1. insights&ideas
WHAT’S NEW AND WHAT’S NEWS AT THE INSTITUTE
CHINA ON THE RISE
Bill & Melinda
The Aspen Strategy Group’s (ASG) 26th annual summer workshop in Aspen tackled
Gates Foundation
one of the most prominent topics in current global affairs: China’s growing influ-
co-chair Bill
ence. Former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and Harvard government
Gates, Sr.
professor Joseph Nye, both chairmen of ASG, led the group’s annual five-day event
in August on China’s regional relationships, military modernization, economic
growth, energy policy, environmental and health challenges, and popular culture.
The workshop, dubbed “China’s March in the 21st Century,” brought together top
American experts on China as well as several distinguished Chinese speakers,
including Wa n g J i s i , dean of the
School of International Studies at
Peking University, and Cui Liru, presi-
dent of the China Institutes of Contem-
porary International Relations. Several
members of Congress and current and
recent administration officials, includ-
ing State Department counselor Philip
Zelikow and former Deputy Secretary
of State Robert Zoellick, also took part
G I V E S M A RTER
Alex Irvin
— and were also on hand to offer a spe-
Just after billionaire Warren Buffett cial discussion session on the Middle Wang Jisi, dean of the School of Inter national
made news worldwide by pledging East as violence erupted there. Studies at Peking University, in Aspen
almost $40 billion to the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, the Insti-
tute’s Nonprofit Sector and Philan-
thropy Program held its inaugural
Global Philanthropy Forum for Inter-
national Donors in Aspen in July.
The forum began with remarks by
Gates foundation co-chair Bill Gates,
Sr. on the mega-gift’s impact on the
Ed Freeman/Getty Images
foundation and on philanthropy in
general. Then the group of 25 indi-
vidual donors, foundation executives,
and family foundation trustees
explored theoretical and practical
challenges, probing philanthropic
New Frontier For Chinese Business
motivations and ambitions with read-
ings by Aristotle, Robert Hayden, As China’s private sector balloons, businesses are increasingly responsible for aspects
Philip Gourevitch, and others. of the country’s social welfare. But China’s businesses have no experience providing
Designed with the Global Philan- services such as health care or environmental protection, so China could face massive
thropy Forum of the World Affairs social challenges. Enter Chinese MBA students, who could play a major role in facing
Council, the forum also included ses- those challenges. To help them, the Institute’s Business and Society Program is join-
sions with Institute trustee and Roll ing Chinese business schools, the Chinese private sector, and international partners
International Corp. vice chair Lynda to launch a major initiative in late 2006 urging the development of MBA curricula that
R e s n i c k and FasterCures chair address social issues. Chinese NGOs will lend business schools their insights and
Michael Milken, who both shared experience around these concerns, and international corporations and Chinese busi-
ideas for becoming more strategic ness leaders will kick off what are likely to be groundbreaking discussions on the
and effective philanthropists. topic. For more information, contact Rich.Leimsider@aspeninst.org.
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2. insights&ideas
Jose
Cisneros
TEACHABLE
ENERGY
MOMENT?
Is the era of cheap and plentiful energy over? The annual Aspen Energy Policy
Forum in July concluded that current high-and-climbing prices are creating a
“teachable moment” on the foreign policy and climate consequences of energy
use — which could, among other results, invigorate efforts for increased energy
SAVINGS
efficiency and conservation. “History is not simply repeating itself,” said forum
chair Phil Sharp, president of Resources for the Future. “There is major new com-
R O U N D TA B L E S
petition for oil and gas supplies from the developing world, especially China, and
HIT THE ROAD
we must limit greenhouse gas emissions. There is heavy lifting ahead.” For more
information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/eee.
Savings rates in America have
declined at an alarming rate. In
InnovationHappen? response, the Institute’s Initiative on
How Does Financial Security (IFS) and the
Global Markets Institute at Gold-
Some of the most exciting innovation in business is happening where financial, man Sachs have teamed up to host a
social, and environmental objectives intersect. At the “First Movers: Next Steps” national series of roundtables with
workshop in early November, hosted by the Institute’s Business and Society Pro- local leaders, moderated by IFS
gram, executives who have pioneered this kind of innovation will dissect their suc- executive director Lisa Mensah and
cesses while the leadership professionals work to distill lessons from their stories — Goldman Sachs Vice Chairman
ideally arriving at ways to replicate them in the future. They will meet in Chicago Suzanne Nora Johnson. At the first,
and start by touring designer Bruce Mau’s Massive Change: The Future of Global held in San Francisco in May, the
Design show at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, an experience designed city’s treasurer, Jose Cisneros, spoke
Nora Feller
to spark fresh thinking about the social and environmental risks and opportunities about innovative local programs to
just over the horizon. encourage savings and investment.
