The Aspen Institute Executive Seminar

The Executive Seminar – again, in English and in cooperation with The Aspen Institute – followed the same format as that used in Erba a few days earlier. The initiative was organized for the Aspen Junior Fellows, and involved several Sustaining and Ordinary Members, Friends of Aspen and other young leaders from Italy and abroad. The vastly different geographic origins, age and professions of the participants led to a lively discussion. Participants considered twenty-one different works by classical and contemporary authors, and shared their views on major universal values, and on their relationship with topical issues. They discussed the choices made by Antigone and Creon, the realism of Machiavelli’s Prince, the cruelty of the Hutu in Rwanda, DNA research and the ideas of Hobbes, Hernando de Soto and Wole Soyinka. Once again, the participants turned into actors and gave an impressive performance of sections of Sophocles’ Antigone, sparking debate on today’s many ethical issues.