On August 5-7, 2007, Atlas Economic Research Foundation held its first Atlas Experience at the Queen’s Landing Inn and Conference Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Over 120 participants attended this event from over 30 different countries and 20 different states, representing over 50 different institutes.
This unique event gave Atlas the chance to showcase 45 of the “intellectual entrepreneurs (IEs)” that it invests in to promote liberty on the global level. By connecting these IEs with each other and other supporters of freedom, Atlas hopes that all of it participants have a clearer picture of the struggles faced by different IEs around the world as well as a rejuvenated sense of purpose in their pursuit of freedom.
Before the Atlas Experience program started, Atlas invited its think tank representatives to attend a presentation by Chris Derry, Bluegrass Institute (United States), on fundraising methods in economically-depressed areas. To view this presentation click here.
The program began with one of the Atlas Experience excursions to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s celebrated vineyards. During this excursion, participants and their families were able to converse over a glass of wine with the Atlas Experience speaker and former prime minister of Estonia, Mart Laar, as well as Atlas staff, featured IEs, and institute representatives.
This relaxing and stimulating excursion was followed by an economic salon hosted by Alexandros Mantikas of the Hellenic Leadership Institute (HLI, Greece). Alexandros spoke about the progress of freedom in Greece along with the work that HLI has been doing in Egypt.
After the opening reception and dinner, Atlas’s Jo Kwong introduced the keynote speake, Mart Laar. Laar, prime minister of Estonia from 1992-1994 and 1999-2002 spoke about how the free-market policies he implemented, such as the flat tax, were inspired by Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose. He described how he implemented these reforms believing that other more-successful countries had done them already so Estonia should do them as well. While his advisors called his goals impossible and his public popularity ratings were low, Laar effectively implemented the free-market reforms that took Estonia from a country devastated by Soviet economics to one of the most vibrant economies in Europe today, with a 7-8% annual rate of growth with 90% of all enterprises in private hands. Mart reflected on these experiences saying that because he believed these changes were possible, he did not realize that he was doing what most people thought it to be impossible.
Dinner was followed by another economic salon hosted by Atlas’s Leonard Liggio who spoke on the “The Revival of the Classical Liberal Movement.” Because of the strong demand to attend this salon, an impromptu salon was hosted by Atlas’s Alejandro Chafuen where participants representing different states, countries, and institutes were challenged with the question, “Are we winning or losing the fight for freedom in your region?” Participants from many different regions discussed the difficulties and successes they have experienced in their countries. Comments and discussion surrounded the need for the freedom movement to harness the energy and power of culture in addition to politics and academics in order to promote the message of freedom. Brian Lee Crowley of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (Canada) closed this salon by playing several songs on his bagpipe.
The second day of the Atlas Experience opened with breakfast and an impromptu talk given by Andrei Piontkovsky of the Strategic Studies Center (Russia). Piontkovsky spoke about his experiences in the fight for freedom in Russia and the particular challenges he faced there.
The first of the Atlas Experience panels focused on “Perspectives on Economic Freedom from theDeveloping World.” Is there a new “Estonia” emerging in parts of the world that have been wreaked with strife and repression? Speakers on this panel included Veselin Vukotic of the School for International Economy, Finance and Business(Montenegro), Daniel Orufeng, Botswana Poverty Studies Society, and Parth Shah, Centre for Civil Society (India). Atlas’s Brad Lips moderated the panel.
The second panel, “Returning to Limited Government in the Americas,” addressed the questions: Why did the government keep growing under Bush? Does Canadian government help or hinder growth? Why has Latin America fallen prey to populist dictators? David Boaz of the Cato Institute(United States) moderated this panel. Speakers included Brian Lee Crowley, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (Canada), Mary O’Grady of The Wall Street Journal (United States), and Otto Guevara, libertarian presidential candidate and representative of RELIAL (Costa Rica).
After lunch, Atlas Experience participants and their families went on an excursion to Niagara Falls. The tour of the Falls featured all the landmark sites including the Niagara Floral Clock, the International Control Dam, the Rainbow Bridge, Mount Carmel Monastery, and the famous Clifton Hill. The stop at the Table Rock House displayed the magnificent Canadian Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls.
Later that evening Atlas held its second reception and final dinner. Atlas’s Alejandro Chafuen introduced keynote speaker, Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal (United States). Moore spoke about where the freedom movement stands in the current political climate. He focused on the upcoming U.S. presidential election in 2008 as well as other current events.
After dinner, Jaroslav Romanchuk of the Scientific Research Mises Center (Belarus) hosted an economic salon on “Fighting for Freedom in a Totalitarian State.” Jaroslav shared his experiences in the pursuit of liberty discussing everything from persecution to better ways to “market” the free society.
The final day of the Atlas Experience opened with a breakfast followed by the third conference panel, “Can Technology Set Us Free?” During this panel, speakers discussed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in using technology to further the message of freedom. The panelists included June Arunga of Open Quest Media, LLC (United States), Rainer Heufers of Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (Thailand), and Esra’a Al Shafei of Mideast Youth (Bahrain).
Throughout the Atlas Experience there was a book exchange set up for individuals to bring and take books ranging from personal interest, economics and policy, and novels.
The final economic salon, hosted by David Boaz of the Cato Institute(United States), discussed “How to Keep Making Progress Towards Freedom.” The Atlas Experience was concluded with lunch.
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