In June in Jackson, Mississippi, Gov-
McCain Weighs In ernor Haley Barbour and former
Governor William Winter discussed
saving and investing in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. At the third
On July 1, the Institute and the Aspen Music Festival co-
roundtable, in Atlanta, Mayor
hosted “Words and Music,” featuring Institute trustee and
Shirley Franklin focused on new fed-
former presidential advisor David Gergen interviewing US
erally sponsored child savings
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), as well as a concert by stu-
accounts in the UK: “If there was a
dents of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Gergen and
way to learn the value of saving at an
McCain discussed the war in Iraq, Social Security, immi-
earlier age, jump-started by a pro-
gration, global warming, creationism and more, and the
gram like those, I think we would be
event was followed by a benefit dinner hosted by Socrates
able to move our residents a lot more
founders Laura and Gary Lauder. Attended by nearly 350
quickly and more satisfactorily
guests, the dinner raised $90,000 for the Socrates Society
through the next stages of life: col-
Endowment Fund and the Aspen Institute Seminar Schol-
lege, technical school, entrepre-
arship Fund — and featured Senator McCain, who took
neurship, and ultimately, wealth
questions from CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer.
building and homeownership.”
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3. insights&ideas
CHINA SEMINAR PROBES
Nationalism
ANCIENT AND MODERN
vs. In September, two dozen people joined Institute moderators, China scholars, and
Globalization? American and British expatriate journalists and businesspeople for a week’s explo-
ration of the culture, contradictions, and challenges of contemporary China. The
Globalization is an unstop- Institute’s first seminar overseas in many years stuck with the traditional Aspen
pable force. Or is it? Nation- approach of moderated discussion of important texts: Participants began with an
alism, in many ways, puts exploration of classical Confucian and Taoist values then moved to more modern
the brakes on globalization texts, primarily by Chinese authors, about Chinese culture, politics, economics and
— especially when nations foreign policy. They spent mornings in the seminar room and afternoons watching
block cross-border mergers a film, visiting contemporary art galleries, and exploring key ancient and modern
and acquisitions and region- sites. They talked with Chinese officials and were joined throughout by Sidney
alism reigns. The impact of Rittenberg, an American who is legendary in China for knowing six decades of
this tension was a hot topic Chinese leaders and spending 16 years Chinese prisons (10 in solitary confine-
at the Program on the World ment) on false spying and other charges. They visited the political, historic and cul-
Economy’s annual confer- tural capital Beijing; the gleaming, towering economic miracle of Shanghai; and
ence in Aspen in August. The the famed Huangshan Mountain (or Yellow Mountain, in Anhui Province) which
program, which is co-chaired is iconic in Chinese art and represents the still-vital philosophical and spiritual tra-
by E . G e r a l d C o r r i g a n of dition of “harmony.” Elliot Gerson, EVP of Seminars and Public Programs, who
G o l d m a n S a c h s a n d W. organized the seminar with the expertise of Henry Crown Fellow and China resi-
Bowman Cutter of Warburg dent Joshua Cooper Ramo, said it was so successful that the Institute would con-
Pincus, convened a cross- tinue to offer overseas seminars in the future, with a seminar on modern India
section of officials from 15 already being planned for October 2007. Based on the extraordinary response,
countries, including National Gerson said that the China seminar will repeat next fall and perhaps annually
Bureau of Economic thereafter if interest exists.
Research President and CEO Those interested in future seminars abroad — including one on climate change and
rainforest ecology in Brazil in spring 2008 — should contact Charlene Costello at
M a r t i n F e l d s t e i n , Mexican
charlene.costello@aspeninstitute.org or (410) 820-5374.
