The Aspen Institute Executive Seminar

The first Aspen Executive Seminar – held in English and in cooperation with The Aspen Institute – was recently organized in Erba, near Milan. The Executive Seminars are a pivotal program at The Aspen Institute in the US, and they proved a successful venture on Italian soil as well. Two expert American moderators led the discussions: Howard Zeiderman, Director, Executive Seminars at The Aspen Institute and professor of philosophy at a number of American universities and Leigh Hafrey, Professor of Ethics at the Sloan School of Management del Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The initiative was directed at leaders from a variety of backgrounds. By studying and discussing works by classical and contemporary authors, participants shared views on major universal values and their relationship with topical issues. The debate over passages by classical authors such as Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, Rousseau, Bacon and Hayek led participants to reconsider the sources with an innovative methodological and conceptual approach. An analysis of works by contemporary authors – including Martin Luther King, Jr., Vaclav Havel and Paul Rusesabagina – promoted dialogue concerning present challenges, highlighting the ways in which they are increasingly interdependent. The participants’ performance of sections of Sophocles’ Antigone was another opportunity to mull over ethical problems and reach a better understanding of the issues.