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PETAR ČEKEREVAC’S LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT FOR SERBIA WINS 2017 EUROPE THINK TANK SHARK TANK COMPETITION

The winner of the Europe Think Tank Shark Tank competition is Petar Čekerevac – executive manager of Libertarian Club Libek in Serbia – for his organization’s proposed Lighthouse Outlet project to establish an online media outlet bringing together the brightest libertarian minds of Serbia. The proposed online platform will serve...

THINK TANK LEADERS GATHER IN BUDAPEST TO PUSH FOR INNOVATION IN FREEDOM ADVOCACY

One of the improvised strongholds during Hungary's anti-Soviet revolution in October 1956 was the Corvin cinema in central Budapest. Here, ordinary citizens joined hometown soldiers in a spontaneous attempt to take back their government. More recently, the site served as a memorable stop and cause for reflection for a gathering...

UEFF’S WORK TO ABOLISH BAN ON SALE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN UKRAINE WINS 2017 EUROPE LIBERTY AWARD

A major spectacle accompanied UEFF’s submission of a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which was signed by 55 People’s Deputies (Members of Ukrainian Parliament). Two UEFF founders – Maryan Zablotskyy and Sergiy Fursa – publicly submitted the complaint to the Constitutional Court, joined by People’...

ATLAS NETWORK-SUPPORTED RESEARCH LINKS EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION

New research supported by Atlas Network demonstrates impact of ease of doing business reforms on poverty.

OVERCOMING THE OUTSIDER’S DILEMMA: CAN PHILANTHROPISTS HELP THE DEVELOPING WORLD?

Today’s top-down, economic development aid model is unavoidably flawed. The nature of economic development requires idiosyncratic solutions that can’t be successfully designed or administered by outsiders. Instead, locally grown solutions aimed at transforming the institutional environment in favor of market growth, primarily th...

THINK TANKS IN BRAZIL, CANADA, GHANA, MEXICO, U.S. NAMED FINALISTS FOR 2017 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise and the public policies that encourage prosperity, inn...

2017 AFRICA LIBERTY FORUM TACKLES CONTINENT’S BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY

During Africa Liberty Forum 2017, more than 125 influencers and think tank professionals from 16 countries gathered to discuss the best and the brightest work breaking down the barriers to prosperity and opportunity on the continent. Sponsored by Atlas Network with organizing host the South Africa-based Free Market Foundation (F...

PROMOTING LIBERTY IN SPAIN THROUGH GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM

Spain has long had excellent think tanks that specialize in the economic aspects of freedom, and carry out the crucial work of producing high-level academic, theoretical papers. In 2015, though, a group of Spanish libertarians were concerned about the need to develop a more engaging approach toward civil society — a task that we...

POLL SHOWS THAT GREEKS TURN AWAY FROM BIG GOVERNMENT AS THEY SEEK JOBS AND GROWTH

The Greek economy has deteriorated steadily during the past eight years of unprecedented fiscal collapse, and the people may finally be fed up with big government, runaway spending, public-sector corruption, and job-killing regulations. A recent in-depth survey, published by the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the new think tank...

SLOVAKIA’S CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Modern Slovakia is like night and day compared to its years under communist rule, before the 1989 Velvet Revolution hastened the end of communist control, ultimately dissolving the Soviet Union in 1991. The nation has forged its own path since its Velvet Divorce separated Slovakia from the Czech Republic only two years after tha...

PULLING THE ANDON CORD: USING TEAMS TO MAKE DECISIONS

In the early 1980s, the workers at a General Motors plant in California had become so disillusioned with their jobs that they sometimes sabotaged the quality of the cars on purpose. The plant began to perform so poorly that the company shut it down. That failure, though, is only the first part of a great turnaround story. In a s...

ASIA LIBERTY FORUM SPOTLIGHTS EFFORTS TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY IN THE REGION

Asia Liberty Forum brought together more than 225 leaders, advocates, and think tank professionals from 22 countries to explore the work being done to break down the barriers to prosperity in the region.

