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The Aspen Institute Romania was set up at the end of 2005 by a group of political and business leaders who believed that Romania had reached a point in its economic and civic development as well as achieving a significant level of integration within the world of democracies to benefit from the Aspen method and Aspen values. Aspen Institute Romania was welcomed into the Aspen International Network in August 2006, and launched in Romania on December 18th 2006.

Mission
Aspen Romania looks 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. It does that through a series of objectives:
 * Leadership: To harness individual potential and leadership in the context of EU accession and beyond;
 * Dialogue: To set a new standard of informed and informal policy debate in Romania through selective membership and values-oriented contributions;
 * Entrepreneurship: To increase the efficiency of the Romanian business sector and its ability to succeed in global markets;
 * Regional Stability: To use Romania's geopolitical position to promote Aspen values in the region and to develop a regional young leaders' network

Policy programs
The 4 permanent Policy programs that AIR is developing are the Economic Policy Program, the Technology, Information and Society Program, the Healthcare Reform Program and the Foreign Policy and Strategy Group. Besides these, through Round Tables, Conferences, Book Launches and Workshops these the Institute facilitates debate on high interest issues facing contemporary society especially in the light of Romania’s membership in the European Union.


 * The Aspen Economic Policy Program is created to significantly shape and ensure a better outcome for the economic policymaking process in Romania, focusing on three transversal areas: workforce policies, financing and entrepreneurship, infrastructure planning and forecast. The program will be using input from a comprehensive project community of private and public sector decision-makers.
 * Technology, Information and Society Policy Program has as objectives to identify the ways (necessary conditions, policies, instruments) in which the IT&C sector can develop into a true engine of growth - but also identify and harness the benefits of the societal impact of technological advancement. Creating a program community by joining major international corporations in the field of IT&C active in Romania, Romanian IT companies, local champions, public regulators in the field, academic and research institutions.
 * Healthcare Reform Program uses the opportunity of the crisis and fiscal tightening to transform the healthcare system from a liability to a sustainable high quality public service and a high value added GDP contributor. To create a program community focused on creating short term conditions for a lasting reform process of the healthcare sector in Romania and the region by bringing together private and public sector organizations and decision-makers in the field.

Public Programs
Designed to address key issues of the day the set of Public Programs builds upon and dovetails in the activities under the Aspen Romania Policy Programs. It includes a variety of different activities some truly public and open to large audiences while others are more specialized and destined for smaller audiences. From open round-tables and conferences to Aspen Romania speaker series and book launches the public finds events that not only offer a glimpse into the complex policy activity of the Institute and its members but also allow for a wider promotion of its values based activity in the search of the philosophical "good society".

Leadership Programs
These include seminars which help participants reflect on what they think makes a good society, thereby deepening knowledge, broadening perspectives and enhancing their capacity to solve the problems leaders face. Also offered are young-leader fellowships for successful private, civic, academic and public sectors representatives from Romania and its region; the Aspen Romania Young Leaders Program brings a selected class of proven leaders together for an intense annual formative program and a long term commitment. The fellows become better leaders and apply their skills to significant challenges operating in coordination with the AGLN established by Aspen Institute; also offered are short term regional policy seminars on topics of high relevance for Romania's extended neighborhood esp. the Balkans and the Black Sea regions, together with a leadership program dedicated especially to Romanian Justice and Administration young leaders aged 25 to 40.

The participants base their discussion on a selection of readings from authors who have over the centuries discoursed on the concepts of liberty, equality, community and efficiency in their societies. The discussion is guided by skilled moderators familiar with the readings.
 * Young Leaders Program is designed with a clear two-fold goal: to promote and advance progressive leadership within Romanian and European society and to create a regional network of young future leaders based on shared values and common interests. The Program is designed for people who have the potential, interest and determination to exercise leadership to the highest standards of civic and corporate responsibility and according to the ethical values on which Aspen is based. For this reason the program challenges people to think about the fundamental concepts on which our society is founded. It also makes participants reflect to the challenges and conflicts that leaders must face in deciding polices and strategies for their organizations and their communities in today's world. The Program addresses young people between the ages of 25 and 35 having achieved significant professional positions and accomplished results within their area of activity. Candidates should have demonstrated leadership potential, a record of initiative and entrepreneurship and a proven civic interest. Candidates can come from: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
 * Aspen Romania Seminar provides the opportunity for a philosophical debate on the concepts and values shaping modern society and their relevance to the realities of modern Romania.
 * Regional Seminars are hybrids in that they combine traditional Aspen-style moderated seminars with recent and topical text-based readings with moderation by distinguished subject-matter experts. The Aspen Institute Romania's Regional Seminar aims to build a culture of dialogue and facilitate networking among people with leadership abilities in the business/public sector elites in the European neighborhood. It aims at exposing them to universal values and free exchange of ideas and building bridges between people who may have divergent interests/views by discussing topics of shared interest. The Regional Seminar is designed to provide emerging leaders with access to values and ethics-based learning on contemporary topics, and to a diverse network of professionals, with the objective of enhancing their lives, careers, and contributions to society.
 * Justice and Administration Leadership Program is designed with a clear two-fold goal: to promote and advance progressive leadership within Romanian and European Justice and Administration sectors; and to make the best of the tested Aspen method in order to instill a greater sense of responsibility towards fundamental ethical issues in fields critical to deliver public goods in Romania and its region. The program addresses young professionals in public and private sector related to justice and administration.