Finance Minister F r a n c i s c o
Gil-Díaz, and Malcolm Knight,
general manager of the Bank
for International Settlements
Study in contrasts: China Seminar
in Switzerland. participants pose before Shanghai’s
skyline and Huangshan Mountain
19
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4. insights&ideas
Educating the World’s Girls
The Council of Women World Leaders, an Institute partnership, launched
its Girls’ Education Initiative in Washington, DC in June. Led by former
President of Ireland Mary Robinson, chair of the Council, the group of
national and international education experts discussed girls’ access to and
success in education, focusing specifically on collaboration between the aca-
demic and government communities, public-private partnerships in educa-
tion, and sustainable long-term planning. The launch was held in partner-
ship with the World Economic Forum Women Leaders Programme and
Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Women’s
Leadership Board. Future work in the Initiative will include convening a net-
work of Women Ministers of Education to share experiences and lessons.
Foreign
A Well-Connected Group
Policy The annual FORTUNE-Aspen Institute Brainstor m brought 250 invited exec-
Balancing utives, technology innovators, government officials, and other leaders to the
Institute’s Aspen Meadows campus in late June. Centered on the theme “Life
Act in a Connected World,” the three-day conference focused on technology and
its impact now and in the future, specifically looking at how the new connect-
edness changes business, society, culture, and daily life around the world. Vari-
The interplay between defense,
ations on this theme cov-
diplomacy, and development assis-
ered subjects as diverse as
tance in the US foreign policy arena is
green technologies; Japan’s
complex — think post-conflict
rising influence; entertain-
Afghanistan or Lebanon — but criti-
ment in the digital age; and
cal to how the US operates in the
why a cure for cancer
world. The Institute’s Global Interde-
remains elusive despite
pendence Initiative (GII) hosted a
technological break-
retreat in mid-May with a diverse
throughs, with champion
array of participants to consider how
cyclist and activist Lance
to get the right balance of these for-
Ar mstrong and other pan-
eign policy tools. The mix included
e l i s t s . S p e ci a l g u e s t s
Lieutenant General B o b W o o d ,
included President of El
Oxfam America president R a y
Salvador E l í a s A n t o n i o
Offenheiser, former USAID director
Saca, Former US Supreme
Andrew Natsios, the first Director of
Court Justice Sandra Day
Foreign Assistance, Ambassador
O’Connor, and Sen. John
R a n d a l l To b i a s , and S t e p h e n
McCain (R-AZ), who
K r a s n e r , the State Department’s
closed the confab.
director of Policy Planning. The
resulting documents, already inform-
ing the administration’s foreign assis-
tance reform efforts, will serve as the
L a n c e A r m s t ro n g i n A s p e n a t t h e
basis for a discussion at the next in B r a i n s t o r m c o n f e r ence
Nora Feller
the series of GII’s “Effective Aid,
Effective Advocacy” meetings.
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5. insights&ideas
Nigerian talk show host and ALI
fellow Funmi Iyanda and Silicon Valley
e x e c u t i v e a n d H e n r y Cro w n F e l l o w
P e t e r H i r s h b e rg j o i n e d t h e F o r um on
Gr e g B e h r m a n , “ F u t u r e o f
Communications and Society in August
E u ro p e ” m o d e r a t o r a n d
Institute Henry Kissinger
New Media
Fellow, with for mer Secretar y
of State Henry Kissinger
Good or Bad News?
FUTURE FOCUS At the Forum on Communica-
tions and Society in Aspen in
In May the Institute and The Atlantic magazine launched “The Future of...” August, reps from both main-
series of panel discussions and receptions for some 75 invited experts, business stream and emerging media out-
leaders and policymakers. The first two installments, held in May and June in lets weighed the societal benefits
New York City, focused on Europe. The May panel, moderated by The Atlantic’s and drawbacks of new ways in
Clive Crook, featured former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Jean-Philippe which information is delivered.
