The Aspen Ideas Festival is the quintessential gathering of leaders from across the nation and the world. Altogether unique among large-scale gatherings, the Festival is equal parts cerebral and celebratory – marrying the intellectual experience of a conference with the social and artistic stimulation of an entertainment festival – all within the breathtaking setting of the Aspen Institute’s magnificent campus, and in the rarefied company of leaders from the world over. The 2013 Festival will take place from June 26 to July 2 and feature seven days of idea-driven dialogue in the form of discussions, presentations, evening exchanges, and one-on-one conversations.

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Program Tracks for the 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival

Each year, the Aspen Ideas Festival’s programming is curated based on the key issues of the day and organized into tracks which act as themes for the week. Due to the breadth of certain topics, three program tracks will offer conversations across the entire Festival, June 26 to July 2. Below are the tracks and special new features for 2013.

Program Tracks for the entire Festival, June 26 to July 2:

• American Society: One Nation, Divisible
• World Affairs: Understanding the Middle East
• The Economic Puzzle

Program Tracks for Session 1, June 26 to 29:

• Citizen Artists
• Exploring the Cosmos
• Balance of Power: The Energy Revolution
• The Reinvention of Television

Program Tracks for Session 2, June 29 to July 2:

• Innovation by Design
• You and Your Health
• How We Learn.
• The Future of Mobility

New Program Elements for 2013 include:

• Show and Tell: Innovative products with the inventors and designers who are making them
• Great Debates: Civil discourse at its best, in our signature neutral setting
• The Aspen Challenges: Exceptional young people take a look at some of our toughest problems

For more information on the 2013 Festival, please contact Cynthia Klein at events@theatlantic.com. 

Visit www.aspenideas.org to access additional videos, photos, and highlights from 2012. 

Highlights from the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival

In 2012, approximately 2,200 attendees heard from more than 340 leaders in the fields of journalism, arts, science, culture, technology, religion, philosophy, business, economics, and politics. Featured speakers included designer Tory Burch, Governor Mitch Daniels, physicist Brian Greene, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, actor Stanley Tucci, and more. The extensive coverage of the 2012 Festival led to 500 million media impressions and the 19,000+ Festival-related tweets created 137 million Twitter impressions.