January/February 2012

Highlights | @ Washington, DC | @ Aspen, CO | @ NYC | @ Wye River | Around the World

Highlights:

Aspen Writers' Foundation Presents the 2012 Winter Words Series, an "Aprés Ski for the Mind" program, featuring authors Ann Patchett, Geraldine Brooks, Tony Horwitz, Tracy Kidder, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Jonathan Wells, and Kathryn Stockett. Click here for ticket information.

Summer Public Programs:
A limited number of passes remain for the 2012 summer public programs in Aspen, CO. For more information on each event, please click on the corresponding image below.

@ Washington, DC

Justice and Society Program (JSP)

  • On February 1, JSP will present Targeted Killings and the Law of War, a roundtable featuring former State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger, Columbia Law Professor Sarah Cleveland, and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Benjamin Wittes.
Both above events are by invitation only. For more information, please contact Justice and Society Program Director Meryl Chertoff.

Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series: To learn more about our DC-based book talk luncheons, contact Devon Rodonets. By invitation only.

  • February 28: Thomas Frank's Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right
    (Henry Holt/Metropolitan Books)
  • March 26: The End of Illness by David Agus, M.D. (Free Press)

@ Aspen, CO:

Society of Fellows News:

  • The 2012 Winter Symposia in Aspen will feature topics: The Role of Religion in the Public Sphere, February 22-25, moderated by TIME Magazine writer Amy Sullivan and Boston College professor Alan Wolfe; and Europe on the Brink: The Euro and the Global Economy, March 19-22, moderated by Financial Times Editor Gillian Tett and economic analyst Jeff Madrick. For more info, contact Patrick Kelly.

Socrates Winter Seminars:

  • The 2012 Winter Seminars in Aspen will feature topics: The New Leadership of the Middle East and North Africa, moderated by Arab and Muslim issues expert Mona Eltahawy; The Future of Energy, moderated by Environmental Defense Fund Chief Counsel Mark Brownstein; and Social Media and Society, moderated by Family Online Safety Institute Founder and CEO Stephen Balkam. Feb. 17-20. For more info, contact Azalea Millan.

Aspen Community Winter Programming:

  • Great Books Series: Join us for this year's exploration of the Great Books, moderated by Peter Thigpen. This program will be held each Wednesday evening in February, beginning February 1.

  • Great Decisions Series: In this eight-week program, participants will gather to discuss the key foreign policy issues of today. It will be held on Tuesday evenings from January 24 - March 13.

  • The Great Conversation: Engaging Young Aspen: This series will be held every second Thursday evening through March 22 and is offered to young professionals who are interested in discussions of national and international issues. Moderated by John Peacock and Steven Wickes.

For more info and to register for any of the above Aspen Community programs, contact Beth Slater.

2012 Schedule for The Aspen Seminar in Aspen, CO:
May 19 - 25
August 11 - 17
August 18 - 24
September 15 - 21
To register and for more info, contact Charlene Costello.

@ New York, NY:

Aspen at Roosevelt House: Join Aspen Institute Arts Program Director Damian Woetzel for a conversation on Spaces for Creative Dialogue in the 21st Century featuring Diller Scofidio + Renfro founding partner Elizabeth Diller; Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Director Richard Koshalek; and Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy. February 15. For more info, please contact Zlato Fagundes.

Aspen Book Series will host Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global Correspondent, The Economist, to discuss his soon-to-be-released Need, Speed and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation can Transform Business, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World's Most Wicked Problems (Harper Collins). March 13. For more info, please contact Christine Gasparich.

@ Wye River:

2012 Schedule for The Aspen Seminar in Wye River, MD:
June 16 - 22
June 23 - 29
July 28 - August 3
October 6 - 12
To register and for more info, contact Charlene Costello.

Around the World:

Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations supporting small and growing businesses in emerging markets. ANDE's Brazil Regional Chapter will meet February 9-10 in São Paulo. By invitation only.

Communications and Society Program will host the inaugural Aspen Institute Forum on the Freedom to Communicate on February 21-22 in Mexico City. The Forum will convene leaders to address issues of freedom of expression, association, and connectivity in the Western Hemisphere. For more info, contact Kiahna Williams.

Socrates International, featuring topics: Capitalism at a Crossroads, moderated by The Atlantic Senior Editor Clive Crook; and From Facebook to Body Scanners: The Future of Privacy and Technology in the Age of Google, moderated by GWU Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen. Madrid, Spain, April 19-22. For more info, contact Azalea Millan.


Featured Video
Institute CEO Walter Isaacson held forth on the life and legacy of Steve Jobs at a recent book talk.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about innovation and the global marketplace with Jim Lehrer of PBS NewsHour at an Intel-sponsored event.
Other Video
Author Touré spoke with Gwen Ifill about his book, Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness, as part of the Gildenhorn Book Series.
Watch Andy Kohut, Ruth Marcus, Frank Sesno, and Cynthia Tucker discuss politics, civility, and the news media. Presented in coordination with the Bipartisan Policy Center. Video from earlier discussions in the series can be found here.
The new Aspen Asks series focuses on the jobs crisis and offers potential solutions. The first discussion featured Robert Walsh from the NYC Department of Small Business Services and Ernesto Cortes of the Industrial Areas Foundation.
Dr. Jill Biden highlighted the announcement of Valencia College as the winner of the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
Hirshhorn Museum Director Richard Koshalek discussed The Museum as Forum as part of our Washington Ideas Roundtable Series.
Watch more
clips at aspeninstitute.org/video
Education and Society Program continues its work on teacher evaluation in this practical toolkit, Means to an End.
The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors institutions that strive for and achieve exceptional levels of success for all students, both while they are in college and after they graduate. The prize co-chairs just penned an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune about the role community colleges play in closing the skills gap.
Two recent publications from Ascend, the Family Economic Security Program, look at qualitative and quantitative data supporting a two-generation strategy.
In December the Justice and Society Program served as a consultant to the Saudi Judicial Engagement Project, administered by the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the US Department of State.
Building an Impact Economy in America provides a condensed summary of a June 2011 summit on the impact economy convened by the White House and the Aspen Institute Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation's Impact Economy Initiative.
NY Times columnist Tom Friedman cited Communications and Society Fellow Blair Levin's Gig.U project in a recent column on the importance of building a world-leading network to promote jobs, innovation, and prosperity.
More Institute publications at aspeninstitute.org/publications

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About the Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners.

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