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National Programs

  • Bresso (Milan)
    • 3 April 2016
     
     

    Putting the crisis behind us: the industrial renaissance and family businesses

      Serving as a springboard for discussions at this national conference was the acknowledgement that family-run businesses are a key player in the European economic landscape. However, the crisis (or more precisely, the sea change) of recent years poses multifaceted and complex questions: businesses are facing changes in where they operate, what kind of business they do, their culture, and how they do business. These questions must be answered with pragmatism, a typically entrepreneurial trait, and with reflection, more the domain of academia.

    • Florence
      • 11 April 2016
       
       

      The food and agriculture sector: protecting brands and supporting companies

        Kick-starting discussions at this national roundtable was the acknowledgment that the Italian food and agriculture industry is one of the most emblematic of the Made in Italy sectors, not only because of the international appeal that Italian cuisine has always held, but also due to the economic importance of the sector.

      • Rome
        • 9 March 2016
         
         

        Immigration and integration: opportunities and social conflicts

          The approximate five million foreigners currently living in Italy – 8.2% of the resident population – make an 8.8% contribution to GDP. The numbers point to an immigrant presence equal to the number of Italians residing abroad and to a major financial impact that affects even the social welfare system.

        • Rome
          • 14 July 2016
           
           

          Technological innovation, new economic scenarios, industrial policies: the modern-day role of the Antitrust Authority

            A little over 25 years since its establishment, Italy’s Antitrust Authority – hailed by those attending this national roundtable as an indubitable success story – was characterized as facing new challenges linked to profound changes that have impacted on the entire economic system. Cited among these were ever-greater global integration, a new dialectic between the real and financial spheres of the economy, and, above all, a complete rethinking of value-creation models due to the increasing digitalization of every aspect of human lives.

          • Crocetta del Montello (TV)
            • 18 September 2016
             
             

            The right business culture to be competitive

              Discussions at this national conference began with recognition that, in a globalized economy where the standardization of consumption risks reducing competition between companies to a simple price war, a firm’s culture becomes a key selling point. In this regard, culture was interpreted in its broadest sense, as an amalgam of values, knowhow, and traditions handed down from generation to generation and which helps to shape the uniqueness of a given local area and the identity of a particular company.

            • Rome
              • 11 February 2016
               
               

              Major administrative obstacles for business: from case studies to solutions

                This meeting was part of Aspen Institute Italia’s efforts to support business by promoting efficiency and effectiveness in public administration. For the occasion, the Institute carried out a detailed study  coordinated by Professor Sabino Cassese, an innovative feature of which are the assessments and proposals contributed by various associates currently confronted with entrepreneurial and productive challenges.

              • Genoa
                • 19 April 2015
                 
                 

                Reshaping the present and the future: innovative ideas, strategies, and visions

                  Setting the stage for discussions at this National Conference was the observation that, in today’s increasingly heterogeneous world, innovation would seem to be an obligatory strategy for steering the major environmental, economic and social transformations that the world is facing. It was emphasized, however, that innovative processes are not spontaneous phenomena, and indeed have their own precise logic and conditions that enable them to thrive.

                • Rome
                  • 28 October 2015
                   
                   

                  Institutions, democracy and lobbies

                    The issue of the representation of special interests is currently taking on particular importance within the Italian political system: this is occurring as a result of political parties’ declining monopoly over the function they used to have of intermediating interests, and due to the emergence of the governance paradigm more open to identifying a role for the stakeholders within the process of public decision-making.

                  • Milan
                    • 8 June 2015
                     
                     

                    From obstacle to opportunity: how European institutions can help businesses and improve the job market

                      We need a new way of narrating Europe. We need it above all to counter the populist drift that has made anti-Europeanism its motto.  Data provided by the Eurobarometer, the instrument measuring the belief of European citizens in the idea of Europe, shows that the vision of the founding fathers is in free fall. In 2008, 75% of Italian citizens were strongly convinced that the European project was a good thing, while today there is a risk that this percentage will drop below 50%.

