Aspen España Seminar “Leadership & Values”
Aspen Institute España held the seventh edition of the Aspen España Seminar on “Leadership and Values” on March 12-15th. The Seminar was moderated by expert moderators trained in the Aspen method of debate and brought together a group of 20 – 25 participants from different sectors of civil society. The seminar was moderated by Marian Ahumada, Professor of Constitutional Law at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Aspen España Fellow and Román Gil, managing partner at Sagardoy Abogados and former member of the Governing Board of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM) and Aspen España Fellow.
The seminar “Leadership and Values” brings the spirit and method of the Aspen Seminar to Spanish-speaking audiences with moderators trained in the classic Aspen Institute (USA) debate model. The Seminar is based on the reading of classic texts from Western philosophy, politics and literature to debate the fundamental values of an open society and the tensions inherent in defining what constitutes such a society.
This seminar brought together a group of participants from different sectors of civil society and government, providing a balanced and plural forum for reflection and debate on the current state and future of our societies, analyzed in terms of timeless human values. The format of the program took place over three working days, with a careful selection of readings distributed among the participants to prepare the debates. These are guided by two Aspen moderators, who ask questions about the readings and generate a Socratic dialogue to address the main issues raised by the seminar. The Seminar was held under the Chatman House Rule and the principles of dialogue that govern the activities of the Aspen Institute worldwide.
Marian Ahumada
Marian Ahumada Ruiz is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) in Spain. She holds a Law degree from the Universidad de Valladolid and a PhD in Law (European doctorate with extraordinary award) from the UAM. She also holds a Master’s degree from the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies (Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales) in Madrid. She has been a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, a Hauser Global Research Fellow, and an Emile Noël Senior Fellow at the New York University (NYU) School of Law, as well as a visiting professor at The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Va.), the Schools of Law of the University of Essex and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She has lectured at universities across Europe and the Americas, as well as at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. During a period of leave from the University, she served as Deputy Director of the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales and, subsequently, as Director General of Legal Coordination at the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency. She has also been a member of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and, for three years, a clerk at the Spanish Constitutional Court. Author of «La jurisdicción constitucional en Europa», her publications have focused on constitutional justice, comparative constitutionalism, decentralization, constitutional theory, and fundamental rights. She is currently leading a research project on the evolution of the Spanish Constitutional Court and the construction of its institutional identity. Additionally, Marian is an Aspen España Fellow.
Román Gil
Román Gil Albuquerque is a lawyer and partner at Sagardoy, a firm specialising in Labour Law. In this capacity, he participates in negotiation and litigation processes, as well as in various institutional activities related to this area of law, most significantly at the international level. He holds a PhD in Law, with a thesis on legal and social issues in the Weimar Republic and, in keeping with his academic profile, he teaches at various institutions, including the Universidad de Navarra, IE University/IE Business School, and the Universidad Carlos III. He is a Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation (Real Academia de Jurisprudencia y Legislación) and publishes regularly in his areas of specialisation. He is an active participant in various civil society forums, such as the Encuentros de Filosofía y Humanidades (enhufi.com), FIDE, the Club Matador, and Aspen Institute España itself, of which he is a Fellow and with which he collaborates, among other activities, in its Seminar on Justice and Civil Society. He has served as Deputy-Librarian of the Governing Board of the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid during the deanship of Antonio Hernández-Gil.
Aspen Institute España
The Aspen Institute España Foundation was established in 2010 to promote leadership inspired by civic values and to address critical issues for the future of society. Every year it organizes more than seventy debates, seminars and conferences on leadership and values, the digital future, sustainability, democracy, geopolitics and the economy.
The President of Aspen España is Javier Solana and its Secretary General is José M. de Areilza. The project is supported by fifteen Spanish companies and a large network of alumni. It is part of the international network of Aspen Institutes, present in more than twelve countries, and collaborates in a special way with The Aspen Institute in the United States. This philanthropic institution was founded in 1950, among others by José Ortega y Gasset, to train leaders in all sectors of society with a humanistic vision and a connection to civic and democratic values. Today it is recognised as one of the most influential think tanks in the world, with more than fifty ongoing programmes in the fields of public policy and leadership.
