| Dear friends and supporters, As this challenging and unprecedented year comes to a close, I want to thank you for your continued support and interest in Aspen Ideas. Your collective enthusiasm and participation in our Digital Festival, as well as watching, listening, and reading offerings from our weekly Aspen Ideas Now dispatch, has been a wellspring of inspiration for our team. While we are buoyed by the release of COVID-19 vaccines this week, we recognize that it will be a number of months before we are able to safely gather once again on our campus in Aspen, Colo. But one silver lining of 2020 is that we were able to bring the festival to more people than ever before through digital programming, and we are so excited to put the experience we’ve gained towards a new year-round series of interactive virtual events. Here’s a snapshot of what’s to come — we hope you’ll save the dates! Aspen Ideas: RE$ET February 22–23 We will explore how to rebuild a U.S. economy in light of the pandemic and associated recession, which has laid bare inequities in our economic system. How do we rebuild an economy that works for everyone? Brought to you with our partners at Bloomberg Economics, we will share fascinating ideas from around the U.S. and some remarkable thinkers to discuss what is possible. Aspen Ideas: Health April 27-29 Health, which has opened the in-person Festival since 2014, will return in 2021 in an all-new digital format. Through inspiring conversations with leaders, experts, out-of-the-box thinkers, and journalists, the event will explore the big ideas and bold approaches re-shaping the future of health and health care in the U.S. and around the globe. June 27–30, 2021 The June festival will incorporate four nights of digital programming with new interactive sessions introduced during the day. The overarching theme will be “American Futures,” exploring issues ranging from democracy to science, the USA’s role on the world stage, and inequality. We’ll share lots more details in the coming weeks and encourage you to sign up to participate in the 2021 digital offerings when registration opens in early February. Closely monitoring public health recommendations, we will make a decision in February about the possibility of any live component to the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival on our Aspen campus in June. Meantime, our best wishes for a warm and healthy holiday season. May you find peace and many reasons to be grateful. With gratitude, Kitty Boone Vice President, Public Programs
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