Cotis of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Develop- The group of 30 — which
ment, and John Peet of The Economist. The June panel, moderated by the Insti- ranged from Time Editor in
tute’s Henry Kissinger Fellow for Foreign Policy Greg Behrman, featured former Chief J i m K e l l y to Craigslist
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and John Bruton, EU Ambassador to the founder Craig Newmark to inter-
United States, and covered foreign policy and security. The series will continue national policy experts —
with a look at China. explored the blogosphere’s
impact on the delivery of news
and the growth of brands, the
impact of modern media on
WELCOME FAMILY global issues, and the media’s
TO THE role in a democracy. The forum,
a project of the Institute’s Com-
In the fall, the Institute’s family got a little bigger, thanks to the com- munications and Society Pro-
gram, was co-chaired by former
munity that surrounds our Aspen Wye River Campus near the Chesa-
Broadcasting Board of Governors
peake Bay on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The Institute formally
chairman Marc Nathanson and
launched the Aspen Wye Fellows, a donor group modeled after the
former FCC Chairman R e e d
Society of Fellows (see page 34 for details on that group) that will help
Hundt. Two Africa Leadership
support the Institute’s operations and have access to activities in
Initiative Fellows, Ghanaian
Aspen, Washington, DC, and elsewhere — as well as a growing lineup
BBC World correspondent
of events at the Aspen Wye River campus. To welcome them, Institute
Kwaku Sakyi Addo and Nigerian
trustee Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan spoke to an audience of talk-show host F u n m i I y a n d a
founding Aspen Wye Fellows in October. For more information, visit (pictured above), also took part.
www.aspeninstitute.org/aspenwyefellows.
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6. insights&ideas
Goes Global
MicroMentor
MicroMentor, a project of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities program,
was founded in 2002 as an online mentoring project to reach ultra-small-
Dan Bayer
scale entrepreneurs in California. Within two years, the program took off
and went national. Now, thanks to a recent agreement with Mercy Corps,
the program will expand globally. MicroMentor caught the attention of the
Socrates Society par ticipants in Aspen in July
international humanitarian relief and development agency, which supports
A Decade of microenterprise development in the US and overseas, with its innovative
Socrates use of technology to deliver crucial expertise to emerging entrepreneurs,
wherever they are located. Mercy Corps will soon begin adding staff and
resources to MicroMentor domestically and internationally, in the 40 devel-
July marked the 10th anniversary of
oping countries where the agency already has a presence as well as others.
the Socrates Society Forum for young
To learn more, visit www.micromentor.org.
leaders, an Institute program that
offers dynamic, civic-minded young
professionals three-day seminars on
complex current issues. It was the
best-attended session since the pro-
gram’s inception, selling out five con-
current seminars on topics from the
media and the future of cyberspace to
globalization and America’s role in
the world, internet innovation, and
the role of the Bible in modern life.
BACK BY
POPULAR DEMAND
The first Socrates Society semi-
nar at the Institute’s Wye River
campus, held in October 2005,
Upward Mobility
was so successful that it returns
January 12–14, 2007. Like last
year, 12 members of the public
will mix with 12 Senate staffers
With two billion mobile phones in use worldwide, mobile connectivity has
(equal parts Democrat and
morphed from a luxury to a necessity — consider farmers in Bangladesh who
Republican) for three days of
auction their crops on a Craigslist-style service on their cell phones, or govern-
moderated dialogue on modern
ment officials who rely on daily text messages to monitor infectious diseases.
bioethical dilemmas such as
These represent only a fraction of the possibilities unleashed by the convergence
those involving genetics, vac-
of wireless technologies and the internet. At the Communications and Society
cines, and embryos. Dr. Ezekiel
Program’s Roundtable on Information Technology, held in August in Aspen,
Emanuel, chair of the Depart-
tech experts, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and academics weighed in on the
ment of Clinical Bioethics at the
profound changes ahead — the most significant of which may be the emergence
Warren G. Magnuson Clinical
of a whole new category of businesspeople in the US and the developing world.
Center at the National Institutes
“All of a sudden, you’re expanding the range of groups that can communicate,”
of Health, will moderate. To
said James Manyika, a partner at McKinsey & Co. and leader of the firm’s high-
participate, visit
tech practice. “You’re making it possible for new economic activity to take place.”
w w w.aspeninstitute.org/socrates.
