Dear Aspen members, partners and friends

Newsletter
Newsletter
Dear Aspen members,
partners and friends,
FROM THE BEGINNING
of its activity, Aspen
Institute Romania was
founded with the clear
objective of linking creative energies and vision
in the Romanian society
to the idea of the good
society.
ingful, enlightened dialogue and non-partisan
debate in this country. We
set an agenda developing crucial policy content
and leadership capacity.
Leading corporations
and businesses as well as
leaders from the private
and public sectors joined
in this project. What
unites us is the profound
desire to change this
country and maximize
the benefits this society
gets from a credible path
towards economic and
social development.
Not only is our work
focused on supporting
enlightened leadership
but also we try to keep
a moral compass at the
heart of our activity. What
each and every one of us
stands for is a constant
personal discovery. The
moral compass is something that needs constant
reflection. Maybe this is
the most important role
we play as values based
institution: providing a
venue for such a perspective.
Before the summer break
we will have a major conference bringing a direct
input into the emerging
new NATO strategic concept. Focusing on Cyber
Defense we are bridging the world of business and government. By
strengthening the cooperative approach in this
field we can have a practical role in the security
debate. By tackling with
the right sense of urgency a complex issue at the
heart of contemporary
efforts designed to maintain and renew
the role the
Atlantic
Alliance
we are in
fact linking to
similar
work in
Mircea Geoană,
President Aspen
Institute Romania
Using our resources as
well as the powerful
influence of the Aspen
Institutes Network we
aimed to make Aspen
Institute Romania the
foremost space for mean-
Aspen Romania is about
to conclude a very busy
few months, which have
set high standards and
framed our strategic
orientation until and
beyond the end of this
year. We are now ready
for better and more!
WE HAVE LOOKED at government budget planning
together with Finance
Minister Sebastian Vlădescu and debated the
relation between ethics
and business after the
crisis. We have analysed
employment policies and
the Aspen International
Network.
The current global,
regional and national
context is serious. This
is why for the second
part of the year we have
programmed a European
economic governance
forum. For three days
with our guests we will
look at the nature of
the crisis and its challenges. The objective will
be to confirm whether
an east to west perspective may be relevant
to decision makers in
members states and in
Brussels alike. We will
consider how can Polish,
Romanian or Hungarian
experiences of the post
Lisbon Europe be of common use.
Our Young Leaders
Program should be to
all of us a source of
pride. This growing
group of talented
and driven young
men and women is
increasingly diverse
and more regional.
Their role and
capacity
in shaping the society is
gaining weight with their
numbers. I have joined
the latest group in Susai
and besides having a lively debate it gave me an
opportunity to remember the importance of the
Aspen Seminar.
Let me also remind you
that the entire Aspen
Network is in fast gear.
From the important intellectual efforts of Aspen
Institute Italia and its contributors to help keep the
EU on top of the crisis,
to the newly announced
Partners for a New Beginning Initiative that links
Aspen Institute and the
State Department to the
Muslim world and the
peace process in the Middle East our fellow Aspen
members are bringing a
sizable contribution.
This is Aspen Institute
Romania and this is the
network we belong to.
It means constant work
and engagement. We
accomplished together
a lot and yet we have
lots more to do. It is well
worth it! Both for the
intellectual company and
the sense of moral direction our common work
provides constantly.
June - September
2010
Inside
Page 2 Corporate News
New Leadership, New
Members
Page 3 Upcoming Events
Cyber Defence in the
Context of the New NATO
Strategic Concept
Page 4 Past Events
Social Inclusion –
Matching Needs and
Goals. The Case of
Employment Policy
Page 5 Past Events
Working Lunch with
Finance Minister
Sebastian Vlădescu
Page 6 Young Leaders
Courage and Capacity to
Change
All the best,
Agenda Highlights
launched an important
initiative in human rights
education.
We are bringing business,
government and international partners together
to make a valuable contribution on NATO Cyber
Defense. For the autumn
we are planning to bring
to the attention of decision makers in Brussels
and European capitals
the perspective on economic governance of
new EU member states.
We will also be looking
at how falling media revenues impact ethics in the
industry and search for
viable business solutions
to secure its relevance and
independence. Our Young
Leaders Programme continues with a new capable and determined generation from countries in
the region, as the Fellows
Network is at its turn
developing ever more
ambitious projects.
We are also exploring new
opportunities of cooperation with our partner
Aspen Institutes. We are
honoured to respond to
a call from Aspen Italia
to facilitate an Executive
briefing in Rome, June
15, for Enel Italy. We are
also happy to welcome
the presence of Aspen
Institute VP of Policy and
Public Programmes Mr.
