This past weekend, Aspen France hosted its Executive Leadership Seminar in Annecy, bringing together leaders from business, public service, and civil society for three days of intellectual exchange and reflection.

Rooted in the Aspen tradition of dialogue between leaders from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, the seminar offered participants a space away from the pace of everyday responsibilities: a space to read, listen, question, and engage seriously with ideas. Guided by the Socratic method, participants explored fundamental questions about power, freedom, democracy, and leadership through open and rigorous conversation. They engaged with classical texts, ranging from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War to Hannah Arendt’s Ideology and Terror, including Sophocles’ Antigone.

Several questions emerged from these insightful conversations:

✨ What are the foundations of the social contract and how can they be preserved?
✨ How can democratic societies preserve freedom and political pluralism in times of uncertainty?
✨ What place and role should Europe seek for itself in an increasingly contested international order?

🙏 Our warmest thanks to Aspen Institute Leadership Seminars, to philippe manière for supervising the seminar, to Todd Breyfogle from The Aspen Institute for brilliantly guiding the discussions, to the Fondation Mérieux for welcoming us at the Centre des Pensières, and above all, to the participants for joining us for such an inspiring seminar.

We are also grateful to our colleagues across the Aspen international network for helping bring together such an international group of participants, whose diverse experiences and perspectives enriched the conversations.

Marie Anne Allier Federico Aondio Dr Christophe Bannery Erin Clark Sébastien Crozier Arthur de Moze François de Saint-Pierre Irene Del Pino Camillo Di Donato Leah Yaël Flam Ladislav F. Maria Gainar, Ph.D Mareike Hadler Amaury Hoymans Sokaina Jamraki Thomas Margenet-Baudry Caroline Paluchowska Iryna Papusha, PhD Hatice Soyal Nikola Urrutia Anne-Charlotte Vuccino

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