LFMI CASE STUDY SHOWS HOW STUDENTS ARE GETTING AN ECONOMIC EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

In 2002, Lithuania added economic education to its national school curriculum, mandating that 9th or 10th grade students take 31 hours of classroom study. Teachers, many of them working out of their field, struggled to make outdated textbooks relevant to their students, especially as the available material emphasized government-...

INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT SUBJECTS UK TO DYSTOPIAN SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY

Intelligence agencies and police in the United Kingdom have been secretly using unauthorized techniques to eradicate what they defined as online “safe spaces,” where criminals, terrorists, and paedophiles are believed to hide. In 2015, the U.K. government proposed legislation to make these techniques lawful, and ultimately passe...

INEQUALITY, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF MOBILITY

For Christmas, our five-year-old son Sebastian wants a Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage. Our two-year-old daughter Arianna will also play with those cars, although we will continue to try to get her to like dolls. Despite these presents and all the presents in the years to come, however, my wife and I think the best present we ever co...

LITHUANIAN FREE MARKET INSTITUTE ‘ECONOMICS IN 31 HOURS’ TEXTBOOK WINS 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

In high schools across the world, most students graduate without any exposure to the concepts of market economics. The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), based in Vilnius, sought to change that by developing its Economics in 31 Hours textbook, which has been awarded this year’s prestigious $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award....

DR. TOM G. PALMER NAMED TO NEWLY ESTABLISHED GEORGE M. YEAGER CHAIR FOR ADVANCING LIBERTY

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 10, 2016 — Dr. Tom G. Palmer has been named the George M. Yeager Chair for Advancing Liberty at Atlas Network. Palmer has devoted his life to the promotion of the common-sense principles of liberty in the United States and worldwide. He has created and taught numerous educational programs, authored and edi...

INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE RETURNS TO CONNECTICUT TO DEFEAT EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court shocked the nation when it upheld the condemnation of an entire neighborhood in New London, Conn., for “economic development.” This infamous instance of eminent domain abuse sparked a nationwide backlash: 44 states reformed their laws to provide greater protection for property owner...

THE PROSPERITY STATES INITIATIVE: A POLICY LESSON FROM ‘WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’

According to various reports recently published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute in Canada, the Legatum Institute in London, the Liberal Institute in Switzerland, and the Heritage Foundation, the United States clearly no longer ranks among the top 10 freest countries in the world. At best, we are among the top 20, alt...

THINK TANKS IN ISRAEL, LITHUANIA, SWEDEN, U.S. NAMED 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD FINALISTS

Atlas Network is pleased to present the six finalists for the 2016 Templeton Freedom Award. The award is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust and will be presented during Atlas Network’s Freedom Dinner on Nov. 10 in New York City at the historic Capitale. The winning organization will receive a $100,000 prize, and th...

ISRAEL CENTER FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS NAMED FINALIST FOR 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Despite more than 30 years of economic reforms that have helped transform Israel, its economy remains saddled with bureaucracy and regulation that make life difficult and expensive. The economic reform campaign developed by the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (ICSEP), based in Mevaseret Zion, has been named one of...

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON FEAR AND FREEDOM

People raised in different circumstances often show different attitudes toward potential dangers. If you’ve never been near the water or learned how to swim, lakes, rivers, and oceans probably seem quite terrifying. Those who can swim generally see rivers, lakes, and oceans differently. Such different experiences may lead to dif...

WHY MOVIES MATTER (AND WHY WE SHOULD WRITE SOME GOOD ONES)

We are the stories we tell. And we are the stories we believe. In 1978, when Superman hit the big screen, we believed a man could fly. In 2016, when Batman met Superman, we believed a man wouldn’t want to. What happened in 38 short years?

THEY CANNOT MAKE US HATE THEM

When I think of examples of successful self-control and dignity under the most difficult circumstances, one person comes to mind before all others: 刘晓波, Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese writer and human rights activist who was sentenced on Dec. 25, 2009, to 11 years of imprisonment in China on the charge of “inciting subversion of state...

FRIEDMAN VS. SANDERS, OBSOLETE INDUSTRIES, AND BONE MARROW REGULATIONS

It’s almost eerie how Milton Friedman had the perfect responses years ago to the outrageous economic claims that Bernie Sanders would make during his U.S. presidential campaign this year. It’s also peculiar that the Australian government is bailing out nearly obsolete industries — why not also bring back the chimney sweep, the t...