Elliot Gerson at the next
board meeting on June
3 to discuss joint action.
Another special guest will
be Mr. Juan Pablo GarcíaBerdoy, fmr Ambassador
of Spain to Romania, currently working on setting
up Aspen Spain, an idea
born on the occasion of
the International Board
Meeting in Bucharest last
year.
Page 7 Aspen in the World
Hot Summer in Aspen:
Ideas, Environment and
Security
Page 8 News
Aspen in the Press, Our
Secret Recipes, Our
Partners
2
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
June - September 2010
CorporateNews
Newsletter
Aspen Board
The last General Assembly has approved the
composition of the Executive Board until 2012.
PROMINENT NEW public figures have made
us the honour of joining the steering body
of the Aspen Institute
Romania. The GA elected a new Vice President
of the Executive Board
Ms. Mariana Gheorghe,
CEO of OMV Petrom
S.A., replacing esteemed
Board Member Patrick
Gelin who retired from
his position in Romania.
As CEO of Romania’s
largest private company, Ms. Gheorghe brings
to the Institute proven
business acumen but
also a sense of long term
vision.
The GA also voted Mr.
Steven van Groningen,
President of Raiffeisen
Bank as a new Aspen
Romania
Executive
Board Member. Mr.
Groningen is certainly
one of the senior foreign business presences in Romania that for
the past decade has put
Ms. Mariana Gheorghe
an important mark not
only on the evolution of
the Romanian business
environment, but also its
civic ethos.
The new Aspen Executive
board has Mircea Geoană,
President of the Roma­
nian Senate, return at
the head of the board for
a new two years mandate, as well as VP Florin
Pogonaru, (Romanian
Businessmen’s Asso­
ciation) and VP Roberto
Musneci, (Șerban &
Musneci).
Returning
members
are Nic Voiculescu,
(Link Re­source), Răsvan
Radu, (UniCredit Țiriac
Bank), Teddy Dumi­
trescu, (Publicis Group),
Alexandra Gătej, Roma­
nian Presidency adviser
(on leave of absence),
as well as Vasile Iuga,
Country Managing Part­
ner, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers, also confirmed
as treasurer of the Aspen
Institute Romania.
New Members of the
Aspen Family of Values
From leading environmentalists to multinational financial and
business institutions, a number of new members both corporate
and personal joined the Institute.
Mr. Dragos Bucurenci
Mr. Bogdan Chirițoiu
Ms. Sorana Baciu
Ms. Gabriela Dobrotă
Mr. Dragoș Bucurenci,
28, is leader of Maimult
verde environmental
NGO and an awardwinning
freelance
journalist. Mr. Bogdan
Chiriţoiu (Competition
Council President),
39, is an international eco­nomy specialist
who worked successively for UNDP, the
European Commission
Delegation to Romania,
the Minister of Justice
and the Presidential
Administration. Ms.
Sorana Baciu (OMV
Petrom S.A., Corporate
Development Direc­
tor), 39, worked for
Porsche Group and
founded Porsche Bank
before joining Petrom
in 2007, as well
as for ING. Mr.
Shimon
Laber,
President of Eurotire
Manufacturing, 30,
owns a tyre facility
Corporate additions
in Ukraine and a rubber trees plantation in
Vietnam. He ma­naged
to make a profitable
business out of the
bankrupt SC Rotras
SA Turnu Severin,
producer of giant
tyres. “Rescue operations” have been led
by General Director
Ms Gabriela Dobrotă,
who
previously
returned other companies to profitability.
The growing but
extremely select group
of Aspen Institute
Romania corporate
supporters has been
joined by Intensa
Sanpaolo Bank, a
leading Italian-based
commercial
bank
with a strong international
presence
primarily in CentralEastern
Europe
and Mediterranean
basin, Philip Morris
Trading, a business
employing cca. 900
people around the
country, but also a
significant contributor to charitable and
cultural programmes
in Romania, Ducati
Energia Romania,
established in 2002
for the manufacture
of capacitors and electrical equipment and
financial/business/
management consultancy Corilius Adviser
SRL. We look forward
to working with their
leadership teams to
make their membership bring value added
to Romania’s business
and social development.
România
Mr. Steven van Groningen
Aspen Success in FIC Board of Directors
Most of the newly
elected board
of the Foreign
Investors’Council are
Aspen members.
ON THE OCCASION of
the FIC Annual General
Assembly, which was
held on Tuesday 18th
May 2010, the new
Board of Directors was
elected and we are very
proud that two thirds
of them come from the
ranks of Aspen members. We would like to
congratulate Mr. Dominic
Bruynseels, CEO BCR, Ms.
