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      • Venice
        • 16 May 2008
         
         

        Italy’s future: multi-ethnic integration, women, youth

          This seminar focused on the fact that Italy has three important and strategic crisis areas to deal with simultaneously, namely, immigrants, women and youth. Indeed, it has failed to find the best ways of putting these three significant pools of talent to good use. It was noted that women, for instance, achieve the best results throughout schooling, yet once they enter the workplace they experience various drawbacks such as lower salaries, higher unemployment, less career advancement and a very low level of representation in senior positions.

        • Venice
          • 16 May 2008
           
           

          New scenarios for business: the spread of knowledge and consumer promotion

            The wiki model, the gift economy and coopetition: these three seemingly obscure concepts harbor features of the most advanced contemporary social relations models. Representing relational systems that were developed on the internet, today they have spilt over into the real world – into the economy and the businesses that are key players in them.

          • Venice
            • 16 May 2008
             
             

            Freeing up growth: how to ensure productivity and competitiveness in Italy

              The seminar, part of a series dealing with major issues and devoted to the National Interest, examined several crucial points for the promotion of economic growth and the raising of productivity levels at a historical moment marked by the risk of recession and by profound transformations in international economic equilibria. It was observed that to unshackle Italy’s growth, governments and the political sphere must be capable of mobilizing coalitions that are favorably disposed to reforms, highlighting the widespread benefits that they can generate.

            • Venice
              • 16 May 2008
               
               

              European and international financial markets: a new era?

                The May 2008 Aspen seminar represented a timely occasion to discuss about the current turmoil in financial markets and to assess whether long term changes in structure and dynamics of international financial markets are taking place.The participants analysed the origin and developments of the current turmoil in financial markets and emphasised the central role played by central banks around the globe to restore confidence in the financial markets.

              • Venice
                • 16 May 2008
                 
                 

                The power of innovation: the challenges of development

                  Innovation is a “complex science” that is distinct from invention. It is characterized by the key role played by human capital and, particularly, of the entrepreneur-leader intent on generating economic and/or social value. During the debate, it was noted that Italy has fallen behind the most developed countries, especially in the following areas (held back by the constraints described below):

                • Rome
                  • 15 May 2008
                   
                   

                  China and Europe

                     Discussion at this roundtable touched upon a series of strategic hot spots for China’s future and for its role in a global world. Many of the issues considered are the focus of the upcoming issue of Aspenia (n. 41, in Italian, due out June 10).

                  • Milan
                    • 14 May 2008
                     
                     

                    10th Spring Meeting of the Friends of Aspen – Corporate social responsibility: Culture, society and the environment

                      The meeting of the Friends of Aspen, held in conjunction with a debate on a specific topic, offered an opportunity to introduce the new members of the group, elicit suggestions for topics for future events and announce the group’s upcoming annual conference (the 13th in the series) to take place in Rome on October 21. This 10th meeting of the Friends of Aspen was held in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala, in the evocative setting of the Ridotto dei Palchi (or Box Foyer), thanks to the generous support of the Fondazione del Teatro alla Scala.

                    • Rome
                      • 7 May 2008
                       
                       

                      The social and economic relevance of sports in Italy

                        The debate highlighted the economic and social importance of sports as well as the complexity of challenges facing public policy-makers in the field. In Italy, sport continues to represent a phenomenon with profound social roots. Fields, gyms and arenas cover the national territory better than any other social structure and play a key role in community aggregation. The organizational model of Italian sport is one of the country’s success stories. Italy’s national teams compete at the top level in all major international meets, starting with the Olympics.

                      • Milan
                        • 17 March 2008
                         
                         

                        Gastronomical culture and the importance of food in a global world

                          “Food” involves a vast and complicated network of professions, actions, movements and skills (from agriculture, to trade and distribution, to cooking and eating). All these areas can be considered elements of a single great macro-process, which is much more complicated than most consumers realize. Debate at this roundtable focused on the role gastronomy plays in spreading knowledge and understanding to all those many players that take part in the process.

                        • Rome
                          • 14 March 2008
                           
                           

                          The Aspen Seminar

                            The Aspen Seminar, held in English and in collaboration with The Aspen Institute, followed the same format as the previous session in Como. Participants included Aspen Junior Fellows, Ordinary and Sustaining Members of Aspen Italia, Friends of Aspen and young leaders from several different countries. The varied provenance, age and professions of participants made for a particularly lively discussion. Participants, inspired by the reading of twenty-one different extracts from classic and contemporary texts, focused on universal values and their relationship with modern decision-making.

