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      • Civita Castellana
        • 4 March 2011
         
         

        The Aspen Seminar on Values and Society

          For the fifth consecutive year and in collaboration with The Aspen Institute, the Aspen Seminar on Values and Society was held in Italy. Since 1951, this series of seminars, which is conducted in English, has been the widely-acclaimed cornerstone program of the Aspen Institute tradition in the United States. This latest event in the series was aimed at Italian and overseas participants who, through an analysis and discussion of selected readings from classical and contemporary authors, debated the major universal values and their relationship with the burning issues of today.

        • Rome
          • 1 March 2011
           
           

          Information services in the security sector: protecting Italy’s national interest

            Discussions at this National Roundtable commenced with an acknowledgement by the participants that the global economic arena is no longer characterized by competition played out solely between businesses, but rather sees national economies pitched against each other ever more fiercely.

            This trend has led to a gradual widening of the concept of “national security”, with many States now including economic and financial security within the ambit of this term.

          • Rome
            • 23 February 2011
             
             

            The bull commodity markets return

              During this roundtable session, a number of factors were identified as contributing to the volatility in energy, agricultural commodity and food prices, including: the significant increase in demand from the major emerging countries, speculation in derivatives markets (and, more generally, the growing importance of the financial – as opposed to the real – economy), the management of energy production by many governments according to political criteria, and the increasing correlation between the (historically high) volatility of oil prices and that of other commodity prices.

            • Milan
              • 21 February 2011
               
               

              How the financial system can support growth

                This national roundtable discussion got underway with the observation that, traditionally, the banking system has played a key role in economic growth by channeling personal savings into financing the productive activities of businesses.

              • Rome
                • 8 February 2011
                 
                 

                Priority interventions in Italy’s south: avoiding a two-speed country

                  Debate at this National Interest Conference got underway with the observation that overcoming the social and economic divide between Northern and Southern Italy requires a profound rethink of intervention policies together with an overall return to efficiency and effectiveness in public action.

                • Milan
                  • 25 January 2011
                   
                   

                  Security in the age of austerity

                    The members of the debate panel at the launch of the latest edition of Aspenia considered what the future holds for the Obama presidency, observing that the US leader’s State of the Union address for 2011 also virtually marked the beginning of his long race for re-election. It was noted that the President’s popularity has recently received a boost both from his response to the massacre in Tucson at the beginning of January, and from the tax deal reached with Republicans at the end of last year.

                  • Milan
                    • 17 January 2011
                     
                     

                    The meaning of growth: paradigms, old and new

                      Once upon a time, there was GDP. Or rather, once there was “just” GDP, understood as an aggregate indicator used to measure a country’s economic growth by quantifying the flow of goods and services for end-use and produced within a certain period of time in a given territory.

                    • Venice
                      • 5 March 2010
                       
                       

                      Back to the fertile crescent: the Middle East, Europe and the US

                        The Middle East is an increasingly diverse region where very old problems coexist with genuine opportunities for renewal and socio-economic progress. A powerful driver of change has become the Gulf, thanks to very large financial resources and a willingness to invest in the neighboring countries – as well as beyond, with a special emphasis on East Asia.

                      • Milan
                        • 13 December 2010
                         
                         

                        Italy’s nuclear option

                          The comeback being staged by atomic energy is currently a hot topic of debate in many countries around the world, just as it is in Italy. During this roundtable discussion devoted to the issue, official figures were cited confirming the ferment of activity in this sector, with 65 new nuclear power plants under construction in 16 different countries. According to some of the participants in attendance, there are many technical, economic and geopolitical factors which justify the nuclear option for Italy, whilst others went further, describing it as an almost “inevitable” choice.

                        • Beijing
                          • 2 December 2010
                           
                           

                          China, Europe, U.S. Trialogue

                            Aspen Institute Italia organized the “China, Europe, U.S. Trialogue” jointly with Aspen USA and the Central School of the Communist Party, in cooperation with the Fondazione Italia Cina, on December 2-3 in Beijing.

                          • Milan
                            • 29 November 2010
                             
                             

                            Family affairs: the Italian economy and family-run businesses

                              The Friends of Aspen held their twelfth annual meeting in the newly-restored Salone Barozzi at the Milan Institute for the Blind. At the opening of proceedings, the group’s latest members were introduced, a brief account was given of the group’s activities over the past year, and a range of matters raised by group members were discussed, including the choice of discussion topic for the next annual conference to be held in the spring.

                            • Rome
                              • 24 November 2010
                               
                               

                              The economic value of Italy’s cultural patrimony

                                The discussion at this roundtable session got underway with the incisive observation that managing and exploiting a vast and valuable cultural heritage requires a well-thought-out cultural policy, and a continual balance to be struck between preservation and economic development, between making use of this asset and ensuring it is not “used up”, and between the conservation of ancient artistic works and nurturing contemporary art.

                              • Milan
                                • 15 November 2010
                                 
                                 

                                Italy’s demographic trends: problems and opportunities

                                  Proceedings at this roundtable session got underway with the participants observing that an aging population, immigration and the brain drain are issues that Italy needs to address by looking to the future as well as at the past. Indeed, the current state of affairs is the product of previous trends. In decades gone by, there was a surplus of births over deaths and a negative migration balance, but today that situation has been reversed.

                                • Rome
                                  • 11 November 2010
                                   
                                   

                                  Leadership: new models and values to gain competitiveness

                                    “Today, people are much more crucial to competitiveness than in the past; and when you talk about people, you’re talking about values”. This observation by Ennio Presutti, entrepreneur and manager who was one of the co-founders of Aspen Institute Italia, provided the starting point for a debate focusing on new models for effective and ethical leadership in a globalized world.

                                  • Cernobbio
                                    • 5 November 2010
                                     
                                     

                                    The future of currencies: the post-crisis monetary and financial system. Implications for business

                                      The complexities of the current global macroeconomic situation are pushing the world economy in many different directions. The US is undertaking a second round of quantitative easing in order to buy protection against a deflationary risk. China is slowly allowing the RMB to appreciate while preparing the next 5 year plan as it transitions from an economy with unlimited resources and limited interactions with the rest to the world into an economy that is starting to feel a deteriorating growth/inflation trade off and is becoming a key player in international trade and markets.

                                    • Cernobbio
                                      • 5 November 2010
                                       
                                       

                                      The industrial system, territory and social cohesion

                                        This seminar got underway with the participants noting that the Italian industrial system has succeeded in weathering the global crisis whilst maintaining the country’s position as a leading manufacturer both in Europe and worldwide. The more or less stable performance of the Italian production system has enabled the economy to respond to stimulus, though the signs of recovery remain weak.

                                      • Cernobbio
                                        • 5 November 2010
                                         
                                         

                                        Tangible infrastructure: driving competitiveness

                                          This session focused on the crucial role played by infrastructure in any given country’s economic development. It was observed that an adequate endowment of tangible infrastructure is a necessary prerequisite for competing in the global market, and that boosting infrastructure levels is an undeniable priority both for Italy and for Europe. The question of trans-European infrastructure is especially gaining increasing importance.

                                        • Cernobbio
                                          • 5 November 2010
                                           
                                           

                                          Italy and future challenges. Heading towards 2020

                                            This session of the Aspen Seminars for Leaders examined various institutional scenarios, viewed from the perspective of changes taking place at the European and global level and the reform processes that these call for within Italy. It was observed that, on the one hand, the search for more stable global macroeconomic balances has been accompanied by European debate concerning the tightening of fiscal regulation, changes to the Growth and Stability Pact, and putting in place adequate mechanisms to deal with emergency situations.