Mariana Gheorghe, CEO
OMV Petrom, Mr. Steven
van Groningen, President
& CEO Raiffeisen Bank,
Mr. Frank Hajdinjak,
CEO E.ON Romania, Ms.
Claudia Pendred, Direc­
tor EBRD Romania, Mr.
Wilhelm Simons, Part­
ner Assurance Leader
Romania and SEE Price
waterhouse Coopers, Mr.
Serban Toader, Senior
Partner KPMG, Mr. Jean
Valvis, President &
Source: www.fic.ro.
General Manager Valvis
Holding and Mr. Claudio
Zito, President & Country
Manager Enel. We are
certain that our conjugated efforts will help
advance our common
goals in the future.
The Foreign Investors
Council brings together
around 110 multinational companies, covering a wide variety of
goods and services such
as cooperation with the
authorities in overcoming difficulties and obstacles which may exist in
relations with foreign
investors and in economic relations with other
countries or promoting
the interests of the international business community in Romania.
3
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
June - September 2010
UpcomingEvents
Newsletter
Cyber Defence in the Context of
the New NATO Strategic Concept
Aspen debate makes valuable contribution to defining Romania’s position within the new Alliance framework.
ASPEN
INSTITUTE
Roma­nia, in partnership
with the NATO Public
Diplomacy Division, is
pleased to announce the
organisation of a major
international conference
as part of its Foreign
Policy and Strategy
series: “Cyber Defence in
the Context of the New
NATO Strategic Concept”
organised on June 2,
2010 in Bucharest. The
event comes only days
after a high level experts
group led by Aspen
Institute trustee Hon.
Madeleine Albright published a report on the
New Strategic Concept.
Yearlong project with Mobilising all
stakeholders
NATO support
As NATO is undergoing
a comprehensive process
of self-redefinition and
adjustment to new realities, Romania is identifying areas where it can be
a key contributor to the
Alliance. In this respect
Aspen Institute Romania
is proposing a series of
activities in the field of
foreign policy, designed
around two core areas national interest and integrated security, to which
end it has concluded a
year-long partnership
with the NATO Public
Diplomacy Division.
The permanently increa­
sing dependence of
modern society on IT
system makes it possible for an attack on one
network to have a dangerous multiplier effect,
at a relatively low cost
for the perpetrator and
to threaten directly the
everyday life of regular citizens. Romanian
authorities, think-tanks
and academia as well as
competent private corporations have already
made an important contribution to the overall
debate on NATO cyber
Crisis in the Media
The Aspen Institute
Romania announces
the Regional Policy
Seminar and Public
Conference: “Media
Sector: Can Ethics
Survive the Market?”.
THE MEDIA SECTOR
in Romania, the region
and worldwide is going
through difficult times,
questioning and reviewing its business models,
ethical and practical relevance. Digital content,
social networks, Google,
blogs, the increasing
im­pact of video, the
rise in consumer-gene­
rated content mark a
shift away from established forms of communication, pose significant
challen­ges but also offer
unprecedented opportunity, generate moral
concerns and require
creative responses. The
most exposed to negative consequences are
societies where freedom
of expression has a rather recent tradition.
Regional perspectives on shared
challenges
Following the ‘Good Help
Gone Wrong’ regional seminar, this second
seminar in the fall aims
at bringing together participants from Romania
and the Central/Eastern
European region to discuss the new shared
challenges in the media.
Editors, media managers and owners, media
experts, journalists and
marketers, public regulators and politicians will
be focusing on a perspective on the public interest and the state of ethics
in journalism.
A public conference to
follow in the autumn,
focused on business models to overcome the current difficulties, aims at
completing the debate
and gaining a better
understanding of the state
of the profession, while
generating constructive
ideas to make the best of
this turning point in the
evolution of the industry.
More details and conditions for registration you
can find HERE.
defence policy. This is
however an ongoing process, where dialogue is
the key prerequisite for
making headway. In line
with the Aspen Institute
mission, we are proud to
note that this strategic
debate has been met with
huge interest and for the
first time has managed
to assemble all relevant
actors around the same
table, cca 200 participants from state authorities, to the business environment and international partners from all
cooperation structures.
The discussions will
be centered on inter-
ventions by key figures from the respective sectors - George
Maior, Director of The
Romanian Intelligence
Service; Erik Breidlid,
NATO International Staff,
Defence
Capabilities
Section, Defence Policy
and Planning Division;
Iulian Fota, National
Security Advisor, Roma­nian Presidency; Paolo
Campobasso,
Chief
Security Officer, Unicredit
Group, Rome, Italy; Col
(Res) Shlomo Mofaz,
counterterrorism expert,
fmr Israel Defense Forces
Military Intelligence officer and many others.
