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      • Rome
        • 22 April 2009
         
         

        New forms of social solidarity in Italy

          As a concept, fraternity, the most obscure of the three words in the French revolutionary motto, has been sidelined for some considerable time, but today, the notion of solidarity that it represents is one that is giving many of us food for thought. At a time when we have reached a historical and cultural crossroads marked by an obvious global economic crisis that many believe has triggered the huge identity crisis that western society is currently experiencing, it is also providing the rationale behind some very real political proposals aimed at resolving the situation.

        • Rome
          • 15 April 2009
           
           

          Reforming Italy’s university system: beating the odds

            If Italy’s university system is to proceed in a new direction, there are two crucial areas that must first be given a complete overhaul: its governance and its financial framework.  And, that such reforms have become necessary is certainly a widely held view.  The shape of these reforms and the regulations and procedures to be adopted, on this, the eve of the sitting government’s presentation of its university reform bill, is however still a matter for lively discussion both within academia and, in more general terms, the public arena.

          • Rome
            • 8 April 2009
             
             

            The EU and the crisis: light at the end of the tunnel

              This talk-debate session focused on early signs of a global economic recovery. Whilst the light at the end of the tunnel may not yet be clearly visible, some important signals are already starting to emerge. The first of these is that the governments of EU countries have acted in a timely and effectively coordinated manner. Indeed, their actions have confirmed the primacy of the political sphere and an intergovernmental approach over action through EU institutions (and the European Commission in particular).

            • Milan
              • 6 April 2009
               
               

              Access to credit: facing the crisis

                The participants of this roundtable discussion emphasized that any consideration of relations between banks and businesses should steer clear of simple dichotomies that view them as two opposing types of commercial entities. The behavior of banks and businesses should be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to avoid simplistic generalizations.

              • Milan
                • 16 March 2009
                 
                 

                Low cost – high value: a new business model

                  Discussion at this roundtable event got underway with the participants citing recent figures indicating that 70% of Italians anticipate they will have to cut down on spending in 2009. The figure was 21% in 2001, 29% in 2002 and 42% in 2004. At a time of international crisis, this growing trend is forcing businesses to rethink their business models.

                • Nerola (RM)
                  • 13 March 2009
                   
                   

                  Aspen Seminar on Values and Society 2009

                    The Aspen Seminar on Values and Society, conducted in English and held in collaboration with The Aspen Institute, followed the same format as the seminar held in Moltrasio (Como) on March 6-8, 2009. Aimed at a diverse group of participants, the event involved Aspen Junior Fellows, Friends of Aspen and young leaders from Italy and abroad. The debate was significantly enriched by the diversity of the geographic, personal and professional backgrounds of the participants.

                  • Rome
                    • 11 March 2009
                     
                     

                    Reforming public administration and simplifying procedures: beating the odds

                      The participants at this conference observed that, irrespective of the kind of institutional set-up a particular country may have, the public administration is the bridge between administrators and the administered. An efficient and modern public administration ceases to be a mere cost and becomes an asset for the productive system and a means for improving the quality of life of citizens and families.

                    • Moltrasio (CO)
                      • 6 March 2009
                       
                       

                      Aspen Seminar on Values and Society 2009

                        For the third 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, 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 involved Italian and overseas participants who, through an analysis and discussion of texts by classical and contemporary authors, debated the major universal values and their relationship with the issues of today.

                      • Rome
                        • 20 February 2009
                         
                         

                        Aspen for the G-8. Sustainable Capitalism

                          The crisis currently in progress is exceptional for many reasons, including the fact that it seems to be the culmination of a series of rapid-growth phenomena. The globalization of the 1990s, while producing many positive effects, was too fast and was not accompanied by a sufficient adaptation of the major multilateral institutions, the rules (especially in the financial sector) and the world monetary system itself.

                        • Rome
                          • 12 February 2009
                           
                           

                          Global Health Forum

                            This event was part of the broader Aspen for the G-8 project, dedicated to Italy’s presidency of the G-8. The project aims to contribute to the formulation of guidelines for G-8 action characterized by coordinated efforts between the public and private sectors.

                          • Rome
                            • 12 February 2009
                             
                             

                            Ageing societies and sustainable health systems

                              This international workshop, dedicated to the issue of the sustainability of health systems in the face of an ageing population, highlighted the fact that the phenomenon affects all countries, whether developed or developing. Since the middle of the 19th century, life expectancy at birth in all industrialized nations has doubled and, in some cases, more than doubled. At the same time, birth rates and fertility rates have fallen and, in Western countries, have dropped to a quarter of their levels at the beginning of the 20th century.

                            • Milan
                              • 2 February 2009
                               
                               

                              Reforming market capitalism

                                The participants at this roundtable were deeply critical of the lack of transparency in the international financial system, the product of an out-of-control laissez-faire capitalism and a global lex mercatoria that has swept aside traditional capitalist organizational forms and the regulatory functions of public authorities.

                              • Milan
                                • 26 January 2009
                                 
                                 

                                Europe’s economy after the financial crisis

                                  Created by the implosion of the US financial system, the last of the “bubbles” – that of the housing market – is the culmination of over a decade of shortsighted American monetary policies and an inadequate monitoring system. The situation is particularly grave, with forecasts that world growth will fall from 5% in 2007 to little more than 1% in 2009. As yet, it is not possible to predict how long the recession will last.

                                • Rome
                                  • 20 January 2009
                                   
                                   

                                  America n.1: Obama’s game plan and Europe

                                    The debate, held following the live telecast of the swearing-in and inauguration speech of the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, focused on the critical domestic and international situation that the new administration and President will have to face. Expectations are high and the problems are complex if not dramatic. It was precisely an awareness of the challenges ahead that probably led Obama to frame his first speech as President in rather pragmatic tones, emphasizing the sacrifices Americans will have to make in this “era of responsibility”.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 19 January 2009
                                     
                                     

                                    Public investment to reinforce the real economy

                                      In the history of any country, there are phases where it is necessary to build and phases where wealth produced needs to be distributed. Italy, hit by the international crisis, finds itself in the former condition and aims to bolster its economy by building new infrastructure and, in the process, create jobs and facilitate the movement of people and goods.

                                    • Washington
                                      • 14 December 2008
                                       
                                       

                                      The State of the Unions: testing transatlantic expectations after Bush

                                        The participants analyzed the scenario that has emerged in America since the elections of November 2008 as well as the likely prospects for American foreign policy, the changing relationship between the State and the market in light of the global economic crisis and the geopolitical situation regarding energy resources.