ML - Aspen Peak

2014 - Issue 1 - Summer

Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak

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limousines and drive away. You have Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and [senior advi- sor to President Obama] Valerie Jarrett wandering around, bumping into each other, and having a conversation. That's really only happening in a place like Aspen." This cross-pollination is part of the festival's success. The week is split into two four-day ses- sions, and attendees go to lectures, presentations, debates, and panel discussions—from morning until late at night—covering a variety of critical issues, from the economy and health to politics and the environment. In between sessions, these same patrons and experts get a chance for inti- mate conversation. Kitty Boone, who oversees the festival for the Aspen Institute, recalls how Nobel Prize winner and physicist Murray Gell- Mann sat down with oncologist and author Dr. David Agus in 2009. During their chat, they started to talk about cancer as a complex system, and it was a pivotal moment for Agus, who shifted his entire approach and research afterward. Everyone from Bill Clinton to Yo-Yo Ma has been a part of Ideas Fest. Each year, the goal is to get the top experts in presenting fields to discuss their pressing issues. Last year, US Supreme Court Associate Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan covered American politics, while astronomy leaders gave stargazing lessons on top of Aspen Mountain. Notables of this year's lineup include British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Robert De Niro, actor and cofounder, Tribeca Film Festival; Drew Faust, president, Harvard University; Newt Gingrich, former US speaker of the House; Penny Pritzker, secretary, US Department of Commerce; Judith Rodin, president, Rockefeller Foundation; journalist Maria Shriver; screenwriter, producer, and play- wright Aaron Sorkin; and Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers. "The opportunity for adults to go back to school and actually learn with the experts who are driving decisions and really thinking about this every day is something we don't get any- PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL (HUFFINGTON); COURTESY OF THE ASPEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (ELLI'S) FROM TOP: Elli's building in 1949, when it served as the housing center for the Goethe Bicentennial and Music Festival; Arianna Huffington and Madeleine Albright together at the Aspen Ideas Festival campus. continued from page 86 " Even if it doesn't lead to a specifi c project, the sharing of ideas is more interesting than sitting at home watching reality shows on TV." WALTER ISAACSON more," says Boone. More than 4,000 people attend Ideas Fest events, including pass holder-only lectures and public ticketed events, like those held at Belly Up Aspen or Hotel Jerome. This networking into the community is what Boone cites as one of the fes- tival's larger successes. Besides expanding within Aspen, the festival has branched out with festivals in New York City and Washington, DC, along with 12 smaller events led by the Bezos Scholars, who are high- school students wh o attend Ideas Fest and return to their communities with actionable goals. Additionally, there are concrete results like the Franklin Project: At an afternoon conversation in 2012, General Stanley McChrystal, former com- mander of US Forces in Afghanistan, called for a large-scale national corps; within a year, a nation- wide campaign aimed at creating 1 million civilian service opportunities had been launched. But when it comes to successful partnerships and endeavors from Ideas Fest, nobody is keep- ing score, Isaacson notes. "There is value in the sharing of ideas and intellectual discussion for its own sake,'' he says. "Even if it doesn't lead to a specific project, the sharing of ideas is more interesting than sitting at home watching reality shows on TV." Aspen Ideas Festival, June 24–July 3, Aspen Meadows campus, 845 Meadows Road, 970-925-7010; aspenideas.org AP 88 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM HAUTE HERITAGE 086-088_AP_SC_HauteHeritage_SUM_FALL_14.indd 88 5/6/14 3:25 PM

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