What's New @ The Aspen Institute June/July 2009

Live @ the Institute

Featured Event   Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was the featured guest at the June Aspen Roundtable Series.

Other Events   The Aspen Institute and Georgetown Law co-sponsored the Conference on the State of the Judiciary.

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, was the featured guest in a May 2009 installment of the Washington Leadership Series.

At a New York Book Talk event, author Azar Nafisi shared thoughts on her new book Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories.

The Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series featured a discussion with Karl Taro Greenfeld and Steve Luxenberg on a very personal level of differing family approaches to mental disability.

Walter Isaacson gave opening remarks at Independent Film Channel Make Media Matter panel discussion which was co-sponsored by the Institute and the National Association for Media Literacy Education.

Watch more video clips here.

June/July 2009

Dear Friends,

The Institute is busily readying for the 2009 Aspen summer, a season replete with excellent programming and special events, several of which are listed below. For details on all that is happening please refer to our Summer Calendar. I also recommend that you view some of the video of recently held programs, linked to the images at right, including a roundtable discussion with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; one featuring infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIH and a New York book talk with Azar Nafisi, author of Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories. If you aren’t able to join us in Aspen this summer, I hope you’ll visit our website where we’ll post new video and much more.

Best regards,
Jim Spiegelman
VP/Communications and Public Affairs

Summer Highlights:

Speakers joining us for this weeklong exploration of some of the most important ideas and pressing issues we face include Arne Duncan, Chuck Close, Stephen Breyer, Frank Gehry, Antonio Damasio, Eric Holder, and Dana Perino, among more than 175 others. Video and audio of many sessions will be online at aifestival.org. The festival is presented jointly by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic. Aspen, CO — June 29-July 5

Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra, Tom Daschle, Goldie Hawn, Mary Robinson, Anthony Fauci, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey are among the luminaries slated to speak at this summer’s Aspen Health Forum, which will feature more than 75 thought leaders in health care and medical science. Join the Aspen Institute and Time magazine in this exploration of the science of sex, the mysteries of the mind, boomer medicine, health in times of stress, frontiers in biotechnology, food for a new world, and how our nation can make smart, sustainable improvements to the US health care system. To register or learn more, visit the website. Aspen, CO — July 24-27

McCloskey Speaker Series: This summer’s McCloskey Speaker Series kicked off June 16 with award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns. Other speakers include Sen. Arlen Specter (July 11), Economist Dambisa Moyo (July 14), Council of Foreign Relations President Richard N. Haass (July 30), White House Health Policy Senior Counselor Ezekiel Emanuel (August 1), The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof (August 4), and Acumen Fund CEO and Institute trustee Jacqueline Novogratz (August 7). For ticket information please visit www.aspenshowtickets.com or call the Wheeler Opera House at 970-920-5770. Tickets for all McCloskey Speaker Series events are $15 each and are open to the public. For more information please contact Cristal Logan.

16th Annual Summer Celebration: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Goethe Convocation and Institute founders Walter & Elizabeth Paepcke. Lester Crown will receive the Walter Paepcke Memorial Award. The evening will begin with a concert by opera singer Jessye Norman at the Benedict Music tent performing pieces from her "American Masters" portfolio of American Music. Dinner co-chairs are Jessica and Henry Catto, and Julia and David Koch, and honorary co-chairs are Antonia Paepcke DuBrul and Paula Paepcke Zurcher. For tickets, contact Becky Ward, (970) 544-7925. Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen, CO — August 8, 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Socrates Society: Socrates brings together a diverse group of emerging leaders (ages approximately 28-45) to engage in expert moderated seminars on contemporary issues and we will meet again in Aspen on June 26-29. We also offer a Teen Socrates program on the same dates. And join us in Aspen on June 28 for the annual Socrates Society benefit dinner featuring New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. Look at www.aspeninstitute.org/socrates to learn more or contact Melissa Ingber or Margaret Fisher. Aspen, CO — June 26–29