Autumn Preview
16 September
“EU-NATO Shared
Responsibilities
in Contiguous and
Frontier Areas”
Roundtable addressing
some of the most pressing concerns of NATO
members and Romania
as a border state – the
challenges of border
management in a regional and international
context of globalization,
increasing migration,
terrorism threats, transnational organized crime
and trafficking networks
(all aggravated by a
context of economic
crisis).
4-5 October
A Transatlantic
Perspective on the
Eastern Partnership
Expert group discussion
in partnership with the
RAND Institute and the
Romanian MFA.
7-9 October (tbc)
“An East to West
Perspective on
European Economic
Governance”
International Forum on
the views and place of the
new EU member states in a
post crisis European social
and economic model.
10 November (tbc)
“Romanian Industri­
a­lists Round Table”
Involving Romanian industry in a reflexive, but also
policy-recommendations
generating debate on the
state and perspectives of a
largely neglected sector of
the national economy.
26-28 November (tbc)
“Media in Crisis”
The second part of a
debate to be launched
by the Regional Seminar,
looking at sustainable
business models the press
through difficult times.
June - September 2010
PastEvents
Newsletter
4
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
ReportHighlights
Research presentation
methods
need improvement to
make it more accessible
to policy makers.
Debates and colloquia
should be followed-up
by concrete and readily
available documents.
The main worries
of the private sector
regard the lack of predictability in economic policy
– this should be tackled
by policymakers with
urgency.
(left to right) HE Estanislao de Grandes Pascual, Spanish Ambassador, Mr. Gelu Duminica, “Impreuna” Association, Mr. Doru Chiribuca, Dean Sociology Dept, Babes-Bolyai
University, Mr. Ashgar Zaidi, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna
Social Inclusion - Matching
Needs and Goals: The Case
of Employment Policy
The roundtable discussion, on May 7, focused on
how better policy-formulation in the social field
can mitigate the effects of the economic crisis.
USING existing models of data management
and analysis and building on the expertise of
other EU member states,
the event gathered think
tanks, social affairs and
statistics experts form
government and nongovernmental institutions and the academia,
national and local politicians and representatives
of the social partners,
together with foreign
experts and practitioners. We were particularly
privileged to enjoy the
participation and support of the Spanish EU
Presidency, represented by H.E. Ambassador
Estanislao de Grandes
Pascual.By looking at
different case studies of
implementation of relevant social programs
both in Romania and the
EU, our Institute hopes
to achieve a set of concrete steps and projects
to improve policy formulation. The conclusions of
the debate are set out in
a report which we hope
to facilitate communication among interested
entities in the public and
private sectors as to their
mutual expectations of
each other. The debate
also explored the budgetary restrictions on social
programs in a context of
high levels of unemployment in both the private
and public sector and
the options for improvement. We also focused
on exploring available
financing sources for better matching needs and
potential partnerships
between Romanian and
foreign research and academic institutions.
Competition in labour
force
training needs to be reinforced – an issue to be
ad­dressed by the trade
unions and the private
sector.
Correlating the education
system
and training with the
labor market is an impe­
rative.
Spanish Presidency
recommendations
l reinforce the systems
of social protection and
promote active policies in
the labor market
l focus national policies
on employment creation
and jobs quality
l prepare the economi-
cally active population
for future challenges and
opportunities
“Good Help Gone Wrong?”
Regional Policy Seminar
An ethical look at the
financial role of governments at times of
crisis: a trio of case
studies - Romania,
Greece and Hungary.
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE
Romania brought together between 26 and 28
March decision-makers,
actors and stakeholders in a 3-day “Socratic
seminar” to debate these
issues in the larger context of perennial classical values and a longterm vision for sustainable economic development. Having the time
old question of “which
capitalism” at its heart,
the debate focused on
texts that included classical authors and new
commentators in an
attempt to restart the
embers of a truly fun-
damental debate. Moderated by Mr Florin Ilie,
ING Bank Director for
Equity Markets and
Mr Dan Lazea, Fellow,
New Europe College, the
debate enjoyed meaningful contributions from,
among others, Mr Sergiu
Oprescu, CEO Alpha Bank
Romania, Mr Catalin
Pauna, Senior Economist
World Bank Romania,
Mr Florin Gaitanaru,
CFO Alexandrion Group
Romania. Among issues
brought to the forefront
of debate, there were
such as weak state versus strong state - where
is the line between efficient regulation/institutions and constraining regulation/institutions?; state and business action - are longterm goals sacrificed for
the sake of immediate
recovery? what are the
side-effects of business ethics being marginalised in the wake
of the growing struggle
for mere survival?; the
limits of state responsibility towards private
business interests in
risk - at what scale does
intervention become
justified? is there a renationalisation of economic policies?
