Founded in 2006, Aspen Institute Romania is part of the international network of like-minded Aspen Institutes around the world. Aspen Institute Romania’s work is structured for more than 17 years on three main pillars of activities: Leadership, Policy, and Public Programs and events. These varied Aspen programs are unparalleled in Romania and the neighbouring region, supporting the Institute’s mission to foster values-based leadership.

The Aspen Institute Romania is a prime organization within the Romanian Non-Governmental sector, providing support and know-how to all major stakeholders (government officials, business leaders, academia, and civil society representatives) involved in the decision-making at a strategic level. Its main objective 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. It achieves this through:

Leadership Programs: Within these programs, leaders from different fields are challenged to think more critically and deeply about the good society, thereby deepening knowledge, broadening perspectives, and enhancing their capacity to solve the problems leaders face. The Aspen Leadership Programs aim to provide a better understanding of values-based leadership to public, private, and civil society leaders, increasing their ability to identify and manage challenges, committing to promote the values of “the Good Society” through the way they lead in the future. The AIR network of Leadership Programs Fellows and Alumni comprises over a thousand extraordinary individuals from more than 40 different nations, all age groups, and walks of life.

Policy Programs: Through Round Tables, Workshops, and Conferences, these programs offer a platform for debate on high-interest issues facing contemporary society. Aimed at bringing together interested parties in various fields to establish structured dialogue and generate effective solutions, these programs set a standard of relevance and professionalism. The Aspen Public Policy Programs offer policy solutions to areas from foreign policy and regional security to energy, healthcare, economy, finance, good governance, or sports and culture. They seek to improve policy formation through transparent, non-partisan, evidence-based, multi-stakeholder dialogue, offering public decision-makers, private stakeholders, and representatives of the non-governmental and academic sectors an exceptional platform for reflection, aiming to reach consensus on concrete policy recommendations in Romania’s most relevant policy fields.

Public Programs & Events: The public conferences and events offer a platform to share ideas on a wide variety of key issues related, among others, to geopolitics, the future of Europe, and energy security in the Black Sea Region. The Aspen Public Programs and Events are the prime international venues in Romania and the broader region, such as the flagship Bucharest Forum, the Aspen Atlantic – Black Sea Security Forum, Aspen Energy Summit, and Aspen Healthcare Forum. These events serve as a public platform for addressing key contemporary issues in synergy with the work realized through the Public Policy Programs. Moreover, the Aspen Public Programs and Events also represent a bridge between the Aspen Institute Romania and the wider international Aspen community, which is constantly engaged in our activities.

The wide international network of Aspen Institutes includes the Aspen Institute US, Aspen Italia, Aspen France, Aspen Germany, Aspen Spain, Aspen Central Europe, Aspen Kyiv, Aspen UK, Aspen Japan, Aspen India, Aspen Mexico, Aspen New Zealand, Aspen Institute Africa Initiative, and Aspen Colombia.