From our beginnings as a place for deep reflection on human values to our evolution as a global convener of changemakers, the Aspen Institute has long believed that leadership begins with reflection—and grows through connection, curiosity, and action. Our legacy is rooted in fostering dialogue, developing values-driven individuals, and advancing solutions that strengthen communities and create new possibilities for a better world. |
Our leadership programs cultivate networks of principled leaders who bring insight and action to their organizations and communities. We convene experts, students, emerging leaders, and engaged members of the public to reflect, connect, and exchange ideas that matter. This month, we’re highlighting several offerings open to the public. If you're looking to deepen your leadership and make sense of today’s rapidly changing world, consider joining one of our public seminar programs or events below. 💭 The Socrates Program hosts seminars that provide stimulating dialogue, values-based introspection, and dynamic debate that serve to enhance participants’ leadership capabilities. This summer's conversations will explore questions like: Is punishment a just response to harm? Will artificial intelligence (AI) bring a new enlightenment or digital despotism? How does propaganda shape our world? Apply today to participate in a summer Socrates Seminar. 📚 Aspen Leadership Seminars challenge individuals to think more deeply, listen more attentively, and refine their ability to lead in an increasingly complex and conflicting world. Rooted in the Aspen Method of Leadership Development, the small, intimate cohorts probe into enduring questions of ethical and effective leadership. They also offer scholarships designed to provide financial assistance to individuals whose organizations may face financial constraints. Apply today for the transformational experience that is the Aspen Executive Seminar on Leadership, Values, and the Good Society. 📝 Our programs aren't just for leaders in the C-suite. Aspen Community Programs offers its Teen Socrates Seminar for 15 to 17-year-olds in the winter, spring, and fall each year, where high school students can enhance their leadership, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills in a setting conducive to thought and fellowship. Registration is currently open for the Virtual Teen Socrates taking place from May 12-15, open to students from around the country who want to get involved with the Aspen Institute. 🧠 For students living in the Roaring Fork Valley, Aspen Community Programs offers two Hurst Student Seminars: High School Great Ideas for 10th-grade students and Middle School Great Ideas for 8th-grade students. Each four-day seminar challenges students with text-based dialogue to think more analytically and deeply about their values, choices, and ideas—and those that make the good society. Learn more and apply for one of their programs. The Aspen Institute was founded on the conviction that a better society requires better leaders who are more self-aware, more self-correcting, and more humane. We hope you'll join us in pursuit of a better world. |
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 | Leadership Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Ceremony April 17, 2025 Virtual |
| | | Who sets the standard in community colleges? Tune in for the livestreamed announcement of the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence—awarded by the College Excellence Program every two years to honor institutions achieving outstanding and improving student outcomes, and share their strategies across the field. |
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| Arts & Culture 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony April 23, 2025 New York, NY / Virtual |
| | | Join us for the Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony, moderated by journalist and critic Bilal Qureshi, as we celebrate fiction that illuminates vital contemporary issues and showcases the power of literature to transform culture. |
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| Economic Opportunity Working and Homeless in America: A Book Talk with Brian Gladstone April 30, 2025 Virtual |
| | | If full-time work is no longer enough to keep a roof over one’s head, what does that say about the promise of economic opportunity in the U.S.? Join the Economic Opportunities Program’s Maureen Conway and journalist Brian Goldstone as they discuss his new book, “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America,” illuminating the rise of the “working homeless” through the stories of five families in Atlanta. |
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| Rising Generations Rising Generations Summit June 7, 2025 Washington, DC
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| | | On June 7, the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations is bringing together 100+ young changemakers from across the country for a high-impact, solutions-driven experience to connect, collaborate, and build the skills needed to turn their ideas into real change. Young people aged 14 to 18 who are ready to lead are encouraged to apply by April 18 and join the Rising Generations movement! |
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| In Focus: Igniting Leadership |
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| Arica Gonzalez founded The Urban Oasis in West Baltimore, transforming a once vacant lot in her neighborhood into a social and cultural hub “forged by the strength of community.” Gonzalez also works with Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute, helping inspire others to weave a new, more inclusive social fabric where they live. In the latest episode of In Session, Gonzalez shares lessons learned on what it means to lead in community and learn from the people you are leading.
Leadership is at the heart of our collective future. We’re exploring the many dimensions of effective leaders and leadership through our In Focus Series on “Igniting Leadership." |
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| Leadership Meet the 2025 Healthy Communities Fellows |
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| Rising Generations A Strong Vision for Native Youth |
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| Leadership Understanding the Power of System Catalysts |
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| Leadership Tackling the World's Most Intractable Problems |
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| Rising Generations At the annual Project Play Summit in Berkeley, CA, the Luka Doncic Foundation and the Aspen Institute announced a partnership to help drive structural change in youth basketball. |
Climate & Energy This Is Planet Ed, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program, partnered with The Nature Conservancy and youth leaders to produce a Youth Climate Action Toolkit, providing students with the strategies and resources to advance local climate action, Big Deal Media reported. |
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