                    • Cesano Maderno (MB)
                      • 12 October 2015
                       
                       

                      Focusing on Italy’s industrial sector and on foreign investment: policies and tools

                        The chief thrust of discussions at this national roundtable was that Italy’s manufacturing base has demonstrated a great capacity for responding and adapting, even though the continuing economic crisis has seen a major industrial downsize. Indeed, between 2008 and 2014, the number of Italian firms fell by about 47,000, a drop primarily involving small and medium-sized firms, while manufacturing potential as a whole shrank by 18%.

                      • Rome
                        • 27 September 2015
                         
                         

                        Sustainability: merely necessary or a driver of growth?

                          Discussions at this Conference for the Italian talent abroad group focused on the need for a development model where economic growth is not merely an end, but serves as a means to improving the quality of people’s lives. This was highlighted as the shared goal uniting Italy and the more than 150 countries which, during the recent United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, adopted a package of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be pursued by 2030.

                        • Milan
                          • 16 November 2015
                           
                           

                          Beating the crisis: Italy’s manufacturing renaissance

                            Running through discussions at this national roundtable was the acknowledgement that the opportunities offered by the technological revolution currently in progress pose a challenge for Italy, namely: that of deploying innovation to preserve the nation’s position as the second largest manufacturing country in Europe.

                          • Milan
                            • 19 October 2015
                             
                             

                            New rules and digital challenges: where is the banking sector headed?

                              The focus of this fourth edition of the annual National Conference on the Italian banking system was the future of a sector being squeezed between, on the one hand, a veritable regulatory deluge that has contributed to reduced profit margins, and, on the other, new competitors from associated sectors that already existed (shadow banking) or are entirely new (fintech), which threaten business that has always been the preserve of the banks.

                            • Rome
                              • 6 May 2015
                               
                               

                              Combating counterfeit products to protect businesses and consumers

                                Proceedings at this national roundtable kicked off with the participants acknowledging that the illicit trade in goods and services, today more than ever manifested by smuggling and, more importantly, by product piracy, is an endemic and growing phenomenon in both Italy and Europe.

                              • Rome
                                • 18 February 2015
                                 
                                 

                                Competitiveness and Italy’s job market

                                  Kick-starting proceedings at this national roundtable event was recognition that debate on the state of the labor market in Italy and reflection on how the country measures up with conditions and models in other countries (Germany and the Netherlands in particular) are now more than ever imperative, at a time when the jobless rate is higher than the EU average (and is, indeed, the highest for youth unemployment), and when manufacturing output and consumer prices are in decline.

                                • Rome
                                  • 7 October 2015
                                   
                                   

                                  Supporting pension funds to stimulate economic growth in Italy

                                    Launching discussions at this national roundtable was the observation that the Italian pension system has undergone several attempts at reform over the past 25 years. From the Dini reforms to the more recent Fornero efforts, a succession of reform packages have accorded priority to balancing the public finances which underpin the first and most important pillar of the Italian pension system – namely, the state pension.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 23 March 2015
                                     
                                     

                                    Regulating banking foundations in Italy: legislation or negotiation?

                                      The opening premise of debate at this national roundtable was that Italy’s banking foundations are complex entities, operating as both investors and key players in the financial sector, but also as leading actors in the non-profit sector, an important component of any participatory democracy (like that in Italy) called upon not only to produce economic goods but values as well.

                                    • Rome
                                      • 9 December 2015
                                       
                                       

                                      Italy’s cybersecurity and safeguards for businesses

                                        With almost three years having passed since the Italian Prime Ministerial Decree of January 24, 2013, which set out “Strategic guidelines for national cyberspace protection and ICT security”, this national roundtable event afforded an opportunity to take stock of what has been accomplished so far to implement that directive.

                                      • Rome
                                        • 18 March 2015
                                         
                                         

                                        Innovation and market trends in a knowledge society

                                          Internet, an ongoing revolution. With its many regulatory questions still unanswered (from fiscal to privacy, from copyright to net-neutrality), the call to change business models are of an economic order. For some, it’s the era of the fifth technological revolution which won’t only effect how industry is run, but also how States are run. With this in mind, it could also become a unique opportunity to win decisive battles for the planet such as pollution and poverty.