5
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
June - September 2010
PastEvents
Newsletter
Speak Truth to Power Human Rights
Educational Pilot Programme
Highschool textbook launch in cooperation with the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation.
THANKS TO KERRY
KENNEDY, the daughter
of fmr US senator and
attorney general Robert
F. Kennedy, Romanian
highschool students will
be able to learn philosophy and social sciences
directly from the Dalai
Lama, Desmond Tutu or
Vaclav Havel. The wisdom will be passed on
in their own words, in
a book which collects
Kerry Kennedy’s interviews with all of the
above and many other
rights activists around
the world.
Aspen Institute Romania,
to­g ether
with
the
Minis­try of Education,
Re­search and Innovation
and the Robert F. Kennedy
Foundation Europe have
signed a joint agreement
which aims to implement the “Speak Truth
to Power” educational
pilot project in the 20082009 and 2009-2010
academic years. The
Speak Truth to Power
educational material on
human rights, produced
by the RFK Foundation
Europe, has been trans-
lated into Romanian and
has been distributed to
15 highschools starting
from the 8th of February
2010. The Romanian
book also contains discussions with local activists – fighters against
domestic violence or for
the rights of the Roma.
Teachers involved in the
“Speak Truth to Power”
educational program
have been offered a
training seminar at the
Gheorghe Lazar National
Highschool in Bucharest
on February 4.
The book will be used
as extracurricular support material for social
studies, philosophy and
social sciences courses.
The schools can also
decide to use the educational material in
other courses of the
high school curriculum
such as: Human Rights,
Civic Education, MassMedia Competence, and
Memory of the Holocaust
etc. The Aspen Institute
is making efforts for the
textbook to be available
in neighbouring Republic
of Moldova.
Learning about real
life, through real life
examples
“The book will not simply be taught by teachers to students,” Federico
Moro, Secretary-General
of RFK Foundation told
IPS news agency. “It is
meant to be a tool for
action. We give students
ideas and resources to
be involved in the move-
ment for the defence of
human rights.
“One of the main criticisms
against
the
Romanian educational
system is that it is too
detached from real life”,
says Oana Popescu, Aspen
Institute Programmes
Director. “This textbook
is not patronising or normative. It allows the educational process to take
place less formally and
in ways which are more
connected with real life.
We offer material that
each teacher can use in
the way he or she wants
and adapt to issues specific to locality”.
The book is based on a
larger edition, launched
last year in Romania by
Kerry Kennedy herself.
Speak Truth to Power in
the press HERE.
Working Lunch with the Finance Minister
Few days after the
state budget for 2010
was adopted, Aspen
Institute Romania
hosted a working
lunch on January 28
focusing on policy
coordination between
the public and the
private sector at the
beginning of a challenging year.
THE ECONOMIC Strategy
Committee of the Aspen
Institute Romania invited
high level representatives
of both sectors in a dialogue searching for ways
to tackle the crisis faster
and with lesser economic and social costs. Some
key speakers at this discussion were the Finance
Minister, Mr. Sebastian
Vladescu, Mr. Bogdan
Chiritoiu, President of
the Competition Council,
Policy
Recommendations
Mr. Valentin Lazea,
Chief Economist of the
Romanian National Bank
and Ms. Claudia Pendred,
Director of the EBRD, representatives of Romanian
and multinational corporations. The meeting was
opened by Aspen Institute
Romania President, Mr.
Mircea Geoana and excellently moderated by
Board Member Vasile
Iuga. It aimed at contri­
buting to the creation of
an increased convergence
between sectoral efforts
and policies of the government and business,
from the beginning of the
financial planning and
budget cycle, in order to
maximise economic performance and decrease
pressure on the labour
market and investors.
l the specific environment of 2010 requires
strategic
measures,
what sort of economic
development model? Is
it sustainable?
l GDP structure of 85%
consumption,
-10%
net exports and +25%
investments - is not sustainable;
l the main focus is
on improving the fiscal policy stance, corroborated with: (1) better control of transfer
pricing schemes, (2)
designing efficient and
compliant state aid programmes, (3) better EU
funds absorption;
l the dramatic narrowing of the current
account deficit due to
economic crisis, from
-14% to -5%, should be
maintained, for the sake
of future sustainability;
l recommendations
from members refered
to: (1) improving the tax
system, which currently
destroys private initiative, (2) work on a backup plan for worst-case
scenario (e.g. Greece
contagion), (3) ensuring
that the current budget
revenue assumptions
are realistic, (4) more
transparency in the way
fiscal policy is devised.