EVERYONE, EVEN POLITICIANS AND OFFICIALS, SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

Isn’t it interesting how often government leaders use passive voice to refer to their bad decisions? “Mistakes were made,” “The intelligence was flawed,” “Things got out of control,” etc., etc. And even when they say “I take responsibility,” they almost never actually take responsibility by, say, resigning or reimbursing or even...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS STOLEN FROM YOU?

It’s not so hard to talk about having one’s freedom taken away. “You’re under arrest” means you’re not free to go. Prisoners have had their freedom taken. When that’s done unjustly, we speak of freedom being “stolen,” because rightfully it should be yours to enjoy. But can your responsibility be stolen from you?

IS LIBERTY AN ASIAN VALUE?

A frequent challenge raised against classical liberalism is that it is not suitable for Asian people or Asian countries, because of “Asian values” that are allegedly unique to Asian countries. Is Asian liberty different from European or American or African Liberty? Or, if liberty is being used in the same way in those regions, i...

DO THEIR PASSIONS FORGE THEIR FETTERS?

The great British political thinker and politician Edmund Burke is frequently called a conservative, although he did not use the term for himself, preferring the term “Whig” — and “Old Whig,” at that. Those who call him a conservative often think of him as favoring a state that will use its coercive powers to control human being...

THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR STATE CONTROL

Supply and demand analysis isn’t limited to consumer goods. There is also a supply and a demand for government. Noted economists have focused much attention on the supply of state control, with a focus on the willingness of politicians to get into power and stay there, and of bureaucrats to maximize their budgets. Some attention...

IMCO NAMED REGIONAL FINALIST IN #GOOGLEORG 2017 CHALLENGE FOR DIGITAL LAWYER PROJECT

In 2016, Mexico was host to an estimated 31.1 million crimes. According to a startling statistic from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 9 out of 10 victims of a crime do not report it. Seeking to combat Mexico’s culture of impunity, the Instituto Mexicano de la Competitividad (IMCO) has designed Norma, a d...

PRIME NEARS A WIN FOR REFORMING PAKISTAN’S TAX CODE

Pakistan’s tax code is inefficient, cumbersome, and enforced by a bloated bureaucracy, which is why the Islamabad-based Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) has long advocated for a changed tax structure. PRIME’s most recent campaign, Aik Tax (“single tax”), advocates for a lower, flatter, and more predictable sys...

DEFENDING DEMOCRACY THROUGH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

“Illiberalism is on the rise, in fledgling and well-established democracies alike. At this turbulent time in global affairs, engaging communities in the protection of individual freedoms is critical,” says Alex Gladstein, the Human Rights Foundation's (HRF) chief strategy officer. “At this turbulent time in global affairs, engag...

2017 LIGHTS, CAMERA, LIBERTY FINALISTS NAMED FROM NEPAL, IDAHO, ARGENTINA

The Lights, Camera, Liberty! program is a grant and training opportunity that Atlas Network offers to U.S. and international partners, helping organizations transform the way they market messages through online video. This year’s winner will be announced at Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, November 7-8, 2017. The three finalists...

ALUMNI IN FOCUS: PATRICK MARDINI

“People in Lebanon suffer from an average of 12 hours of rolling blackouts every day,” said Patrick Mardini, founder and president of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS). “It’s not reasonable to make illegal the production of a service that people need,” said an entrepreneur he recently met. Mardini is tackling this...

A LOOK BACK AT 2017’S REGIONAL LIBERTY AWARDS

Made possible by a generous grant from The John Templeton Foundation, Atlas Network brings together friends of the worldwide freedom movement in Regional Liberty Forums to learn from one another how to effectively advance free societies, the rule of law, free enterprise, and protections of private property.

IEE CASE STUDY BOASTS LATIN AMERICA’S SUPER BOWL OF LIBERALISM

What started as a handful of young entrepreneurs gathering 200 people in an auditorium has evolved into a convention unlike any other, spanning six days of events with an attendance of over 6,000. And now, the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais’s Fórum da Liberdade has become Latin America’s Super Bowl of Liberalism.

