Founded in 2005, the Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) is a week-long event held in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Aspen Ideas Festival program of events includes discussions,

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some par ...

, panels, and

tutorials A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...

from journalists, designers, innovators, politicians, diplomats, presidents, judges, musicians, artists, and writers. The Aspen Ideas Festival is a program of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

. The AIF format is modeled after educational seminars. Topics covered during the festival include global politics and economics, U.S. Policy, the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, the

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

, and economic issues. During the festival, live streaming of AIF events is available through the AIF website, ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

. Videos and sound clips from past AIF events are archived on the AIF website. Presentations and lectures from past Aspen Ideas Festival speakers can also be heard on iTunes U. Past AIF speakers include President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...

Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He was the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical ...

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle (née Reade; born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. Earle was the first female chief scien ...

Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and rep ...

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...

Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African Amer ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

David Frum David Jeffrey Frum (; born June 30, 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who is currently a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum a ...

Salam Fayyad Salam Fayyad ( ar, سلام فياض, ; born 1951 or 12 April 1952) is a Jordanian-Palestinian politician and former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and Finance Minister. He was Finance Minister from June 2002 to November 2005 and ...

, and

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the vice presidential nominee i ...

Background

History

The first Aspen Ideas Festival took place in Aspen, Colorado in 2005. The

, under the leadership of

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN ...

and

Elliot Gerson Elliot Francis Gerson (born July 15, 1952) is an American nonprofit executive, formerly a lawyer, business executive and state and federal government official. He is executive vice president of The Aspen Institute, and thAmerican SecretaryoThe Rhod ...

, developed the Aspen Ideas Festival to gather individuals from various backgrounds and fields of expertise for discussions about global and social issues and innovative ideas. At the first Aspen Ideas Festival in 2005, around 100 speakers attended the festival, among them Jane Goodall, Toni Morrison, Jim Lehrer, Arthur Schlesinger, and many others. The Aspen Ideas Festival modeled its programming for the first festival from some of the Aspen Institute's earliest events, such as the Goethe Bicentennial in 1949.

The Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute was founded by

Walter Paepcke Walter Paepcke (June 29, 1896 – April 13, 1960) was a U.S. industrialist and philanthropist prominent in the mid-20th century. A longtime executive of the Chicago-based Container Corporation of America, Paepcke is best noted for his founding of ...

in 1950 in Aspen, Colorado. Paepcke was a Chicago businessman and the founder of the Container Corporation of American (CCA). As a Germanophile, he and his wife, Elizabeth Paepcke, actualized a celebration and gathering in Aspen in June 1949 to mark the two-hundredth birthday of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

. From the success of the Goethe Bicentennial Festival came the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. Under Paepcke, the Aspen Institute's programs explored a range of topics through lectures and discussions with top thinkers in a variety of fields from science to the arts. Now based in Washington, D.C. with campuses in Aspen and Maryland, the Aspen Institute hosts programs focused on discussion of education and policy issues where presidents, scientists, artists, ambassadors,

Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...

, and many others have been in attendance.

Speakers

Since its inception in 2005, Aspen Ideas Festival speakers have included individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including politicians, diplomats, presidents, judges, scientists, musicians, entrepreneurs, artists, designers and innovators. AIF speakers have participated in discussions and AIF programs for the purpose of sharing their knowledge on subjects related to their expertise, interests, and field of work. These discussions have ranged from the global economy to the environment to theatrical performances and beyond. Past speakers include

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, and Joe Biden. During the 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer discussed recent Supreme Court rulings, including those on the Defense of Marriage Act and the Voting Rights Act, as well as public response following court decisions in the United States and around the world. Renowned Oceanographer, Sylvia Earle, spoke during the 2010 Aspen Ideas Festival about women's issues and education. Earle touched upon the impact of societal pressures on the interest girls and young women take in science and becoming high achievers. Former President Bill Clinton spoke during the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival, telling the audience about the urgency of accepting globalization and the global world by working interdependently with other cultures and countries for the purpose of achieving cultural understanding and harmonious cross-cultural relationships.

Scholars

Aspen Ideas Festival Scholars

The Aspen Ideas Festival Scholars program nominates individuals from all over the world for their unique accomplishments and dedication to improving their communities and making advances in their field of work. Aspen Institute trustees, Aspen Institute senior staff, Aspen Ideas Festival advisors, and past Aspen Ideas Festival scholars select the incoming group of scholars each year. Past Aspen Ideas Festival Scholars include educators, journalists, politicians, writers, and community organizers.

Bezos Scholars

Part of the Aspen Ideas Festival since 2005, the Bezos Scholars program invites twelve public high school students in the eleventh grade and twelve educators to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival. The Bezos Scholars attend Aspen Ideas Festival programs and events, as well as discussions and engagements designed only for Bezos Scholars. After attending the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Scholars return to their hometowns in order to produce a localized version of the Aspen Ideas Festival, a Local Ideas Festivals, inspired by their experiences in Aspen.

Impacts

In 2012,

Stanley McChrystal Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 where his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarq ...

was interviewed by

Bob Schieffer Bob Lloyd Schieffer (born February 25, 1937) is an American television journalist. He is known for his moderation of presidential debates, where he has been praised for his capability. Schieffer is one of the few journalists to have covered all f ...

at the festival. As part of that interview, McChrystal was asked whether or not he believed in the draft. He responded that he thought every young person should serve, but the military doesn’t need every young person, so we need to create more opportunities for all young Americans to serve. The

Franklin Project The Franklin Project was a policy program of the Aspen Institute from October 2012 to December 2015, that focused on advancing national service in the United States. Walter Isaacson called the project the "biggest idea" to come out of the Aspen ...

—an initiative to make a year of national service a common opportunity and expectation for young Americans—was created as a result of this festival conversation.

called the Franklin Project the “biggest idea” to come out of the festival during his tenure as CEO of the

References

External links

* {{Aspen Institute Academic conferences Festivals in Colorado Aspen, Colorado 2005 establishments in Colorado Festivals established in 2005