Italian trade fair sector for a new industrial policy
Discussions at this National Conference kicked off with the observation that Italy’s trade-fair sector is a key tool for promoting the country’s economy. Not only do successful events have an important economic impact on the area in which they are hosted, with a potentially greater than tenfold multiplier effect, but trade fairs also offer crucial support to businesses.
Cybersecurity: dangers and opportunities for businesses
Investments, culture, sharing: three elements that pundits and professionals consider indispensable to making System Italy resistant to cyber threats.
Innovation to boost competitiveness in agriculture
The participants at this national roundtable described Italian agriculture as a sector which, although growing, is still replete with shortcomings. The industry has shown that it can shift exports of over 41 billion euro, but this is still not in the league of Germany’s 80 billion euro figure. It was felt that the sector continues to suffer from insufficient competitiveness, due mainly to a lack of investment and innovation.
How global power is shifting: stakes and priorities for Italy
The international system is at a highly uncertain stage of transition, both in terms of the economy and of politics and security. Following the acceleration in growth and trade (in part, certainly positive) owing to the globalization mainly of the 1990s, a series of tensions have become manifest in the form of regional crises and global instability. Profound technological changes – those macroscopic in the financial sector, but not only – have had a direct effect on the social structure of individual states and on balances of power.
Shifting to sustainable transportation in Italy: social and economic consequences
The participants at this roundtable noted that there is practically unanimous consensus on the need to rise to the challenge of achieving eco-sustainable mobility, a necessary objective in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s target of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C. The issue was viewed as one primarily concerning the health of both the present generation and the next.
Constitutional reforms in Italy
Kicking off discussions at this National Interest event was the observation that the opening of Italy’s 18th legislature would seem to portend a new order within Italian society, among the various political parties, and within the country’s institutions. Power relations between the parties, as well as the interplay between them and the key priorities for debate, have changed.
The Italian Public Administration Reform: drivers, achievements, next steps and goals
Aspen Institute Italia’s aim in organizing this roundtable was to provide an opportunity to reflect on the processes that have characterized public administrative reform in Italy in recent years. In the course of the proceedings, a new Aspen Report was presented entitled “Public-sector reforms in Italy during the 17th legislature: their impetus, outcomes, and objectives”.
Italian airport system: synergies, investment, attractiveness
The starting premise of discussions at this national roundtable was that the issue of air transport owes its considerable complexity to the sheer number of stakeholders involved. The interests and different perspectives of airport operators, airline companies, travelers, local authorities, and other competing and combined transport networks were seen as calling for a synergistic approach both on the part of these players themselves and of the State.
Building a new silk road: Sicily’s role
Kicking off discussions at this National Conference was the observation that southern Italy’s ports, intermodal facilities, and adjacent hinterland areas have a strategic opportunity within their grasp, with Mediterranean routes now serving as crossroads for global traffic. It was felt, however, that in order to seize these opportunities, medium and long-term choices need to be made, with a commitment at the governmental level to ensure that the right incentives, an apposite regulatory framework, and a coherent vision for pursuing Italy’s economic interests are all in place.
Changing the way regulatory watchdogs are governed
Discussions at this National Interest event devoted to the topic of changing the way independent regulatory watchdogs are governed spanned a number of issues. It was noted that such authorities, representing an embodiment of the widespread phenomenon of polycentric decision-making characteristic of the modern state, emerged in order to meet certain needs of states, such as relieving overburdened parliaments by delegating regulatory functions and introducing a certain degree of pluralism in administrative structures to cope with the increasing frequency of international dealings.
New citizens and the Italian Constitution’s values
Aspen Institute Italia’s aim in organizing this roundtable was to foster debate on the challenges involved in integrating foreigners into Italian society. By way of introduction, it was noted that, over the years, the number of foreign nationals permanently residing in Italy has grown steadily and is set to continue to rise, as will the number of immigrants acquiring Italian citizenship. In a very short space of time, Italy’s society has been transformed, in line with what has happened in other countries such as France and the United Kingdom, and can no longer be considered mono-ethnic.
Big data, markets and citizens in a data-driven economy
Kicking off discussions at this roundtable was the observation that big data – seen by some as akin to “oil” in the sense that, like the latter, it needs to be “refined” in order to be useful – lies at the heart of data-driven innovation, the new industrial revolution. Like any revolution, it has important ramifications, in terms of new services and market dynamics, on economies and societies throughout the world.
Italy and the US: a renewed security partnership
This Conference provided an opportunity for participants to examine the partnership between Italy and the United States – rooted, as it is, in a history of cultural ties that are even deeper than the political relationship – against the backdrop of the current state of international play, which is rapidly evolving and marked by powerful destabilizing factors. The Southern front, that is, the entire Mediterranean basin, was singled out as the source of the most direct security risks, in respect of which bilateral cooperation is important for both countries.
Consumption trends and “Made in Italy”
The attendees at this National Conference kicked off their discussions by observing that the “Made in Italy” label boasts major successes and a strong ranking in the world economy as regards quality products. Yet it cannot survive on past laurels alone: the sharp contraction of the domestic market calls for firms to seek out opportunities in far-off countries and to win over new cohorts of consumers.
The future of government: imagining the Italy of tomorrow
The pursuit of security and a desire for greater certainty were recurrent themes in discussions at this national roundtable on the future of government in Italy. It was observed that Western democracies – beset by populist movements of various ilks and engulfed by ongoing economic crisis – are struggling to arrive at a new order and are, above all, failing to fully meet the needs and demands of their citizens.
Doing business in Southern Italy: challenging, but possible
The participants at this national roundtable emphasized that the steadfast development of Italy’s southern regions (the so-called “Mezzogiorno”) is an indispensable precondition for kick starting the national economy. To that end, in a pragmatic spirit and leaving rhetoric aside, it was deemed essential that the South be viewed as offering real prospects for boosting the country’s level of growth.
The migration challenge. Human mobility and development in the 21st century
The starting premise of discussions at this roundtable on migration, organized by Aspen Institute Italia, was that current tensions within Europe demonstrate how Italy has effectively become – and is being seen by its continental partners – as a buffer state: a country deputized to serve as a “shock absorber” in the new geopolitics of the Mediterranean.
Smart buildings, smart energy: the future of intelligent infrastructure
Participants at this national roundtable highlighted smart energy and smart building as key components of the smart city concept. “Smartness” in urban contexts was seen as entailing the pursuit of two main objectives: efficiency in the face of resource scarcity, and a higher standard of living. To achieve these goals, it was deemed essential to focus efforts on three fronts in particular. Firstly, infrastructure is a necessary though insufficient precondition for services to be able to respond to complexity, which in urban contexts stems from an admixture of markedly varied needs.