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7. insights&ideas
Timely Talk
TOASTING LEADERSHIP
on Torture
The 2006 Fall Awards Dinner takes
Va c l a v H a v e l
place on November 1 at the Rainbow
For the first time ever, each of the
Room in New York City. At the event, Institute’s two July Justice and Soci-
the Institute honors V á c l a v H a v e l , ety Seminars included a special
former President of the Czech Repub- afternoon session on torture. The
participants — judges, lawyers, US
lic, with its Global Leadership Award
prison officials, legal scholars, and
and Goldman Sachs with its Corporate
others — focused on two questions:
Leadership Award. Proceeds benefit
What are the risks to our society of
the Institute’s programs. affirming the absolute prohibition
on torture as embedded in both
For photos from the event, visit
U.S. and international law? What
www.aspeninstitute.org
are the risks of accepting torture,
even in limited and limiting cir-
cumstances? The readings included
essays by political theorist Michael
W a l z e r , Human Rights Watch
Senior Legal Advisor James Ross,
and Harvard human rights scholar
M i c h a e l I g n a t i e ff .
Wall of Honor
On August 5th, members of the
Institute Board of Trustees gathered
to remember four people who have
helped make the Institute what it is
Ken Cedeno
today: Muriel Hoffman, trustee of
STEEL TO SERVE TREASURY the Henry and Gladys Crown Char-
The Senate confirmation process began in September for Institute board chairman itable Trust, who helped found and
Robert K. Steel, who was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as under- support the Henry Crown Fellow-
secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance. Steel was approved by the Senate ship Program; diplomat and former
and officially sworn into office on October 10. Steel is pictured above at his Septem- Institute Vice President Christopher
ber 21 hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, with his wife, Gillian, and Makins; and trustees John McNulty
Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. and Phil Merrill. In a solemn dedica-
tion ceremony on the Koch Patio on
the Aspen Meadows campus, the
They Know It When They See It group heard tributes to each — by
outgoing Institute Chairman Bill
Teens aged 13 to 18 tackled the First Amendment at the Teen
Mayer, Henry Crown Program
Socrates Seminar in Aspen in early July. Using Socratic dialogue
Executive Director Keith Berwick,
and critical thinking, they explored the history of the amendment
incoming Chairman Bob Steel, and
and the boundaries of free speech in a democracy. Teen Socrates Berl Bernhard, respectively —
will convene again over Presidents’ Day Weekend in 2007. beneath a memorial wall newly
adorned with their names.
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8. insights&ideas
RODEL NAMES SECOND CLASS
The With the first class of the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership halfway through its
Entrepreneurial two-year series of seminars, the program selected its second class in September. The new Fellows —
12 Republicans and 12 Democrats, chosen through a nomination process that involved more than
Spirit 1,400 business, professional, and civic leaders and an advisory committee of some 50 political leaders
— will start with a seminar in Aspen in early December.
With their addition, the Rodel Program, led by director and former Oklahoma Congressman
In July, the Institute and Mickey Edwards, now totals 48 public-office holders from 34 states, all of whom were no older than
45 at the time of their selection and have reputations for intelligence, thoughtfulness, and a will-
NewSchools Venture Fund
ingness to work in a bipartisan way. “The Rodel program has far exceeded its goal in attracting the
launched Entrepreneurship in
very best,” says Edwards.
Public Education, a new proj-
ect supported through a major 2006 Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellows
three-year grant from E*Trade, State Rep. Rafael Anchia State Dianne Jones, criminal court Judge, Texas
whose founder and chief Mitch Representative, Texas State Sen. Ellen Karcher New Jersey
Andre Bauer, Lt. Governor, South Carolina State Rep. Leah Landrum Taylor, Arizona
Kaplan has championed the
Lynette Boggs McDonald, County State Sen. Chuck Larson, Nebraska
initiative. It aims to promote Commissioner, Nevada Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Illinois
State Rep. Laura Brod, Assistant Majority Jack Markell, State Treasurer, Delaware
more entrepreneurial
Leader, Minnesota Deb Markowitz, Secretary of State, Vermont
approaches to tackling the Adolfo Carrion, Bronx Borough President, Rob McKenna, Attorney General,
nation’s education challenges New York Washington
Jeff Cloud, Oklahoma Corporation Todd Rokita, Secretary of State, Indiana
as well as the teaching of
Commissioner State Sen. Andrew Roraback, Connecticut
entrepreneurship in high Eric Garcetti, President of Los Angeles Deborah Ross, State Rep. North Carolina
schools serving low-income City Council, CA State Rep. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania
Kamala Harris, San Francisco District Greg Stanton, Phoenix City Council, Arizona
communities. Attorney, California Ron Thornburgh, Secretary of State,
At the center of the project State Rep. Jon Husted, Speaker of the Kansas
House, South Carolina Darren White, Sheriff, New Mexico
is “The Gathering,” a three-
day convening of leaders from
more than two dozen organi- B i l l M a y e r a n d I n s t i t u t e E V P A m y M a r g e r um
zations working to transform at Mayer’s final meeting as board chair man
America’s public education
system from the ground up.
