Atlas Network partners advance human freedom in India, Serbia, Ukraine, and the US

Thanks to the generous support of Atlas Network donors, we are able to provide grant funding to groups around the world that are making a difference in the cause of individual liberty and economic agency. Below are just a few highlights of the work our partners have accomplished in recent months.

Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Louisiana’s Pelican Institute for Public Policy is building an engaged audience for their research and advocacy, and an Atlas Network grant is helping them do it. That base of citizen supporters is already paying off when it comes to realizing policy changes. They have already made strides in key policy areas like educational freedom and occupational licensing. Louisiana parents now have the right to appeal denied requests to transfer their children out of failing public schools, a win in the effort to ensure every child has access to the educational resources they need.

Continuing Pelican Institute’s work on occupational licensing, healthcare professionals will now find it easier to move to Louisiana as family members who possess an occupational license in another state will automatically be granted reciprocity in Louisiana. The organization is also joining with think tanks in Georgia and Texas in an exciting new project to provide free-market solutions to expand economic opportunity and eradicate poverty.

Atlas Network has supported Pelican Institute for Public Policy through grant funding.

Libertarian Club Libek

People come from all over Europe to experience Belgrade’s nightlife venues, which represent a rich cultural and economic resource for Serbia. Unfortunately, four years ago legitimate concerns over noise pollution led the government to take the unnecessary step of limiting nightlife business hours. At the time, Atlas Network partner Libertarian Club Libek proposed a better solution of regulating problematic noise itself. Now, our investment in Libertarian Club Libek is paying off years after the initial work was completed.

This year, lawmakers revisited the noise problem and have actually taken the rights of business owners and workers into consideration. The national parliament passed a law based on Libertarian Club Libek’s proposed solution, creating a more limited and targeted approach to addressing noise that allows entrepreneurs and workers to benefit from Belgrade’s international renown. By using modern technology, officials can measure and regulate specific noise levels, ensuring local residents can peacefully enjoy their homes and allowing businesses to stay open and find innovative solutions to limit noise. This reform championed by Libertarian Club Libek is a rejection of one-size-fits-all policy and a win for the people of Belgrade.

Atlas Network supports Libertarian Club Libek through grant funding.

Trayas Foundation

A new Atlas Network partner in India, Trayas Foundation, has proven their capacity to achieve change. Their recent project “Women’s Right to Choose Work” has helped convince the national government to reduce the overbearing restrictions on when and where women can work. Lawmakers simplified 44 laws into just four straightforward codes that states must abide by when they institute new labor laws.

At the state level, Trayas Foundation convinced the government of Punjab to reduce the restrictions on women’s labor from 25 to eight, removing disincentives for businesses to hire women. The state government also restricted some official’s arbitrary power to block or discourage the hiring of women for many industrial jobs. Trayas Foundation’s successful work better secures the individual rights of women in India to seize economic opportunity as they freely choose.

Atlas Network supports Trayas Foundation through grant funding.

Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting

In Ukraine, Atlas Network invested in one organization’s effort to drive customs reform and increase traction for the ideas of the free market and open trade. Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting produced a series of policy papers examining current customs laws through a economic freedom-friendly lens. The government agency responsible for cross-border trade responded with new efforts to lower costs for traders.

The institute has also facilitated several public discussions with business leaders on customs systems and how they can be reformed. Building off this success, they co-sponsored two events in conjunction with local universities promoting the value of free enterprise over central planning. These events were a hit with student participants who were inspired to work to improve Ukraine and solve the problems that plague its economy.

Atlas Network supports Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting through grant funding.