Atlas Network is pleased to present the six finalists for the 2015 Templeton Freedom Award, the winner of which will receive $100,000 and be honored at Atlas Network’s annual Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner in New York City on Nov. 11–12, 2015.
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This year's finalists for the prestigious Templeton Freedom Award represent some of the very best organizations in the worldwide freedom movement,” said Atlas Network CEO Brad Lips. “Their projects on property rights, poverty alleviation, regulatory reform, and other key policy areas rank among the most exciting and impactful work we've seen in years.”
Templeton Freedom Award 2015 Finalists:
Acton Institute (Grand Rapids, Mich., United States) — Poverty, Inc.
The West has positioned itself as the driving force of international development, giving rise to a vast, multi-billion dollar poverty industry. Yet the results have been mixed — catastrophic, in some cases — and leaders in the developing world are growing increasingly vocal in calling for change. Atlas Network partner Acton Institute has produced a documentary film addressing this problem, Poverty, Inc. Read more…
Protecting individual rights requires constant vigilance. In the socialist regime of Venezuela, where government maintains extensive control over the country’s economy, Atlas Network partner CEDICE Freedom has organized a Watchdog for Freedom and Democracy project, which brings together three “observatories” that monitor the state of individual rights in Venezuela. Read more…
Free Market Foundation (FMF) (Johannesburg, South Africa) — Khaya Lam Land Reform Project
The majority of black South Africans do not have titles to property because the effects of apartheid-era policies continue to have consequences today. Atlas Network partner the Free Market Foundation has developed the Khaya Lam (My House) Land Reform project, which is bringing about the titling of apartheid-era properties in which black families had and still have occupation rights but have lacked title deeds. Read more…
Institute for Justice (IJ) (Arlington, Va., United States) — Strategic Research Program
The legal system should be a tool that serves to protect the rights of citizens, but when government officials abridge those rights, those who suffer aren’t always in a position to mount a challenge in the courts. Atlas Network partner the Institute for Justice makes a rigorous data-driven case for its areas of advocacy with its strategic research program, which helps win court cases and sets new legal precedent. Read more…
Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) (Melbourne, Australia) — Repeal the Carbon Tax Campaign
Nearly a decade ago in Australia, the idea of a carbon trading scheme or tax began gaining popularity. Atlas Network partner the Institute of Public Affairs served as a consistent and leading voice of caution, educating lawmakers and the public about its shortcomings as environmental policy. The eventual repeal ended this poorly conceived and costly law that had both failed to reduce emissions and could not have possibly made an impact on global emissions levels. Read more…
Tax Foundation (Washington, D.C., United States) — State Business Tax Climate Index
Providing reliable data about the comparative tax climates of state governments demonstrates to lawmakers that their tax policies can make the difference between economic growth and stagnation. Atlas Network partner the Tax Foundation helps achieve better policy with its State Business Tax Climate Index, which ranks the 50 states by measuring the elements of each state’s tax system that are important to all types of business. Read more…
About the Templeton Freedom Award
Named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the Templeton Freedom 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, innovation, and human fulfillment via free competition. Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award as of 2013 is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust.
Finalists for the Templeton Freedom Award must have:
- Achieved strategic impact (in areas of policy impact, social impact, academic impact, media impact, or student impact, etc.);
- Made innovative contributions to the field of free enterprise education or policy research; and
- Laid the groundwork for future progress in improving countries’ scores in rankings of economic freedom (e.g., the Index of Economic Freedom or the Economic Freedom of the World report).
Join Atlas Network and the Templeton Freedom Award finalists at the 2015 Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, Nov. 11–12 in New York City.
Follow the conversation on social media using the hashtags: #TempletonFreedomAward and #LFFD15