LFMI WINS BIG ON POLICY TO BENEFIT CONSUMERS, LIMIT EXCESSIVE GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE IN LITHUANIA

The creation and expansion of inefficient municipal enterprises in Lithuania puts economic strain on the taxpayers who have to support them, and hinders the development of innovations that could improve upon the services they offer. That’s why the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) worked diligently to champion a policy req...

A LOOK BACK AT 2017’S REGIONAL THINK TANK SHARK TANK COMPETITIONS

The Think Tank Shark Tank competition at Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner has been a hallmark of the event for several years. There, three graduates of the Atlas Leadership Academy compete before a panel of judges for a $25,000 grand prize in a showcase of the worldwide freedom movement’s most exciting new projects. This year’s co...

THINK TANK SHARK TANK WINNER TAKES ON BUSINESS REGULATIONS IN MALAYSIA

Regulations on businesses and business owners are on the rise in Malaysia. Small businesses struggle to survive in such an environment, where there are a constant imposition of taxes and a continued difficulty of navigating the existing regulations as new ones are implemented. The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (ID...

CATO INSTITUTE’S LIBERTARIANISM.ORG ENCYCLOPEDIA AIMS TO BE DEFINITIVE RESOURCE ON LIBERTARIANISM

Cato Institute’s Libertarianism.org project has recently launched an online Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, which tightly weaves all of libertarianism’s diverse strands together into one comprehensive work and provides hundreds of succinct, originally written articles by some of the most widely recognized experts in the field....

DOING DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENTLY WEBSITE

The campaign is about one thing: ending poverty. And how we propose to do this is in stark contrast to the broken model of top-down, foreign aid. We believe that the end to poverty will come from locally grown solutions like removing barriers to entrepreneurship, embracing rule of law, and promoting property rights. And it's our...

IFM RANKS ISRAELI LEGISLATIVE MEMBERS BASED ON THEIR FREEDOM-FRIENDLY POLICIES

The Israel Freedom Movement (IFM) recently released the fourth installment of its semi-annual Liberty Index, rating the Members of Knesset (the Israeli legislature, or “MKs”) based on how their legislative activity promotes or suppresses personal freedom and free markets.

‘FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST’ — ECONOMIC FREEDOM FORUM IN UKRAINE

While the world at large is freer than it ever was, Ukraine remains entrenched in political and economic hardship. The revolution fades, but the mafia state lives on. The recent Economic Freedom Forum, hosted by Atlas Network partners Bendukidze Free Market Center and Fraser Institute in Kyiv, brought together think tanks and sc...

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DARE TO SAVE LIVES

Hungary’s history is marred by oppression and terrors of regimes which had no respect for human life, human nature, and liberty. But because of their ignorance of human nature with liberty deeply ingrained in it, these collectivist dictatorships could never attain their true goals and could never and will never manage to take to...

CEI FILM ‘I WHISKEY: THE HUMAN SPIRIT’ WINS AWARDS, HITS THE ROAD

‘I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit’, a short film from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), is the story of the unique history of whiskey in America and how free markets have created the current renaissance under which the spirit is thriving. The purpose of this film, expressed by CEI, is to “tell the story of human ingenuity,...

ADAM SMITH INSTITUTE ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO RETURN TO THE ‘GREAT CHARTER’

In the age of big government, an 800-year-old piece of parchment may yield a surprising amount of guidance in examining the place that individual rights ought to have in society. As Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer describes it, “The Magna Carta is the basis, it is the root of the kinds of freedom, and democracy, and equal d...

AELSO’S SILK ROAD STATION CONTINUES TO SPREAD FREE-MARKET KNOWLEDGE

In late 2015, the Kabul-based Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization (AELSO) debuted its online TV and radio platform, Silk Road Station, with the goal of raising awareness about the benefits of a free-market economy and other free society values among Afghan youth and policy makers. It currently broadcasts 39 diffe...

