Atlas Network Announces 2026 Templeton Freedom Award Finalists
Atlas Network is pleased to announce the 2026 finalists for our prestigious Templeton Freedom Award, which is presented annually at our Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner in New York City. Named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the award honors his legacy by recognizing Atlas Network’s partner organizations for making innovative contributions to economic freedom and human progress.
The winning Atlas Network partner will be awarded a $150,000 grand prize, with the runners-up receiving $30,000 each. The Templeton Freedom Award is the signature prize in a program that in 2026 will award a total of $370,000 in grants to high-achieving organizations across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & North Africa. Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner will be held in New York’s Sheraton Times Square Hotel on Wednesday, November 11th and Thursday, November 12th.
More information about Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner 2026 can be found here.
This year, one of the following Atlas Network partners will be chosen as the winner of the Templeton Freedom Award:
Instituto Liberal de São Paulo (Brazil)
Instituto Liberal de São Paulo (ILISP) is helping turn Brazil’s promise of economic freedom into a reality for entrepreneurs across the country. Brazil’s 2019 Economic Freedom Law exempted approximately 300 low-risk activities—including beauty salons, shoemakers, and other small businesses—from certain permits and operating licenses. But because licensing is largely controlled by states and municipalities, the reform’s benefits depended on local governments adopting and implementing it. ILISP launched Liberdade para Trabalhar (Freedom to Work) in 2021 to close this implementation gap. ILISP developed model legislation, drafted decrees, trained public officials, supported technical teams, and engaged directly with officials across the country. To date, ILISP has supported the adoption or expansion of the Economic Freedom Law in 476 municipalities and nine states, extending its benefits to jurisdictions representing 129.5 million Brazilians.
Centre for Civil Society (India)
Centre for Civil Society (CCS) has spent more than a decade helping India remove outdated laws and build a more effective, accountable system of governance. Launched in 2014, its Repeal of Laws project began with a straightforward goal: systematically identify obsolete, redundant, and contradictory laws that remained on the books long after they had outlived their purpose. CCS developed a structured process for reviewing India’s legal code, culminating in its influential Repeal of 100 Laws report. Its research was cited by the Law Commission of India and contributed to the repeal of 23 central laws in 2015. CCS subsequently expanded the project through partnerships with state governments, law universities, research institutions, and legal experts. To date, CSS has identified 534 obsolete or burdensome laws and contributed to the repeal of 216 laws at the national and state levels.
Fundación Libertad y Progreso (Argentina)
Fundación Libertad y Progreso (LyP) spent more than a decade building the intellectual and practical foundation for economic reform in Argentina. During a period marked by inflation, protectionism, and expanding state intervention, LyP consistently made the case for economic freedom, constitutional government, and a more limited state through policy research, public education, and extensive media engagement. When Argentina’s political landscape shifted following the 2023 election, LyP was ready. The organization provided technical input that helped shape the restructuring of the executive branch from 18 ministries to nine, contributed expertise to the landmark Ley de Bases reform package, and influenced several executive decrees. Of the 127 deregulation proposals LyP submitted, 74 were implemented through legislation or executive action.
Liberty Justice Center (United States)
In 2025, the U.S. president used emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs on thousands of imported goods without congressional approval. Representing several small businesses harmed by the tariffs, LJC challenged the administration’s actions in court. Its case argued that the president could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to claim a tariff power that constitutionally belongs to Congress. LJC won unanimously before the U.S. Court of International Trade and then prevailed before the Federal Circuit. In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the emergency-powers law did not authorize the president to impose tariffs, reaffirming that this authority rests with Congress. LJC created the Tariff Equity Refund Resource for America, or TERRA, to provide legal guidance, tracking tools, and other resources for companies navigating the refund process. TERRA has supported more than 1,000 small businesses, and by mid-2026, more than $71 billion had begun returning to businesses.
The Buckeye Institute (United States)
Ohio’s electricity market has faced years of controversy over taxpayer-funded utility subsidies and political favoritism. In 2019, the passage of House Bill 6 forced electricity customers to subsidize failing power plants through mandatory charges on their utility bills. The legislation later became the center of the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio’s history. The Buckeye Institute advocated eliminating subsidies for all energy sources, streamlining permits for new power plants, lowering taxes on energy infrastructure, and requiring utilities to provide greater transparency about costs. In 2025, Ohio enacted House Bill 15, which incorporated many of The Buckeye Institute’s recommendations. The law repealed utility subsidies projected to cost Ohioans $582 million over four years, accelerated permitting for new electricity generation, lowered energy taxes, and required utilities to justify additional charges to customers. Within months, approximately $4 billion in private investment and nearly 2,000 megawatts of new generation capacity had been announced or entered Ohio’s regulatory process.
Lithuanian Free Market Institute (Lithuania)
Traditional civics courses often emphasize institutions and facts, while economics and ethics are taught separately. LFMI saw an opportunity to bring these subjects together and help students become active participants in a free society. Through its Becoming Citizens initiative, LFMI created a curriculum that explores real-world issues through economic, ethical, and civic perspectives. LFMI launched Citizenship in 31 Hours for high school students in 2021. In 2022, LFMI expanded the model with Young and Civic-minded, also known as I, Citizen, for students in grades five through eight. Together, the two textbooks create a continuous educational pathway from early adolescence through high school. Lithuania’s National Education Agency approved both textbooks, allowing teachers in public and private schools to incorporate them into their classes. The initiative now reaches approximately 90,000 students, representing about 40 percent of Lithuania’s secondary school population, with 900 teachers actively using the curriculum. Its high school textbook received the 2023 European Innovative Teaching Award. The model has also expanded to Poland, Latvia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Greece.
Join us in New York
Join us to celebrate this year's outstanding nominees and find out the winner at Freedom Dinner. Freedom Dinner will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street. Conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan, Cipriani 42nd Street is a Neo-Renaissance architectural masterpiece. Originally built as the Bowery Savings Bank in 1921, its revival is a testament to Cipriani’s legacy of hospitality and service spanning four generations. This New York City Landmark showcases towering marble columns, soaring ceilings, magnificent inlaid floors and glorious chandeliers. Freedom Dinner will begin with an exclusive Atlas Club Reception, followed by a General Reception starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 12. The dinner portion will begin at 7:30 p.m., and the after party will begin around 9:30p.m.
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