Upcoming Events:

Initiative on Financial Security: Aspen IFS will proudly stand with Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) as she lifts the banner for the nation’s children. “Saving is for Everyone: Add the Kids” will be a powerful moment as child advocates and financial leaders from across the United States come to Capitol Hill to show support for the Senator’s bold new proposal to provide savings accounts for every child in America. For more information, contact ifsinfo@aspeninstitute.org. Washington, DC – June 17

Aspen Writers' Foundation: Join us for Aspen Summer Words, a five-day gathering featuring book panel discussions, writing retreats, literary festival, and professional consultations with agents and editors. For more information, visit the website. Aspen, CO — June 21-26

Business and Society Program: The First Movers Fellowship serves as an innovation lab for exceptional individuals in business today who are implementing breakthrough strategies to create profitable business growth and positive social change. For more information visit the website or contact Sarah Rienhoff. Aspen, CO – July 7-10

Justice & Society Seminar: This seminar brings together participants from diverse backgrounds to discuss the meaning of justice and how a just society ought to deal with issues such as private conduct and public mores, the extent of entitlements, race, gender, and international justice. Applications open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Doyle or visit the website. Aspen, CO — July 10-16

The 2009 Forum “Of the Press” will address new models for sustaining enterprise journalism, going forward. This will include presentations on models for online payments based on research at the CUNY School of Journalism, models for hyper-local sites, and news ecologies in metropolitan areas. It will not aim to preserve any particular medium such as newspapers. Rather, it will explore ways to serve citizens and consumers with the gathering and sharing of important information in the years ahead. The forum is open to the public; a fee is required. For more information, contact Erin Silliman or visit the website. Aspen, CO – August 16-19.

The Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation Launches the Aspen Philanthropy Group in July: The Aspen Philanthropy Group (APG) is a small gathering of leaders in philanthropy and civil society who are at the cutting edge of social change. This group will serve as agenda-setters, meeting annually to identify the key methodological or substantive issues that require the sustained attention of grantors and grantees alike. A series of workshops will be held on these issues, with the aim of building consensus among the participants, and in the field more broadly. For more information, contact Lauren Stebbins.

Wildlife Conservation & Human Well Being in Africa: Last October, the Aspen Institute and the African Wildlife Foundation teamed up to present an one-of-a-kind seminar about African wildlife and wildlands conservation in the context of African politics and equitable development. The combination of wildlife viewing, seminars, and special guests added a unique dimension and learning experience to the wonder of the world-class African safari. To reserve your place for 2011 or for more information, please contact Donna Horney.

Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership: Nominations are now being accepted for the next class of Aspen-Rodel Fellows. Visit our website to learn about the nomination process; contact Mickey Edwards, 202-736-5823, for more information.

For events all year long, visit our global calendar.

Hot Off the Presses:

“The Patient Capitalist”: Acumen Fund CEO and Institute trustee Jacqueline Novogratz was featured in a piece in The Economist. The article talked about Ms. Novogratz’s approach to solving the problems of poverty around the world through new approaches to development and capitalism.

“Help to Restore Workers’ Sense of Financial Security”: In a Roll Call op-ed, Lisa Mensah, executive director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security, argued for a renewed focus on the financial security of the American worker, calling for the creation of first-class savings system for every American to ensure all are on the path to true financial security.

“How Microlending Helps Communities”: The Aspen Institute’s FIELD program was cited in a recent San Francisco Gate article on the benefits of microlending to communities suffering from this recession.

“US and Vietnamese [Agent Orange] dialogue group convenes”: A June 2 convening of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin worked toward resolving this one remaining unsettled issue in otherwise excellent US-Vietnamese relations.

“US Backs Away From Controversial Migrant Raids”: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stated at an Aspen Roundtable lunch that the US will begin to prosecute employers who knowingly break immigration rules in their hiring of illegal immigrants (Agence France Presse).