GETTING YOUR REFORM IDEAS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE

Encouraged by Atlas Network’s “Leveraging Indices for Economic Freedom” initiative, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) took up the challenge to implement three changes in Lithuania. First, to reduce time and effort required to get a building permit. Second, to streamline the procedure of connecting new users to the elec...

CAPRI WINS POLICY CONVERSATION ON WHY JAMAICAN MIGRANTS PROVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS

New research finds that Jamaicans who have migrated out of Jamaica have played a role in the success of the Jamaican economy. The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), a Jamaican Atlas Network partner, released this information on June 16, which is celebrated as Diaspora Day and highlights the accomplishments of Jamaican...

PRIVATIZATION OF EGYPTIAN SPORTS CLUBS WOULD INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS

The Egyptian Center for Public Policy (ECCPS), an Atlas Network partner based in Cairo, Egypt, has found that privatization of Egyptian sports clubs would increase the competitiveness of Egyptian sports teams and promote the establishment of more private sports teams in a number of sports.

GUATEMALAN-BASED UFM TO OPEN MADRID CAMPUS IN 2018

Gabriel Calzada, president of Universidad of Francisco Marroquín (UFM), revealed in a surprise announcement at Europe Liberty Forum 2017 that the free-market Guatemalan university will open a European campus in Madrid in February 2018.

UNIQUE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH DEFINES SCARCITY, GOOD AND BAD

Free-market advocates have long claimed that scarcity – widely held to be the bedrock of economics and the natural state of the world – drives humanity to use resources as efficiently as possible. The counterclaim has been that scarcity is inherently a bad thing and that state-directed action can be taken to eradicate it. Howeve...

TNKR HOSTS 6TH ENGLISH SPEECH CONTEST FOR NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES

An Atlas Network partner based out of South Korea, Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR), hosted its sixth English Speech Contest on August 26, 2017. “It’s not just a contest, but a celebration of the speakers having the courage to speak out and having the freedom to do so,” said TNKR co-founder Casey Lartigue, about the event.

EUROPE LIBERTY FORUM 2017 COVERS SOPHISTICATED MESSAGING, AUTHORITARIAN POPULISM, LAND REFORM

During Europe Liberty Forum 2017, 134 of Europe’s best and brightest – representing 34 countries – gathered to celebrate wins, share inspirational stories, and brainstorm how to continue to break down barriers to prosperity and opportunity in the region. Sponsored by Atlas Network with organizing host the Hungary-based Free Mark...

PETAR ČEKEREVAC’S LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT FOR SERBIA WINS 2017 EUROPE THINK TANK SHARK TANK COMPETITION

THINK TANK LEADERS GATHER IN BUDAPEST TO PUSH FOR INNOVATION IN FREEDOM ADVOCACY

UEFF’S WORK TO ABOLISH BAN ON SALE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN UKRAINE WINS 2017 EUROPE LIBERTY AWARD

HOW TO USE BREXIT AS AN EXAMPLE FOR FUTURE POLICY CHANGES

In 2016, the United Kingdom surprised the world by deciding to leave the European Union. Campaign victories like that don’t come out of nowhere. Behind the scenes teams engage audiences, navigate policy discussions, work with the press, and debate difficult topics. The most adept ultimately change opinions and win.

STOP PITCHING THE PROGRAMS, START PITCHING THE MEANING

Nonprofit think tanks are dependent upon the generous support of donors to accomplish their mission. It can be very challenging for think tanks to identify, cultivate, and successfully pitch high-level donors —the type of donors who will invest in the think tank’s vision and provide the transformational gifts that could help cre...

ATLAS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Gain the skills you need to succeed in the world of free market think tanks.

OUR GLOBAL PARTNER DIRECTORY

Learn more about our partners with our expansive global directory.

HOW WE SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS

Discover the many ways we can help, from grants and awards to consulting and training.

UPCOMING ATLAS NETWORK EVENTS

Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner 2017

Tuesday-Wednesday, November 7 - 8

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Chile's Elections and the Fate of its Fading Free-Market Consensus

Thursday, December 7

Join Atlas Network for our Global Policy Perspectives event on the 2017 elections in Chile, featuring Axel Kaiser executive director of Fundación Para el Progreso.

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