fiscal to privacy, from copyright to net-neutrality), the call to change business models are of an economic order. For some, it’s the era of the fifth technological revolution which won’t only effect how industry is run, but also how States are run. With this in mind, it could also become a unique opportunity to win decisive battles for the planet such as pollution and poverty.