Aspen Institute Italia celebrated the 44th edition of its Aspen Seminars for Leaders in Venice from 3 to 5 October 2025. The five seminars of this edition –plus the Aspen Collective Mind Seminar – involved about 250 participants, not just from European countries but also from China, India, the United States, Canada, and Brazil. A range of current political, economic, and social topics were debated in the various sessions.
In the Challenges for European Leaders session, discussion focused on Europe’s political and identity crisis and its difficulties with governance and leadership in the midst of a technological revolution, economic challenges, and the fragility of Western democracies.
Indeed, in an era experiencing demographic transformation and technological innovation, society needs to rebuild confidence and trust. This was discussed in the international seminar on Values and Society. The seminar underscored the need for a new intergenerational pact, flexible education systems, and governance of artificial intelligence. AI must be transformed into a collective intelligence founded on shared values – one that can increase human potential.
In the seminar on Global banking and finance: consolidation, innovation, and sustainability in the new global framework, participants examined the European banking system and its evolution. They discussed the single market, capital, and sustainable finance, in the quest for a balance between regulation and competitiveness to address global challenges and underpin economic sovereignty.
At the same time, Europe needs to relaunch its economic growth so as to guarantee the well-being of its citizens. To not lose relevance, the Old World must also hold on to its central position on the global economy’s stage. This process must necessarily involve the world of industry, as was made clear during the seminar Focus on industry: challenges, opportunities and policies for businesses.
Italy’s cities and regions were the focus of the meeting on infrastructure, economy, and environment to revitalize cities and regions. From this seminar, the need for an integrated vision following the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan emerged. Such a vision must bring together tangible and intangible infrastructures, public and private investment, administrative simplification and the benefits and value of local differences, with a view to strengthening resilience, competitiveness, and cohesion in an environment of challenges – especially regarding climate and demographics.
Lastly, AI and its challenges were the focus of the Aspen Collective Mind Seminar I am only artificial after all. AI needs to be seen as a new institutional and cultural infrastructure with the capacity to transform knowledge, jobs and decisions. However, it requires ethical governance that keeps the person in a central position and guides technology towards freedom, awareness, and shared progress.