Representing national fun-
ders, public charter school
organizations, civic groups,
academia, professional train-
ing programs, and developers
of innovative curricula, they
worked for three days to forge
working partnerships and an
Nora Feller
overall strategy for collabora-
tion in areas of high need. “I
A FOND FAREWELL
was thrilled to see the com-
mitment this group made to
The August 2006 meeting of the Institute’s Board of Trustees marked the end of Bill
support education in New
M a y e r’s six years of service as chairman. “I could not have asked for a better partner
Orleans,” said Institute Presi-
dent and CEO Walter Isaac- in leading the Institute,” said President and CEO Walter Isaacson of Mayer. Mayer
son, vice chair of the Louisiana received many kind words and several gifts from the board and staff — including a
Recovery Authority, who took
personalized iPod (he’s an avid runner) and a vintage Aspen photograph by Ferenc
part in some of the sessions.
Berko. He also learned that the courtyard between the Paepcke and Koch buildings
on the Institute’s Aspen Meadows campus would be named in his honor.
27
THE ASPEN IDEA
WINTER 2006/2007

9. insights&ideas
SAVE THE DATE
Par ticipants in the June Racial Equity
The Aspen Health
Seminar take it outside
Forum
October 3–6, 2007:
Scientists, doctors, policymakers,
global health advocates,
investors, and interested lay
people are invited to explore the
cutting edge of modern medi-
cine, from lifesaving new tech-
nologies to how science is tack-
ling the most critical issues in
global health. The Aspen Health
Forum will feature major talks
Young People, Old Problem and panel discussions plus in-
depth, interactive sessions for
How are today’s young people affected by racism, and what can we do to stop it? The small groups, with overarching
Institute’s Roundtable on Community Change helped leaders in youth development topics such as cancer, nutrition,
from seven cities look for answers in two different Racial Equity seminars in June in
chronic disease, and global pan-
Aspen. Representing city boards of education, local departments of youth services,
demics. For more information,
city councils, regional and national media outlets, and grassroots youth organizations,
visit w w w.aspeninstitute.org/
the participants worked together through dialogue, group exercises, and informal con-
health.
versations about policies, practices and stereotypes — both historical and contempo-
rary — that contribute to racial disparities between youth and within their own organ-
izations. As part of their final exercise, participants identified a racial equity goal for
their organization or community and devised a strategy for achieving it.
ROUNDTABLE
SERIES RESTARTS
“No Child” Gr o u p P r eps for ’07 Former special envoy to the
Middle East Dennis Ross of the
At press time, the Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind — chaired
Washington Institute for Near
by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and for-
East Policy kicked off the Aspen
mer Georgia Governor Roy Barnes — had heard from a total of more than 50
educators, education leaders, and government officials at six hearings around Roundtable Series in Washing-
the country. It had also received more than 5,000 varied critiques of the NCLB ton, DC in September, followed
act through its web site. The in October by security expert
Commission, created to Ashton Car t e r, Ford Founda-
assess the efficacy of the No tion Professor of Science and
Child Left Behind Act, will
International Affairs at Harvard’s
continue to gather the testi-
Kennedy School of Govern-
mony and deliberate
ment. The monthly discussion
through the year’s end. It
series, sponsored by Daimler
aims to deliver its formal
Chrysler and focused on critical
recommendations for
foreign policy issues, continues
amendments and revisions
through June. For in-depth cov-
to the act to Congress by
NCLB Commission chairs Roy Bar nes and Tommy
early 2007, when the act is erage of the discussions, includ-
Thompson and Dr. James Pughsley, a commissioner,
slated for renewal. ing streaming video, visit www.
at an August hearing on the education act in Cambridge,
Massachusetts
aspeninstitute.org/audiovideo.
