Speed Networking

Templeton Freedom Awards Luncheon & Think Tank Shark Tank, sponsored by the Rising Tide Foundation.

Atlas is proud to present the sixteen winners of our 2012 Templeton Freedom Awards – the largest prize program celebrating the accomplishments of free-market think tanks.    Our Templeton Freedom Awards luncheon program will include a special competition – in the style of the popular TV show, Shark Tank – as TFA-winning think tanks compete for an extra $5000 prize.

MC: Brad Lips, Atlas Network
Judges: Terry Kibbe, Don Smith, Marlene Mieske, Dan Gressel, Deroy Murdock, Ann Fitzgerald

Contestants:
Henrik Holm, CEPOS, Denmark
Matthew Sinclair, Taxpayers’ Alliance, UK
Adam Guillette, Moving Picture Institute, USA

Concurrent Panels
Who Really Built It? How Economic Liberty Drives Prosperity
The private sector continues to limp along — burdened by heavy regulations, taxation, and government-created uncertainty.  This session will look at sources of our current dysfunction, and paths to reform.
Moderator: James Tusty, Sky Films Inc, USA
Speakers:
John Goodman, National Center for Policy Analysis, USA
Mallory Factor, author, Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind, USA
Ernesto Selman, CREES, Dominican Republic

NOTE:  Mallory Factor will be available to sign copies of his book at registration immediately following this panel.  

The Liberty Youth Movement
Atlas’s partner Students for Liberty has demonstrated that the “Occupy” movement does not speak for all young Americans. All over the world, the principles of a free society are being marketed by individuals who were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Meet the future of the freedom movement during this enlightening panel!
Moderator: Katarzyna Zabawa, Manhattan Institute, USA
Speakers:
Matt Bufton, Institute for Liberal Studies, Canada
Aleksandar Kokotovic, European Students for Liberty
Baishali Bomjan, Centre for Civil Society, India
Mirsuljan Namazaliev, Central Asian Free Market Institute, Kyrgyzstan

Effective Think Tank Boards: How To Get One, How To Be One 
A working discussion for those who serve on think tanks’ Boards of Directors — and for those think tanks leaders trying to more effectively engage their Boards. We will explore best practices and common challenges, so that you can draw upon the expertise of your peers in the freedom movement.
Moderator: Brad Lips, Atlas Network
Speakers:
Michel Kelly-Gagnon, Montreal Economic Institute, Canada
Debbi Gibbs, Compassion & Choices, USA
Edita Maslauskaite, Lithuanian Free Market Institute, Lithuania
John Cerasuolo, Beacon Center of Tennessee, USA

Concurrent Panels

Religion, Ethics, and Liberty
Session sponsored by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Is religion an ally or an enemy in the quest to build a freer world? On this panel we share perspectives from different cultures about how to make the case for liberal values within the world’s great religious traditions.
Moderator: Lori Windham, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, USA
Speakers:
Samuel Gregg, Acton Institute, USA
Yarden Gazit, Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, Israel
Bican Sahin, Association for Liberal Thought, Turkey
Gurcharan Das, Centre for Civil Society, India

Disruptions in Higher Education:  An Opportunity for the Freedom Movement?
The “higher education bubble” is bursting. Disruptive innovations in online learning are accelerating the pace of change. In the new era of higher ed that is dawning, what can free-market advocates do to seize the day, and expose more college-age students to the ideas of liberty?
Moderator: Herb London, Hudson Institute, USA
Speakers:
George Leef, Pope Center, USA
Tyler Cowen, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, USA
Inés Calzada Álvarez, Online Center for Higher Studies Manuel Ayau, Spain

Reasons for Hope are Everywhere
Freedom champions from around the globe will present their projects and work that are advancing freedom.
Moderator: Cindy Cerquitella, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Dwight Tostenson, Intellectual Takeout, USA
Baladevan Rangaraju, India Institute, India
Richard Durana, INESS, Slovakia

Atlas in the Evening

This special program will feature a discussion and a book signing for Tom Palmer’s edited collection, After the Welfare State.

You will also have a chance to meet freedom champions around the world as Atlas holds its semi-annual Elevator Pitch competition, featuring some of the star participants of its worldwide Atlas Leadership Academy.You will be a judge in selecting the best sixty-second pitch for exciting projects advancing liberty.

Debate Watching Party

A chance to watch the U.S. Presidential Debate with friends in the freedom movement.

Location New York Beer Company (321 W 44th St)

Atlas Over Breakfast

Which Way Goes the USA?
Barely a month out from Election Day 2012, legendary activist Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform) will read the political tea leaves, and offer thoughts about the direction of policy reform over the months ahead. Tarren Bragdon of the new Foundation for Government Accountability will provide additional insights on policy reforms that are likely to proceed at the state level in 2013.

NOTE: Grover Norquist will be available to sign copies of his book, Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future, at registration immediately following this panel.