June - September 2010
YoungLeaders
Newsletter
6
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
Aspen
Network
at Work
Mircea Geoană participates in the YL seminar in Susai
Violeta Naydenova, YL ‘10, in Antigone
Courage and
Capacity to Change
A new generation of Young Leaders, with increased regional representation, demonstrates not
only commitment to values, but also will and capacity to act.
THE SUCCESS of the
Institute’s flagship programme in previous
years has been making
the selection process
increasingly competitive
year after year – to the
point where choice is
extremely difficult for an
exigent selection board
made up of Aspen members, staff, ARYL fellows
and HR professionals!
The twenty best candi-
dates who have made it to
this year’s training modules have been selected
from over one hundred
exceptional nominations
received from members,
ARYL fellows and distinguished friends of the
Institute. The emphasis
in admitting candidates
was, this year more than
ever, not only on their
commitment to a model
of values-based leader-
ship, but also their actual
capacity to act and put
this model into practice.
Young leaders mean
business!
The selection resulted in
a balanced composition
of this fourth generation
(age average – 29), with
more than half of the
nine women and eleven
men coming from the
business sector (banking/finance, bioagriculture and software industry development) and
the rest from the public/
NGO sector. The regional
composition of the programme has also been
enhanced, with a third
of participants coming
from outside Romania
– NGO leaders from the
Republic of Moldova,
Geor­gia, Armenia and
Bulgaria, and a Kosovo
diplomat. During the
first module, which took
place between April
13-18 in Susai, the group
displayed a strong preference for debating concepts of political and economic thinking that have
shaped modern open
societies in the context
of present-day society
and the challenges posed
by the region’s specific
social and historical legacy. The discussion also
Europe Day, May 9, 2010,
has seen the conclusion of
a yearlong project started
by Fellows George Jiglău
and Emil Mesaros, YL ’09,
in partnership with Doru
Franțescu, YL ’08 (The
European Institute for
Participatory Democracy
- QVORUM), Mădălina
Mocan, YL ’09 (Ratiu
Center for Democracy), the
Cluj School Inspectorate
and ARDOR Transilvania.
A two day event called
”European Olympics”,
gathering the best 50
students involved in the
project, marked the end
of a series of trainings
throughout this schoolyear, in 6 high schools in
Cluj County.
The sessions have disseminated among high
school students relevant information on the
European Union, going
beyond historical or technical details. The goal of
the initiative, which is part
of the Community Service
Projects of Aspen Young
Leaders, is to raise awareness and create a culture
of European citizenship
within the young generation in Romania.
looked at the qualities
required for good leadership. A rapidly developing group synergy
and capacity for joint
action became evident
during the remarkable
team cooperation in the
outdoor exercise (photo
below) and staging of
Sophocles’ Antigone, a
trademark of the Aspen
Seminar – where the
audience was made up of
ARYL fellows who voluntarily made their way to
Susai to get to know their “THE GOOD SOCIETY”
module in April, in Susai,
new colleagues.
will be folowed by a
Fellows network
“Mo­dern Leadership”
The setting up of the week­long training proARYL Fellows Network gramme in the Danube
with the purpose of Delta, 7-12 June, encomfacilitating interaction passing assessment of
among generations and leadership qualities and
capitalising on the valu- styles; practical training
able human resource in skills and technique;
they represent has in fact teambuilding exercises;
already demonstrated its and presentation of case
advantages. Fellows are studies. Relevant readby now meeting regu- ings and course materilarly, either as partici- als will be provided.
pants in the Institute’s The two moderators,
policy programmes, or Marian Staş (Director,
even as active contribu- CODECS Foundation for
tors to the content of the Leadership) and Andy
latter, working together Szekely (leadership trai­
with the Aspen team; ner) will lead discussions
they have also attended and group activities,
Aspen events designed while trainer Dan Luca
specifically for them and will conduct individual
have worked together on coaching sessions with
community projects.
participants.
Delta Force IV
7
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
June - September 2010
AspenInTheWorld
Newsletter
Coming soon: Hot Summer in Aspen!
June and July bring the most world renown and exciting events in Aspen, Colorado.