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10. insights&ideas
The Home
Stretch
The Doerr-Hosier Center, the
ambitious new meeting hall on the Insti-
tute’s Aspen Meadows campus, is near-
ing completion. Building began in late “Stone River”
p a t rons
2005, and throughout the summer visi-
B r yan and
tors to the Institute’s campus could see June Zwan
the form develop, from bare steel girders “Stone River” with the Doerr-Hosier Center in the
Dan Bayer
to walls, roofs, terraces, and walkways. b a c k g ro u n d , i n S e p t e m b e r
Combining elements of modernism with
inspiration from the natural world and
The Artist at Work
Eastern philosophy and design, it will
explore new architectural terrain in a At press time, British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy and his team were putting the fin-
style architect Jeff Berkus has dubbed ishing touches on “Stone River,” the red sandstone serpentine wall that winds into
“dynamic modernism.” Utilizing green and through the Doerr-Hosier Center — a graceful touch for the building and an
technologies and materials to minimize artistic masterwork in its own right. The wall — representing the artist's strongest
impact and maximize efficiency, Berkus interaction with a building to date — was made possible by funding from Institute
and the team from Shaw construction supporters Bryan and June Zwan.
are striving to make the center “green” in Goldsworthy had worked with architects previously, including Doerr-Hosier
all ways possible. It is slated for comple- architect Jeff Berkus, but never in such a fully integrated capacity — an opportunity
tion in January 2007, and will offer a that drew him to this project, he says. “It is unusual to have a chance to work with a
large indoor meeting space for up to 450 building right from the ground up,” says Goldsworthy. “And it’s unusual to have an
people, terraces and seminar rooms, a architect who’s enthusiastic about having an artist involved in the project from the
full event kitchen, and an Institute his- start, not just to add an artwork at the end. The wall needs the building; they work
tory room. An in-depth look at the new together.” Also, he adds, the landscape attracted him, as well as the aim of the build-
building will appear in the Summer ing and the Institute itself. “The concept of bringing people together from all around
2007 issue of The Aspen Idea. the world gave rise to the idea of this form that would come from the outside in.”
DONORS MAKE IDEA CONCRETE
Since the Doerr-Hosier Center was just a kernel of an
idea, committed trustees and other Institute friends
have stepped forward with the funds necessary to
begin, sustain and, now, complete, the project. The
Institute is grateful to the following donors, listed
alphabetically:
James L. Barksdale Jerry Hosier
Mercedes and Sid Bass Soledad and Robert Hurst
Chuck Bellock and Bill Joy
Madeleine Morrison Alex Kaufman
Nora Feller
Melva Bucksbaum and Jerry Murdock
Raymond Learsy John P. and Anne Welsh Some of the building’s major donors Gerald Hosier (left),
J e r r y M u rd o c k ( s e c o n d f ro m r i g h t ) a n d J o h n D o e r r ( r i g h t )
The Catto Charitable McNulty Foundation
M e rc e d e s ( p i c t u re d )
with Walter Isaacson (second from left), and architect Jeff
and Sid Bass pledged Foundation Lynda and Stewart Berkus (center).
a major donation in
John Doerr Resnick
August.
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WINTER 2006/2007 THE ASPEN IDEA

11. insights&ideas
CALI’s
First Grads
The inaugural class of the Central
America Leadership Initiative (CALI)
“graduated” in Antigua, Guatemala,
on July 20, after finishing its closing
seminar, the fourth in a two-year
span. The 19 CALI Fellows — from
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama
— focused on issues of legacy,
engagement, and the need for action
and discussed writings by Mark
The first CALI class announces its gift to
t h e p ro g r a m a t g r a d u a t i o n .
Twain, Oscar Wilde, Fyodor Dos-
toyevsky, and others.