Moderator: Matt Warner, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform, USA
Tarren Bragdon, Foundation for Government Accountability, USA

Concurrent Panels

Winning Hearts and Minds for the Freedom Movement
Winning Hearts & Minds for the Freedom Movement
Think tanks must be innovative if they are to succeed in moving public opinion in the direction of free-market reforms. This panel will showcase compelling projects that promote our values, and provide insights from tech entrepreneurs who want to see free-market activists capitalize on new opportunities in social media.

Moderator: Adam Selig, Engage America, USA
Speakers:
Adam Guillette, Moving Picture Institute, USA
Quentin Michon, Contrepoints, Belgium
John Ramsey, private investor, USA
Jeff Giesea, USA.

Challenges & Opportunities in Countries with Mainly Muslim Populations
More than a year after the Arab Spring, Tom Palmer will moderate a panel of leaders and experts on the Middle East who will discuss what emerged and what still may develop in its aftermath as the demand for dignity and liberty continues unabated in the region.
Moderator: Tom Palmer, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Tamaldou Mohamed, Network of Arab Liberals, Morocco
Reza Ansari, CheragheAzadi.org, Iran
Ali Salman, Pakistan Research Institute of Market Economy, Pakistan
 

Liberty Forum Luncheon: Matt Kibbe

Atlas is honored to feature Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, as its keynote speaker for the Liberty Forum Luncheon.
MC: Alex Chafuen, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Matt Kibbe, FreedomWorks, USA
Leonard Liggio, Atlas Network, USA

NOTE: Matt Kibbe will be available to sign copies of his book at registration immediately following this luncheon.

Concurrent Panels

Hurting the Poor By Hating the Rich
Stoking class warfare is a common strategy of enemies of the free society. This lively panel will explore the dangers of demonizing the “1%” and will discuss strategies for changing perspectives about entrepreneurs, investors, and the institutions that foster free competition.
Moderator: Linda Whetstone, Atlas Network, United Kingdom
Speakers:
Deroy Murdock, Atlas Network, USA
Andreas Widmer, Author, The Pope & The CEO: Pope John Paul II’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, USA
Robin Sitoula, Samriddihi, The Prosperity Foundation, Nepal

NOTE: Andreas will be available after this session to sign copies of his book.

The Euro, The Dollar and the Future of Sound Money
Will the Euro survive? Is the Dollar vulnerable to a crisis of its own in the future? Experts connected to the Atlas Network will share perspectives on the world’s pressing monetary challenges.
Moderator: Alex Chafuen, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Jerry Jordan, Former CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, USA
Sean Fieler, American Principles Project, USA
Emmanuel Martin, UnMondeLibre.org, France
This panel is sponsored by Searle.

Concurrent Panels

Changing the Political Climate in Latin America

With Venezuelan elections taking place just after our conference, and in light of other political and socio-economic problems looming over the region, we bring together Latin American experts to provide their insider perspectives on the economic and political landscape of the region.
Moderator: Gonzalo Schwarz, Atlas Network, USA
Speakers:
Paulo Uebel, former Executive Director of Instituto Millenium, Brazil
Marcel Granier, CEDICE, Venezuela
Luis Larrain, Libertad y Desarrollo, Chile

Effectively Communicating Sound Economics
Atlas’s friends at Foundation for Economic Education have sponsored this entertaining panel on how to make a persuasive case for policies of economic liberty.
Speakers:
Nimish Adhia, Manhattanville College, USA
Sanford Ikeda, Purchase College, USA
Moderated by Tsvet Tsonevski, Foundation for Economic Education, USA

Session sponsored by the Foundation for Economic Education.

Buses Depart for Capitale  (for Atlas Club Members)

Buses Depart for Capitale (for all others)

Atlas Club Briefing(for Atlas Club members only), Capitale

Members of our giving society, The Atlas Club, will be treated to a behind the scenes look at “The Future of China: A Conversation with Chen Guangcheng,” hosted by Atlas Executive Vice President Tom Palmer. You will learn about the work Atlas has sponsored in China, including projects of its partner, the Transition Institute, whose leaders played brave roles in Chen Guangcheng’s daring escape from illegal detention to safety at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

General Reception

Atlas Freedom Dinner, Capitale 
This annual gala celebration of the worldwide freedom movement will feature a keynote address by Virginia Postrel — the Bloomberg columnist who first made waves as the editor of Reason and the author of The Future and Its Enemies and The Substance of Style. Virginia’s talk will be a preview of her forthcoming book on culture, commerce and meaning in a free society.

NOTE: Virginia Postrel will be available to sign copies of her book immediately following her speech.

“Toasts to Freedom” will be given by Chen Guangcheng (China), Baishali Bomjan (India), and Nouh el-Harmouzi (Morocco).

After dinner, join friends of liberty for drinks and dancing Atlas-style.