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Meeting for the Friends of Aspen

  • Meeting in digital format
    • 19 November 2020
     
     

    Smart Land: Can small towns and outlying areas be an option in the country’s pursuit of growth?

      A return to life in small towns and outlying areas could offer a strategic opportunity for Italian post-pandemic economic recovery. Italy’s environmental and cultural heritage can become pivotal elements in the framework of long-term policies conceived in continuity with some ideas previously promoted at both national and local levels, with the aim of regulating the equilibrium between the economic development of cities, small towns and remote areas.

    • Milan
      • 11 November 2019
       
       

      XXI Annual Meeting of the Friends of Aspen – Climate change and the air we breathe

        Every year there are millions of premature and preventable deaths owing to air indoor and outdoor pollution. Various sources provide differing data, but still there are millions of deaths (between 7 and 9), and 88,000 of these in Italy alone. Diseases that strike all the organs – brain, lungs, heart, and metabolism – and are always traceable to the effects of pollutants, many of which even cross the blood-brain barrier and are therefore neurotoxic. Of particular concern is the impact on the more fragile segments of the population, such as pregnant women and children.

      • Milano
        • 2 July 2018
         
         

        Transactions, ownership and trust with the advent of blockchain

          The starting premise for discussions at this Meeting for the Friends of Aspen was that blockchain is much more than just the technology behind bitcoin. It is a public, decentralized, cryptographically-secured ledger shared by all parties operating within a computer network. These characteristics make it a paradigm destined to have significant impacts on the economic system, fundamentally changing our understanding of the concepts of transactions, ownership, and trust.

        • Rome
          • 4 December 2017
           
           

          Democracy and leadership in a new digital agorà

            Kick-starting this Meeting for the Friends of Aspen group was the observation that an end to information asymmetries, the achievement of absolute net neutrality, the elimination of any intermediation, and the attainment of pure democracy were just some of the benefits that were to be delivered by the big data revolution. Today, however, there has been a shift from widespread techno-optimism to an outlook of doom and gloom, predicated on market concentration, political manipulation and control, and even regard of the development of the internet as a threat to democracies.

          • Milan
            • 24 November 2016
             
             

            Cybersecurity in the era of Big Data and hyperconnectivity

              In recent years the development of a “hyperconnected society” has altered the everyday lives of vast numbers of people, providing great opportunities but also posing considerable threats to the privacy and security of both citizens and enterprises.  The problem, which is not confined to Italy alone, is the lack of a real awareness of these dangers.  Those most exposed to cyber threats include small and medium enterprises, which find themselves in a very difficult situation: even if they possess cutting-edge technologies in their respective sectors, they often lack the necessary sk

            • Milan
              • 25 November 2015
               
               

              Is reputation everything? Building a trust-based pact with clients

                This Meeting for the Friends of Aspen focused on the precious commodity of consumer trust, characterized as difficult to earn and even harder to keep. It was noted that new communications technologies have enabled the widespread availability of information today, making transparency a prerequisite for winning consumer trust in brands. To that end, new business tools are being developed, such that there is now talk in the United States of the emergence of a reputation economy.