Innovation as a catalyst for growth: what Milan can do
Enterprises, innovation, and Milan were the three watchwords of discussions at this meeting focused on the pursuit by the Lombardy region of international competitiveness, particularly with respect to other European macro-regions of excellence, namely: Bavaria, Rhône-Alpes, Catalonia, and Baden-Württemberg.
Italy’s business scene
Serving as the springboard for discussions at this Meeting for the Aspen Junior Fellows was the observation that Italy’s fortunes will pick up again, and that it is armed with this knowledge, along with a strong drive, high ideals, and continuous training, that younger generations in the country must face the future and do business.
The need for reforms in Italy: new challenges for new generations
In kick-starting this Meeting of the Aspen Junior Fellows group, the question was posed as to whether a relationship exists between the impetus for reform and the advent of new generations. Reference was made, in this regard, to an observation made by Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that every generation has the right to write its own constitution[1] and to adopt its own institutions.
Making the public sector work: of efficiency and effectiveness
In the immediate post-war period Italy chose to adopt a lightweight economic policy, and it remained as such for the following few decades. Since the 1970s, however, we have been witnessing the emergence of a parallel state that introduced an era of a debt democracy, characterized by the proliferation of rules, excessive bureaucracy, the explosion of spending and with that an increase in debt. This economic degeneration is taking place within a general anthropological and cultural degeneration.
Transforming a company in a sector that is undergoing transformation
Discussions at this event focused primarily on the profound changes taking place in the news and publishing industry. It was remarked that, on the one hand, the industry is having to respond to competitive pressures common to other sectors, first and foremost being the search for efficiency gains in a globalized market, and, on the other, editorial product is undergoing an extraordinary transformation wrought by technological innovation.