Setup
Most of us probably harbor preconceived notions about refugees. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding about what drove them from home. Or maybe it’s a lack of understanding about the lives they led before crises upended them. Or possibly, a failure of imagination about the talents and capacities they bring to their new host countries. How do our misconceptions about refugees keep us from fixing our broken refugee system and integrating refugees more fully into our communities? Could it be that one of the worst humanitarian challenges of our time is also replete with opportunities, if only we could see them? Qutaiba Idibl, a Syrian activist forced to flee Damascus after enduring torture at the hands of the Assad regime, is building a new life in the United States. Alexander Betts directs the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University. Together, they explore what’s missing in the conversation about refugees around the world.
Explore More
Economy
Most Americans today would agree that the dream of supporting a family and living a good life on one full time salary is not available to vast numbers of people. Wages have no...
Climate change catastrophes are already happening with increasing regularity, and it’s clear we need to take action. The Biden administration has set a target of zero carbon e...
The quest for profits, commitments to social impact, and consumer preference are driving unprecedented change in healthcare as investors pour in money, start-ups and big tech...
Even when the economy is booming and unemployment is low, millions of Americans still face economic hardship. And in the last few years the United States has dealt with supply...
It's been a big year for Patagonia, as it celebrated a 50th anniversary and legally restructured to commit all profits to environmental causes. What can be learned from the co...
Almost everyone agrees that immigration policy in the United States is lacking, but despite decades of debate, Congress has not been able to pass comprehensive reform on the i...
How do we sustain growth in a volatile and rapidly changing economy? What’s the best way to foster productivity and fulfillment at work? How will A.I. change the job market? C...
The international community faces unprecedented threats. What will geopolitical arrangements look like going forward? Is it time to rethink America’s relationship with China?...
Americans seem more culturally and ideologically divided than at any point in most of our lifetimes, with no prospect of bridging those divides any time soon. The only thing w...
It’s a fact: In communities where voting rates are higher, health outcomes are better. That’s why ER physician Alister Martin, the Founder of Vot-ER and CEO of A Healthier Dem...
The automotive industry is going through a time of profound transformation, facing internal and external pressure to electrify America’s fleet of personal vehicles. General Mo...
Populations around the world have been electing more and more autocratic leaders in the past couple decades, via supposedly free, fair, and democratic elections. The freedom o...
Merely defining gun violence is difficult, and coming to agreement on what to do about it often seems near-impossible in the United States. But people on all sides of the deba...
The U.S. Supreme Court continues to issue major decisions that have profound impacts on the lives of Americans and the political future of the country. During the term that ju...
At the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, we dug into some of the most important and fascinating issues of our time, from rebuilding trust in our institutions and the promise and peri...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. With heightened political tensions an...
If one dives deeply into the statistics, the American Dream is actually quite alive and well. In his provocative book, The Myth of American Inequality, former U.S. senator Phi...
How do we describe the Republican Party today, and what are the dynamics that will shape its future?
Join John Hamre, CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for a dynamic exploration of the transformational forces that will shape the global community throu...
Journalist Tom Friedman reflects on 28 years of reporting, and renowned architect David Adjaye shares how he approaches the design of physical spaces — and how those spaces ha...