Aspen Institute Campus
during Aspen Ideas Festival
Aspen Security
Forum. 28-30 June
America is safer, we are
not yet safe. While the
dismal state of the economy understandably
dominates the national
agenda today, in order
to answer critical questions about America’s
preparedness for security threats, the Aspen
Institute together with
the New York Times
will bring together toplevel government officials, industry leaders
and leading thinkers for
two days of in-depth discussions at the Aspen
Meadows campus.
Aspen Ideas Festival.
5-11 July
Entering its sixth year,
the Aspen Ideas Festival
is a conversationpacked exploration of
some of the most important ideas and pressing
issues we face. Presented
by the Aspen Institute
and The Atlantic magazine, the Festival strives
to highlight the ideas
of experts at the forefront of their fields and
of leaders whose actions
are changing the world.
Critical topics under
debate range from arts
and culture to women
and education, from living digitally to “the century of biology”, the next
economy, innovation as
catalyst, or global health.
Aspen Environment
Forum. 25-28 July
The 2010 Aspen Environ­
ment Forum, present-
u YL ‘08
Roxana Voicu-Dorobant
‘09 at
and Andrei Pogonaru YL
l.
Aspen Ideas Festiva
ed by the Institute and
National Geographic, will
debate climate change,
renewable energy policy,
innovation and technology, efficiency, conservation and more, with the
goals of raising awareness, stimulating new
thinking, building understanding and consensus
and inspiring commitment to action.
Europe in the G-20
world. Aspen Italia
Conference.
Aspen European
Dialogue. Aspen
Italia Conference.
Berlin, 29 April
Venice, 5 March
At critical times for
Europe’s most pressing strategic and economic challenges, spea­
kers among whom
Aspen Institute Italia
President and Minister
of Economy and Finance
Giulio Tremonti, German
Minister of Finance
Wolfgang Schauble and
Polish Minister Jacek
Rostowski debated the
future of the Euro, the
implications of the Greek
crisis and the threat of
Europe losing its relevance in the new international balance. Aspen
Romania was represented by Institute President
Mircea Geoană, who discussed the need to build a
working triangle with the
US and Russia.
Under the title “Back to
the Fertile Crescent: the
Middle East, Europe and
the US”, Aspen Italia discussed the ways in which
Europe, by virtue of its historical links and expertise
in key sectors, has a unique
role to play in engaging
the most dynamic actors
in the region and working constructively toward
positive solutions to the
most sensitive strategic
issues, like the Iranian
or the Israeli-Palestinian
problems.
‘Partners for a New
Beginning’. Aspen US
Washington, DC, April 27
The Aspen Institute is
pleased to announce the
launch of new partner-
ship between its Middle
East Programs and the
U.S. State Department.
Partners for a New Begin­
ning was introduced at
an event on April 27th,
2010 hosted by Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton.
This partnership will
be chaired by former
Se­cretary
Madeleine
Al­bright and vice-chaired
by Walter Isaacson,
President and CEO of
the Aspen Institute and
Muhtar Kent, Chairman
and CEO of The Coca-Cola
Company. It aims to lay the
foundation for President
Obama’s vision, expressed
in Cairo, of “a new beginning between the US and
Muslims around t he
world, one based on mutual interest and respect”.
PNB will match eminent
US persons from the private sector with similar
groups from the Muslim
world.
Courtesy the US State Department
Main recent events
Full event movie HERE.
Newsletter
8
Aspen Institute Romania Newsletter
June - September 2010
News
Aspen in the Press
“The Value of the Individual Model Matters”
Programmes Director
Oana Popescu explains
in Dilema Veche the
role of the Aspen
Institute in bringing
together elites to act
toward common goals.
l “WE TRY to provide
two essential tools. One
is the moral compass;
we are subjected to the
daily assault of conflicting imperatives, in a
society which is rather
confused about itself
and have trouble finding
our way and our credo.
At the Aspen Institute,
we take it for granted
that values are perennial. The Socratic seminars
we organise always look
beyond immediate interest, to the larger context.
l “The second tool is
dialogue. Different social
groups will not speak to
one another – often to
maintain the conditions
for discretionary action.
Our policy programmes
aim at bringing together,
around the same table,
all stakeholders.”
l “The Aspen Institute is
not a closed society, an
ivory tower. Its members
remain deeply rooted in
real life, because this is
the only way they can
influence it for the better.”
l “The value of the
individual model matters, but if such individuals are isolated and
cannot find the context
to form a network of
influence, the multiplier effect at
a social level is
quasi
inexistent”.
A continuation of the
debate started on
December 22, 2009
regarding the fundaments of societal
change in Romania.
IF IN DECEMBER, 20
years after the fall of
communism, we discussedwith prominent
‘89 Revolution figure
Radu Filipescu about
resistance in front of
injustice and the totalitarian regime, this time
we proposed a critical
analysis of Romanian
capitalism.
