Mission

Founded in 1950, the Aspen Institute has a twofold mission: 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. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: 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; young-leader fellowships around the globe, which bring a selected class of proven leaders together; policy programs, which serve as nonpartisan forums for analysis, consensus building, and problem solving; and public conferences and events, which provide a commons for people to share ideas.