                          • Rome
                            • 12 March 2008
                             
                             

                            Boosting competitiveness by supporting Italy’s Mezzogiorno

                              Italy’s south or “Mezzogiorno” is a region that fails to meet todays challenges. It deserves better, but the lack of infrastructure and of qualified labor, as well as excessive bureaucracy, high levels of organized crime, widespread disrespect for the law, weak institutions and a lack of social capital. These obstacles make it difficult for the region to take advantage of its many opportunities for development.

                            • Como
                              • 7 March 2008
                               
                               

                              The Aspen Seminar

                                For the second consecutive year, Aspen Italia organized The Aspen Seminar – in English and in collaboration with The Aspen Institute. A key program in the United States, The Aspen Seminar has proved successful on Italian soil as well. Discussion was led by two expert American moderators: Howard Zeiderman, Director Executive of The Aspen Institute Seminar Program and Professor of Philosophy, and Leigh Hafrey, Professor of Ethics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. The initiative was aimed at young leaders, with various backgrounds.

                              • Berlin
                                • 6 March 2008
                                 
                                 

                                Russia and the future of Europe’s energy

                                  Evaluating the turnover between Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev at the presidency requires a recognition of the central role that Putin continues to occupy on the Russian political scene. It seems indeed clear that the structure of power in Moscow has remained fundamentally unchanged, although it is possible that Medvedev will walk the path of cautious liberal reforms.The next few years will see, in any case, further efforts to fully exploit the instrument of energy resources and currency reserves at the country’s disposal.

                                • Rome
                                  • 5 March 2008
                                   
                                   

                                  Modernizing Italy

                                    The main cause behind Italy’s blocked growth is the Italians’ approach to asset management: they tend to hold tight to their patrimony and not help wealth circulate. How to overcome this obstacle? A bipartisan approach would help, but it might not be enough. Today, after all, both protectionist and liberal tendencies coexist – concentrating solely on opening up markets seems to be a thing of the past, yet pure protectionism would only make changing the system more difficult.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 18 February 2008
                                     
                                     

                                    Economic information, the market and business in Italy

                                      Debate at this roundtable touched on the complex relationship that persists between the media and the business community. Participants noted that information should not be considered a necessary evil, but rather a meter by which to judge a democracy – a country’s freedom is evident in its journalism. A lack of information, of course, is detrimental to the workings of a democracy. Silence or tardiness in getting out the news represents a clear case of market abuse. As happened in the US, with the subprime catastrophe, financial markets also depend on the news.

                                    • Rome
                                      • 14 February 2008
                                       
                                       

                                      Federalism in Italy: the institutional framework and economic/fiscal profile

                                        The debate on Federalism touches a central theme of the possible reforms in the coming years. In a framework that is gradually being consolidated – as seen in the results of the survey conducted by the Constitutional Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate at the beginning of the XV legislature – we can get a fairly accurate perspective on the goals and policies that will finally allow full implementation of the Republic’s new institutional organization and any corrections needed for the constitutional revision of 2001.

                                      • Milan
                                        • 28 January 2008
                                         
                                         

                                        The importance of social responsibility

                                          Western businesses are increasingly focused on social responsibility, making a point of thinking not just of profits but of the environment and workplace safety, for example. It is not just a matter of “doing good”: today, the market demands such attention. The consumer is aware, and a company’s social responsibility is a meter by which it is judged – turning good works into a clear marketing tool. Social responsibility represents value added, and is considered part and parcel of a given organization.

                                        • Rome
                                          • 23 January 2008
                                           
                                           

                                          The role of Foundations in Italy’s development

                                            Discussion focussed on the strategic role played by bank foundations, especially following the Constitutional Court’s 2003 ruling that they are specifically involved in guaranteeing social liberties. Foundations have a mission to guarantee horizontal subsidiarity and, therefore, support the country’s intermediaries (from the private sector to the state), today charged with maintaining development strategies and social cohesion. The 88 bank foundations currently existing in Italy have a patrimony of 47 billion euro; between 1993 and 2006 that sum grew at an annual average of 5.7%.