The Aspen Ideas Festival Announces Largest Scholars Program To Date

ASPEN, Colo., June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In celebration of the Aspen Ideas Festival's 10-year anniversary, the Aspen Institute will welcome nearly 300 scholars from the US and abroad — a number that represents more than a 300 percent increase from just last year. These nonprofit leaders, artists, dancers, scientists, educators, journalists, health sector professionals, playwrights, and emerging leaders in the private sector, who hail from 23 countries and 32 states, will receive partial to full scholarships, covering as much as a festival pass, roundtrip airfare, and lodging. Locally, the festival provides transferrable passes to 12 different schools and 12 businesses and organizations within the Roaring Fork Valley.

"Bringing young leaders to the Aspen Ideas Festival offers all of us an opportunity to hear from, and engage with, the next generation of leaders from home and abroad," said Kitty Boone, vice president of the Aspen Institute and director of the Aspen Ideas Festival. "This is critical to our mission and we are thrilled to have the financial support from our Patrons to offer these experiences."

The funding for the scholars comes from the tax-deductible portion of all Aspen Ideas Festival Patron Pass sales. To date, 180 Patron Passes have been sold — an all-time high. These scholars will be joined by the Bezos Scholars, 12 of the nation's top public high school juniors, 12 exceptional educators, and six scholars from the African Leadership Academy in South Africa, who receive an all-expenses-paid week at the festival, funded by the Bezos Family Foundation. The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute, founded in 2005, is a collaboration between the Bezos Family Foundation and the Aspen Institute.

In 2013, Aspen Ideas Festival scholars traveled from 21 different countries. Over the past seven years, the Festival has hosted an average of 75–85 professional scholars per year. This year's scholars will attend Spotlight: Health, Fest 1, and Fest 2 of the Aspen Ideas Festival. Learn more about this year's scholars:

http://www.aspenideas.org/spotlight-health-scholars
  
http://www.aspenideas.org/aspen-ideas-festival-scholars
  
http://www.aspenideas.org/bezos-scholars

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About the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

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SOURCE The Aspen Institute