health

Milan

19 January 2015

High‐tech life sciences in Italy

The opening premise of discussions at this National Interest roundtable event was that an examination of industrial trends over the course of the deep and protracted crisis that has hit Italian manufacturing highlights the importance of the life sciences sector. Figures were cited in support of this assertion showing that, in Italy, the pharmaceutical and medtech industries have increased their contribution to the economy in terms of value added (up from 5% to 6% of manufacturing industry from 2008 to 2013) and even more so in terms of exports (up from 5% to 7%).

Washington DC

8 February 2015

How development can be sustainable. Food security, nutrition and health: the transatlantic link

Headlining this international workshop was the observation that EXPO 2015 is not only a major global event in which 148 nations will participate, nor is it just an attraction expected to draw in around 20 million visitors. It was characterized, rather, as primarily an opportunity of great political significance, the success of which will be gauged by its ability to put across and put back on the global agenda strategic issues such as food security and wastage, poverty reduction, health protection, and the fight against inequality, including between genders.

Bresso (Milan)

15 April 2015

Health challenges for Italian businesses: thinking global

This meeting for the Aspen Junior Fellows focused on ways in which Italy’s great store of health knowledge and learning might be deployed to come to grips with rapidly evolving challenges in the health sector. It was noted, for instance, that life expectancy has increased by three months a year since 1951. This trend, combined with a drop in birth rates, has determined an outlook for Italy marked by a rapidly aging population, with social repercussions of major significance in the near future.

Milan

8 July 2015

Aspen at Expo – The role of nutrition in future health: the gender challenge

The intersection between women, nutrition and health is undeniable. Women are the food matrons of the world as in most cases they are the ones who purchase and prepare what families eat. They are also the world’s caregivers, meaning they are typically the ones who look after children, the elderly and the sick. Despite this women are also the most food insecure and make up the majority of the world’s patient population, though they have the least access to healthcare.

Pavia

9 July 2015

Aspen at Expo – Science and individual health

These days, the world of health is facing a revolution that does not only concern medicine but also includes a broad range of disciplines and many aspects of daily life. Demographic tendencies, the evolution of research and the strategic use of “big data” are bringing about a sea change in the existing model of individual care.

Brescia

15 July 2014

Health, environment and lifestyle: can Italy be a model of sustainable well‐being?

Spearheading discussions at this national roundtable discussion was the affirmation that Italy could become a major force in sustainable prosperity, but in order to fully achieve this goal, it must work further on resolving its economic, environmental and social problems, and continue to maintain its strengths. While the country has an outstanding track record in health, wellbeing and lifestyle, there was a consensus that it must not rest on its laurels.

Rome

31 July 2014

From vulnerabilities to resilience: strengthening human development

Education, welfare and the gender gap were at the top of the agenda of discussions at this international roundtable, which featured guest speaker Khalid Malik, Director of the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. The Office’s 2014 report sets out to measure progress in long-term human development against three main areas of achievement: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Also taken into account are the capacity to enjoy equal opportunity of access, and to exercise the universal right to the same opportunities in life.

Milan

27 May 2013

High-tech life sciences in Italy

It was remarked from the outset of this National Interest roundtable that the health and life sciences industry is crucial to the Italian production system due to the simultaneous existence of a number of particular factors, namely: the global nature of markets and the supranational character of competition; the potentially strategic role of public actors, owing to their ability to influence supply and stimulate investment; and the highly specialized nature of the professional skills involved.

Venice

12 July 2013

Challenges and opportunities for a changing society: older, wiser, healthier

The point of departure for discussions at this ASL session was an acknowledgement that the gradual but inexorable process of population aging is having profound effects on the demographic and economic structure of societies. In this regard, the participants pointed to forecast trends that speak volumes: in all developed countries, and especially in Italy, Japan and Germany, the proportion of elderly people relative to the total population will continue to rise substantially.

Milan

13 June 2011

Health and well-being: new models of sustainable development

As an opening premise, the participants at this National Conference noted that any reflection on the future of the Italian national health service must first start with an analysis of the value produced for the country in health terms. In this regard, statistics were cited indicating that between 1951 and the present day, life expectancy in Italy has increased by 1 month every 4 months. Italy also has the longest-lived population in Europe, with over-65s already making up 20% of the population, or 12 million people, of whom 3.5 million are over 80 years old (6%).

Milan

15 November 2010

Italy’s demographic trends: problems and opportunities

Proceedings at this roundtable session got underway with the participants observing that an aging population, immigration and the brain drain are issues that Italy needs to address by looking to the future as well as at the past. Indeed, the current state of affairs is the product of previous trends. In decades gone by, there was a surplus of births over deaths and a negative migration balance, but today that situation has been reversed.

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.

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

11 June 2009

The future of welfare in Italy: opportunites and social responsability

The aim of this meeting was to debate the issues raised by a White Paper entitled “Living well in an active society: the future of the Italian welfare model”, recently published by the Italian Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Policies, and to focus specifically on the concerns facing young people in Italy today.

Lecce

23 October 2009

Health sciences in Italy: living better and longer

The Seminar discussions highlighted the divide that exists in Italy today between the core research sector and the business world. It was noted that there is a lack of osmosis capable, on the one hand, of making the most of potential and, on the other, of integrating it into a productive strategy to support the country’s economy. There is a need for the State to coordinate research centers, health authorities, industry and the regulatory sphere, in accordance with policy choices formulated on the basis of the health needs of the country.