Contacts:
Jennifer Myers
The Aspen Institute
202-736-2906/jennifer.myers@aspeninstitute.org
Natalie Raabe
The Atlantic
202-266-7533/nraabe@theatlantic.com
Aspen Ideas Festival Dates Set for 2012
**UPDATE: Dates for 2012 have been changed to June 27-July 3, 2012**
Washington, DC, July 7, 2011 – The Aspen Institute and The Atlantic held the seventh annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado, on June 27-July 3, 2011. Guided by discussions and presentations from more than 300 leaders in the fields of arts, science, culture, technology, religion, philosophy, business, economics, and politics, an audience of nearly 2,000 was engaged in deep and inquisitive public discourse on the most important and exciting ideas and issues facing the world today. The eighth edition of this celebraton of ideas is slated for Monday, July 2 – Sunday, July 8, 2012.
Festival highlights from 2011 included:
- Can Social Media Benefit the Greater Good?
Featuring Doug Ulman, Lance Armstrong, Matt Flannery, Chris Hughes, and Jerry Murdock. - Insights and Ideas: Immigration and Its Impacts on Society
Featuring a conversation with Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes and The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein.
- Israel and its Future
Featuring Tzipi Livni, leader of Israel’s opposition and chairman of the Kadima party, in conversation with Walter Isaacson. - Ten Years After: How America Has Changed Since 9/11
A major TIME/Aspen Ideas Festival survey, conducted by Penn, Schoen and Berland. Featuring TIME Managing Editor Richard Stengel, Donald Baer, Mark Penn, and Elliot Gerson of the Aspen Institute. - That Used to be Us: How America Lost it’s Way in the World it Invented and How We Come Back
A conversation with Thomas Friedman. - Great Shifts in American Politics: A Conversation with David Axelrod
Moderated by Joe Klein of TIME magazine. - What is Next for the Internet?
Featuring Twitter Co-Founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. - The Neuroscience of Happiness
Featuring Kent Berridge, Richie Davidson, and Daniel Gilbert. - We the People: Making a Democracy Work
Featuring US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. - The Modesty Manifesto
Featuring New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Additional videos and audio clips can be found at www.aifestival.org and at The Atlantic’s “Ideas Special Report”.
Underwriters for the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival included Allstate, Altria, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, HP, Mercedes-Benz, Shell, Siemens, Thomson Reuters, and U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.
About The Atlantic
Since 1857, The Atlantic has played a central role in shaping the national debate on current affairs and cultural trends. Dedicated to bold, independent, diverse, and highly reasoned perspectives, its writers, bloggers, and critics represent the best in American journalism. The Atlantic’s award-winning commentary and coverage can be found in its magazine, on its website at www.theatlantic.com, and at 100+ events a year produced by its industry-leading events division, Atlantic LIVE.
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 an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
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