They also talked about their indi-
Up and Running in West Africa… vidual leadership projects, which they
developed and implemented in their
In mid-May, 24 proven young leaders from Nigeria and Ghana gathered as the home countries as a part of their CALI
first West Africa Leadership Initiative class. These business, government, and requirements. Projects included
NGO leaders — 12 men and 12 women, 13 Ghanaians and 11 Nigerians — founding a nonprofit to eradicate mal-
spent four days in Akosombo, Ghana, overlooking picturesque Lake Volta, for the nutrition in El Salvador, promoting
first of four seminars entrepreneurship in Nicaragua, teach-
they will attend ing environmental awareness in a
together. Before the Panamanian school, and combating
seminar adjourned, violence in schools with a “Peace
each Fellow commit- Army” in Costa Rica. At a festive cer-
ted to taking specific emony hosted by CALI co-founder
action on personal, Juan Luis Bosch, the graduating group
organizational, and announced a parting gift: a pledge to
community levels and give $100,000 over the next two years
to meeting amongst to support future CALI classes.
themselves before the
next meeting in
We s t A f r i c a F e l l o w s
Liberty’s Latest
Abuja, Nigeria in
t a l k d u r i n g a b re a k a t
their first seminar
November.
The Liber ty Fellowship announced
in July that it had selected the 20
…and in India emerging South Carolina leaders
w h o w i l l c o m p r i s e i t s t h i rd class.
Some of India’s sharpest young leaders have joined the ranks of the Aspen T h e g ro u p , w h i c h w i l l “ g r a d u a t e ” i n
Global Leadership Network through the new India Leadership Initiative (ILI), a 2 0 0 8 , w a s c h o s e n b y L i b e r t y ’s
joint venture between the Aspen Institute (US), Aspen India, and the Global B o a rd o f D i re c t o r s f ro m m o re t h a n
Markets Institute of Goldman Sachs. ILI inducted 24 trailblazers from business, 100 nominees. For a list of fellows
government, and civil society between the ages of 30 and 45 into its inaugural a n d m o re i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e p ro -
class. The group, joined by eight Goldman Sachs Aspen India Fellows for its first
g r a m , v i s i t w w w. l i b e r t y f e l l o w
leadership seminar, will convene in South India’s coastal city of Goa.
s h i p s c . o r g.
30 WINTER 2006/2007
THE ASPEN IDEA

12. insights&ideas
Calling All Fellows
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Henry Crown Fellowship
Program and to christen its international offspring — the Institute’s
global leadership network — the Institute will host a convocation on
leadership for all Institute leadership initiative Fellows, from the
domestic programs to the international initiatives, in Aspen June
Nora Feller
28–30, 2007. Dubbed “Act II,” it will offer perspectives on the
McNulty
important themes of our time through a series of moderated round-
tables on issues including education, science and technology, eco-
New Global Fund nomic development and global economics, justice and human
At the annual Summer Celebration Din-
rights, health and welfare, the environment and energy, faith and
ner in Aspen, Institute trustee Anne
religion, and governance, corruption and the rule of law. It will also
Welsh McNulty announced the cre-
call on the fellows and fellowships as a collective to take specific
ation of a special fund in honor of her
actions.
late husband, trustee John P. McNulty,
who died in late 2005: The John P.
For information, contact Martha Lange at martha.lange@aspeninst.
McNulty Global Leadership Fund,
org or (805) 962-9412.
which will support the growing Aspen
Global Leadership Network.
FIRST RODEL CLASS MEETS IN NEW ORLEANS
The inaugural class of the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership met in New
Orleans — a poignant place for young political leaders to consider their values and responsibilities. The June seminar —
the group’s second of three domestic gatherings — probed the relationship between democracy, community and the indi-
vidual. Between discussion sessions, the group met with local leaders and citizens who have been “on the ground” rebuild-
ing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
One afternoon, they had a lunch briefing with top National Guard officials, followed by a specially arranged helicop-
ter tour of the area and a bus tour of the city’s devastated neighborhoods. Another day they met with Women of the
Storm, a citizens’ group that has been critical in garnering support for rebuilding. “It had a real impact on the Fellows,”
says the program’s director Mickey Edwards. “These are people who all might have to face serious problems or disasters
in their own communities, so this was an important experience.”
Lagniappe Studio
Lagniappe Studio
Colorado State Senator Jennifer Veiga and Tom Perez, president of the Nebraska Attor ney General Jonathan Br uning tours a Katrina-
M o n t g o m e r y C o u n t y C o u n c i l i n M a r y l a n d , g e t a b i rd ' s e y e v i e w o f t h e ravaged New Orleans home
K a t r i n a w re c k a g e o n a h e l i c o p t e r t o u r w i t h o t h e r R o d e l F e l l o w s .
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WINTER 2006/2007 THE ASPEN IDEA