Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Aspen Ministers Forum Session XXII – June 2018
Note: This is a past event, additional resources may be available below.
In June 2018, the Aspen Ministers Forum (AMF) gathered for its 22nd session in Versailles, France. This meeting brought together over twenty former foreign ministers and twenty renowned experts from around the world.
This AMF gathering focused on the topic of a “Global Rise of Nationalism: Realities vs. Perception.” The first half of the conference focused on differentiating the phenomenon of nationalism and populism, and the common threads and key differences of nationalist movements worldwide. The group also discussed the refugee and migration crisis and its impact on European societies and economies. Later in the gathering, the former ministers and experts deliberated on the future of multilateral institutions such as NATO and the EU and the attack on truth and reason by regimes across the globe. The final discussions of the meeting focused on the actions items that can be taken forward and the tools that can be used to combat these extreme movements.
Products from this gathering included a letter addressed to President Trump, signed by sixteen former foreign ministers, encouraging the president to reinforce the value of the transatlantic alliance and the importance of NATO. The text of that letter was reported and amplified in a Politico piece, by Bloomberg news and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
In October 2023, AMF convened in Copenhagen for its 27th session. Participants from around the world explored a variety of interconnected themes impacting the international system including emerging technologies, global power shifts, and transnational challenges.
In December 2022, the Aspen Ministers Forum convened in Prague, Czech Republic for their 26th session. The ministers focused on the themes from Secretary Albright’s final article in Foreign Affairs titled “The Coming Democratic Revival.”
In November 2019, the Aspen Ministers Forum (AMF) convened for its 25th session in Vienna, Austria. Chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, the AMF assembled former foreign ministers, top diplomats, journalists, experts and thought leaders from around the world to build on the themes discussed at the group’s 24th session at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.
On September 5-8, 2019, the third Aspen Seminar for Young European Leaders entitled “Europe, the Next Generation, Shared Values’’ took place in Annecy, France, jointly organized by the Aspen Institute France and the Aspen Institute Germany and supported by the Aspen Initiative for Europe.
This invitation-only workshop is the fifth in a global series across the Aspen Institute network of International Partners to bring together future leaders to address the impact of technology on society, hosted by Aspen France.
This session of the Aspen Ministers Forum will focus on reimagining current domestic and international institutions to face today’s pressing challenges, from climate change to globalization and the reemergence of extreme nationalism.
This session of the Aspen Ministers Forum in Marrakesh, Morocco focused on the immense transformation, challenges, and progress occurring across the African continent.
This convening of the AMF centered around the theme of “A Repositioned Europe and its Role in the World.” The conference focused on Europe’s internal trajectory as well as Europe’s external relations and how Europe can help lead an effort to reinvigorate international institutions and a rules-based international order.
The AMF held Session XX in Silicon Valley, California in November 2016 to discuss how technology can provide opportunities to rebuild and strengthen the social contract, in particular solutions through technology to address humanitarian crises.
Continuing the group’s sustained focus on international institutions and multilateralism, fifteen former foreign ministers convened at the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, New York
