The Aspen Institute New Zealand, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, presents the Socrates Programme 2025:
Trust in the media continues to decline in New Zealand, with fewer than one in three people now saying they trust the media in general. As traditional outlets struggle to hold public confidence, more New Zealanders – especially younger audiences - are turning to podcasts, social media, and algorithm-driven content to make sense of the world. At the same time, many journalists are debating traditional ideals of journalistic objectivity and neutrality, and whether today’s newsrooms do, or should, adhere to them.
This Socrates Seminar will seek answers to these and other questions: Do we need a new definition of news? How do we re-engage people with news at a time of rising media manipulation (including AI) and misinformation? And how can we function as a democracy without a shared understanding of what is true and false?
Join us for this exclusive Critical Conversation, moderated by Vivian Schiller, internationally renowned former media executive, current Aspen Institute Vice President and Executive Director of Aspen Digital. 'Will We Ever Trust the News Again’ will examine the challenges facing the industry – and crucially, the promising paths towards a solution.
Vivian Schiller joined the Aspen Institute in January 2020 as the Executive Director of Aspen Digital, which empowers policymakers, civic organisations, companies, and the public to be responsible stewards of technology and media in the service of an informed, just, and equitable world.
A longtime executive at the intersection of journalism, media and technology, Schiller has held executive roles at some of the most respected media organizations in the world. Those include: President and CEO of NPR; Global Chair of News at Twitter; General Manager of NYTimes.com; Chief Digital Officer of NBC News; Chief of the Discovery Times Channel, a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications; and Head of CNN documentary and long form divisions. Documentaries and series produced under her auspices earned multiple honors, including three Peabody Awards, four Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, and dozens of Emmys.
Schiller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a Director of the Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian.
“What made the Socrates Seminar so special was being in a room full of curious, respectful people willing to challenge each other in good faith - it pushed me to dig deeper, clarify my purpose, and commit to championing ideas that make a better world possible.”
- Cristina Griffith, Managing Director, Gibbston Valley Winery
About Socrates Seminars
Socrates seminars are collaborative roundtable discussions for participants from different fields. Participants are asked to contribute their understanding of and reactions to carefully selected readings, with the guidance of a moderator, who is an expert in their sector. The seminars provide stimulating dialogue, values-based introspection, and dynamic debate that serve to enhance participants’ understanding and leadership capabilities.
What makes Socrates unique?
Connects Leaders Across the Spectrum - from entrepreneurs to public servants, artists to academics, all driven by a shared commitment to engage with the hardest questions of our time.
The Aspen Method - based on the Aspen Institute’s tradition of moderated dialogue, Socrates champions civil dialogue, intellectual humility and cross-sector collaboration.
Optimised for Busy Professionals - seminars are designed to strike the perfect balance: intellectually intense, refreshingly brief, and deeply immersive.
Turn Ideas Into Action - the conversations that start at Socrates often spark new ventures and partnerships. Participants leave not just inspired but empowered.
A Global, Ever-Growing Network - with over 10,500 alumni worldwide from across the public, private, non-profit and academic sectors, Socrates is more than a programme - it’s a lifelong community.
“For me the thing about Socrates is as much about the substance of the conversation as the relationships. It is those relationships and the network that develops from this that is so powerful.”
– Andrew Ross Sorkin, Columnist for The New York Times
Seminar Details:
8 - 10 December 2025
‘Taramea’ - Speargrass Flat Rd, Queenstown
Moderated by New York-based Vivian Schiller
Seminar fee: $1725 incl. GST (includes meals, excursion)
(Seminar fee includes tuition, meals during the seminar, and an excursion. Accomodation packages are available on request.)
Please contact us directly if you are a Not for Profit organisation or wish to apply for a Scholarship (NZ residents only).
Note: For IoD NZ members, the seminar can contribute to your annual quota of CPD points.
Schedule:
Wednesday 10 December
8:30am: Coffee / Tea
9am - 1pm: Seminar session 3
1pm - 2pm: Closing lunch
Monday 8 December Tuesday 9 December
12pm - 1pm: Welcome lunch 12pm - 1pm: Lunch
1pm - 5pm: Seminar session 1 1pm - 5pm: Seminar session 2
6pm: Dinner - Botswana Butchery 6pm: Dinner - TBC