Starting with a screening of the already
highly awarded movie
“Kapitalism-our Secret
Recipe”, Aspen Fellows
from all generations
discussed with director Alexandru Solomon
the basic assumptions of
for debate and interaction, to include all the
actors involved in the
educational system in
our country. Developed
by three organisations
involved in relevant
educational activities,
EDUCATIVA Group, LSRS
(League of Romanian
Students Abroad) and
Aspen partner “Dinu
Patriciu” Foundation, the
event aimed at actively
contributing with concrete solutions to the
process of reforming the
Romanian educational
system.
l GEA. The 6th GEA
Report on Romania
and the Lisbon Agenda,
“Romania and the
Europe 2020 Strategy”
is a comprehensive look
at the country’s state of
alignment with European
strategic goals. The first
section discusses the
macroeconomic
context and the structural
reforms. The second
section presents the
structural indicators for
Romania, in a benchmarking exercise, at the end of
the Lisbon Agenda and
at the start of the Europe
Full interview
HERE.
“Kapitalism – Our Secret Recipe”
Conversation with Director Alexandru Solomon
Aspen Institute Romania is a non-profit, non-governmental association dedicated to promoting enlightened leadership in Romania and to encouraging
open-minded and informed debate among leaders about the challenges facing
Romania today. The Aspen Institute Romania mission is 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 Romania is part of the international network
of Aspen Institutes in the United States, Italy, Germany, France, India, Japan.
ASPEN BOARD MEMBERS
ASPEN STAFF
President
Mr. Mircea Geoană, President of the
Romanian Senate
Vice President
Ms. Mariana Gheorghe, CEO, OMV
Petrom
Vice President
Mr. Roberto Musneci, Senior Partner,
Șerban & Musneci
Vice President
Mr. Florin Pogonaru, President,
Romanian Businessmen’s Association
Treasurer
Mr. Vasile Iuga, Country Managing
Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Member
Mr. Nic Voiculescu, Managing
Partner, Link Resource
Member
Mr. Răsvan Radu, CEO/Executive
President, UniCredit Țiriac Bank
Member
Mr. Steven van Groningen,
President, Raiffeisen Bank
Member
Mr. Teddy Dumitrescu, President &
CEO, Publicis Group
Member (on leave of absence)
Mrs. Alexandra Gătej, adviser,
Romanian Presidency
Executive Director
Andrei Țărnea
[email protected]
Mob: +40 748 114082
Programmes Director
Oana Popescu
[email protected]
Mob: + 40 720 034404
Leadership Programmes Manager
Ciprian Stănescu
[email protected]
Mob: 004 0752 199 149
Policy Programmes Manager
Anamaria Olaru
[email protected]
Mob: 004 0748 118 784
Administrative Manager
Ada Cuciuc
[email protected]
Mob: 004 0748 114 081
l CRPE. The Romanian
Center for European
Policies, one of our reliable partners, founded by
Aspen member Cristian
Ghinea and Fellows
Ciprian Ciucu and Florin
Niță YL ’08, organised a
successful conference
on EU-Moldova negotiations in Brussels,
together with the Foreign
Policy Association (APE)
of Moldova and Moldo­
van Mission to the EU
on May 11. The event
enjoyed the participation of Graham Watson,
European Parliament
CONTACT:
Address:
35, Amman Street, Ap. 10, District 1,
010777 Bucharest, Romania
Phone: +40 21 316 42 79
Fax: +40 21 317 34 43
E-mail:[email protected]
Web site: www.aspeninstitute.ro
Partners’ Corner
rapporteur on the
EU-Moldova Association
Agreement, members
of the negotiation team
of the the Republic of
Moldova, other members of the European
Parliament, Commission
officials and experts
from Brussels based EU
think-tanks.
l
Dinu
Patriciu
Founda­tion. The Edu­
cation Forum, which
took place on May 12-14,
in Bucharest, is the first
national event that provides a common space
our societal and political
models.
Young Leaders were
particularly focused on
the conditions that set
the ground for protagonists of the film to make
illicit fortunes after the
Revolution and on their
effects over time, which
today allow the continued concentration of
wealth in the hands of
just a few people.
2020 Strategy, focused
on smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive
growth. The third section
deals with competitiveness and business environment. The fourth
section presents aspects
of the labour market in
detail. The final section
concludes and provides
policy recommendations.
The GEA report served
as a valuable pre-reading
material for the Aspen
Institute
Conference
on “Social Inclusion –
Matching Needs and
Goals”.