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National Roundtable

  • Milan
  • 22 May 2006
     
     

    The role of local banks in Italy’s banking system

      The Roundtable highlighted the important role played by the Italian banking system due to the nature of the economic system which is characterized by a large number of small and medium enterprises in the industrial and services sector. In Italy there are currently 37 local banks and 439 banks of cooperative credit for a total of 14,8% of the Italian banking system.

    • Rome
    • 9 November 2006
       
       

      The future of Italy’s television

        During the roundtable, participants discussed several fundamental aspects of the ongoing transition to a very different sort of television. By 2012, tv will be made up of a sort of “digital pie” in three pieces: paid and free satellite – with hundreds of channels; cable – with sixty or so channels; and IP – with hundreds, or even thousands of channels, including accessible libraries and programs on demand. Markets will change accordingly, as will the primary players and the norms regulating it all. To this end, participants considered the Italian Gentiloni Bill on television reform.

      • Milan
      • 11 September 2006
         
         

        Virtue: a new lifestyle?

          Debate focused on a general renewed interest in “virtue”, defined as a series of absolute and eternal values. Without forgetting more traditional virtues, such as prudence, justice, strength and temperance, as well as others linked to Christianity – faith, hope, charity – participants also examined more contemporary conceptions of virtue: from respect for nature to resource management, to narrow issues such as intellectual property rights and patents on medicines developed in rich countries and unaffordable to the world’s poor.

        • Rome
        • 20 June 2006
           
           

          Fighting poverty

            The roundtable “Fighting poverty” was hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio and offered participants the opportunity to consider how Italy – a G8 member state – might better fight widespread poverty. Greater commitment is needed if the planet’s poorest regions are to recover, especially in Africa. Most of the aid promised by donors is in fact aimed at Africa, yet the continent remains desperate. Promises must be kept and new strategies must be developed if our objective of halving poverty by 2015 is to be realized.

          • Rome
          • 15 February 2006
             
             

            Social security and pensions

              This meeting offered the occasion to discuss in depth the current situation and evaluate actions to be taken by both institutional and economic actors in order to meet new social challenges. here have been radical demographic, economic and social changes over the past few decades, and an urgent need has risen for European governments to reform their welfare systems. These must be adapted to new realities, without destroying a healthy sense of solidarity. The Italian situation is particularly delicate in this phase of transformation towards new pension plans.

            • Rome
            • 27 October 2005
               
               

              Financing Italy’s health system: new models?

                According to the World Health Organization, Italy’s health system ranks as one of the best in the world. Yet it has also highlighted the problem, which Italy shares with other European countries, of funding a health system that is capable of responding to changes in the health demand of citizens. The participants called for there to be a move away from a profit and loss account mentality to an analysis of health needs by developing models for gauging demand.

              • Milan
              • 14 February 2005
                 
                 

                The search for our soul: mistery and passion

                  This meeting, held in the beautiful Ambrosiana library, offered the occasion to reflect on a very different topic than usual, at Aspen Italia events: the soul, as seen in different cultures, and as it inspires everyone – whether he or she believes in God or not – to consider the most profound issues for humanity. Participants quickly, but without succumbing to superficiality, reviewed the notion of “soul” as it has been appreciated over the centuries and in different cultures.

                • Rome
                • 22 November 2005
                   
                   

                  Developing the Italian banking system to favor competitiveness

                    The Roundtable dealt with a series of strategic issues concerning the Italian bank system, including the high cost of Italian bank serivces compared to other European countries; the limited size of the banks which doesn’t favor the internationalization of business; the difficulty in financing innovation and the common problem -especially in Southern Italy – of credit rationing. Banks stated that the cost of individual bank accounts in Italy are lower than France, Spain and Germany because of special agreements, payment on uninvested capital and joint holders.

                  • Milan
                  • 26 September 2005
                     
                     

                    Developing IT: new possibilities for business, organizations and users

                      The roundtable discussion provided an opportunity to explore the new possibilities for further applications and the potential economic, social and organizational impact of information technology. The digitalization of information, banking, government, transport and tourist services is proceeding at a faster pace than anticipated.

                    • Milan
                    • 7 March 2005
                       
                       

                      The new communications system: a challenge for the media

                        New tools, new forms of access, availability of content, large variety of sources, increased Internet use: news has changed dramatically, and the challenges for the media are many. This roundtable, held at the Corriere della Sera offices in Milan, invited discussion on Italy’s particular situation with relation to the global communications market. Media training, revolutions ongoing on an industrial level, doubts on a regulatory level (especially as concerns intellectual property, as norms guarding copyright are mostly obsolete) were all on the table.

                      • Rome
                      • 13 July 2005
                         
                         

                        Religious and agnostic: tomorrow’s values

                          This roundtable focussed on the terminology behind the conflict between believers and non-believers. In Italy, France, and Germany, the debate has taken on a particular fervor of late: just think of the depth of sentiment that emerged over whether girls could or could not wear the chador in public schools in France, or the debate that raged over referenda proposed in Italy to allow stem cell research and artificial insemination. Participants agreed that a common field of research and areas of commitment must be defined.

                        • Rome
                        • 16 March 2005
                           
                           

                          Free trade and competitiveness

                            Freeing up markets entails a variety of phenomena: opening up to competition, increasing efficiency, offering greater choice to the consumer and improving access to capital markets for businesses. Discussion here involved all players. First participants focused on the government, and the Authorities that supervise competition and liberalization. Then they turned to Italy’s system of businesses and financial intermediaries that are led to look for new market and to rationalize their own productive processes.

                          • Rome
                          • 4 May 2005
                             
                             

                            The attractiveness of Italy’s economic model

                              The roundtable discussion focused on the means and mechanisms to improve the attractiveness of the Italian economy. The roundtable participants voiced their disagreement with views that the country’s economic health is “in decline”, noting that such assessments are fueled by the presence within the country of areas with structural difficulties in adapting to international competition and the tendency towards making generalizations without taking into account territorial specificities and the existence of points of excellence.

                            • Rome
                            • 6 April 2005
                               
                               

                              Telecommunications, content, broadcasting: services and markets

                                This roundtable focused on problems presented by rapid development in the telecommunications sector and prospects for growth. The diverse platforms, each with their special characteristics and peculiarities, provide the customer with a variety of choices and services, in accordance with their particular needs. In order to compete, businesses must present their products in original ways as well as satisfy the customer’s demand for an interactive and personalized product.

                              • Rome
                              • 24 May 2005
                                 
                                 

                                The role of logistics for Italy’s competitiveness

                                  This roundtable highlighted the need to redesign Italy’s infrastructure network in a fashion that is coherent with demand. Lower-cost projects that offer an immediate return on investment are of particular importance. Strategic priority should be given to ports and to train tunnels in order to facilitate the flow of commerce from the Far East.

                                • Milan
                                • 27 June 2005
                                   
                                   

                                  Video content in the global contest among different platforms

                                    This roundtable focused on the irreversible process of convergence between television and telecommunications. In the near future, in fact, ADSL lines and IP protocol TV will offer TLC operators a complete video experience. At the same time, for television, going digital has meant forging a tighter relationship with the end user – providing services demanded by those who actually watch TV; spectators can personalize their viewing options and the different functions of network operators, content providers and the service industry have been separated.