ATLAS NETWORK

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do the initiatives relate to other organizations focused broadly on Africa?

  We recognize that policy issues are not the same in Cape Town as they are in Cairo, and the strategies that our partners seek to implement are responsive to local needs. Our initiatives aim to complement—and find ways to collaborate with—other efforts to advance sound policy ideas. We frequently collaborate with Students for Liberty Africa, and we welcome inquiries about how we might work cooperatively with other organizations pursuing similar ends.

• What do Atlas Network initiatives in Africa do?

  The mission of our initiatives is to help achieve a lasting peace and inclusive prosperity throughout Africa, providing justice and opportunity to all its citizens. Our strategy is to assist civil society organizations in the region to implement bottom-up projects that increase freedom.

  This means we focus our attention on helping our partners by providing (1) training; (2) competitive grant opportunities; and (3) networking opportunities. Through our annual Africa Liberty Forum and other events and public campaigns, we also bring public attention to the projects of our partners and the importance of their work.

• What are the initiatives' top priorities at present?

  Since we believe the best policy solutions come from the bottom-up, our strategy is to listen to our partners rather than direct their plans and strategies. The principal focus of our work is supporting (via training, grants, and networking opportunities) our partners’ locally-grown solutions to poverty and other local challenges.

  We work with our partner network to help identify areas of collaboration around big themes that are common in the think tank world, and that have relevance to the needs that other local partners have identified. Current themes include:

  • Improving understanding of the benefits of trade and the dangers of protectionism, so that political leaders will less inclined to indulge in demagoguery that could undermine beneficial trading relationships.

  • Rooting out corruption and political privileges that distort the economic playing field. Such work will help us clarify that enlightened political actors will be “pro-market” (since market competition produces innovation and lowers prices for consumers), not “pro-business” (a euphemism for helping existing businesses at the expense of competitors and consumers).

  • Using tools like the Doing Business report of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World report to identify “low-hanging-fruit” reforms that can measurably increase economic freedom.

• How are the initiatives funded?

  Our initiatives are not endowed and do not accept funding from any government. They rely entirely on the generosity of individuals and institutional donors that share our desire to create greater freedom and opportunity for the people who inhabit Africa’s diverse political, cultural, and social landscape.

• How do I get involved with the initiatives?

  If you would like to learn more about the initiatives and meet those involved in their work, consider attending our next Africa Liberty Forum or Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, where many of our partners come together to learn from one another, participate in networking and training opportunities, and celebrate the accomplishments of their global peers.

  If you are working for a think tank or civil society group that would like to take part in training programs and grant competitions, the first step is to go through Atlas Network’s partner approval process.

  If you are a philanthropist wanting to learn about the initiatives' work, please contact Chief Development Officer Chad Goote. We would be happy to provide details that will help you make an informed decision about how gifts to the Center for African Prosperity may fulfill your philanthropic goals.

  If you are a member of the academy or the media, we welcome your inquiries about how you might contribute to a better understanding of the work of the initiatives and the achievements of our independent partners.

• How can I learn the initiatives' position on particular policy issues?

  Atlas Network initiatives serve a network of independent think tanks and civil society organizations that take their own positions on specific policy topics in specific countries. We are not a think tank ourselves, so we are not in the business of giving hot takes on the news of the day. On occasion, our team can assist media inquiries by providing references to experts associated with our partner organizations, but these individuals do not speak for the initiatives themselves.

• How can I inquire about having Magatte Wade speak for my organization?

  We welcome speaking invitations for Magatte Wade. Please contact magatte.wade@atlasnetwork.org with the details of your invitation.

• Do the initiatives get involved in politics?

  No. Atlas Network initiatives in Africa do not engage in partisan politics. Our focus is on building a long-term consensus around the principles that foster peace and prosperity, with the sincere hope that such a future will see ‘less at stake’ in individual elections, because all parties will be respectful of fundamental freedoms.

• Does the initiatives adhere to a particular ideology?

  Our initiatives in Africa collaborate with partners that understand how individual rights, limited government under the rule of law, and free markets can create prosperity and improve the prospects for peace. The initiatives call for an end to cronyism, corruption, and political privileges of all kinds, and looks forward to working with all people of goodwill who share this vision. In this way, the initiatives adhere to a set of principles, but not to a narrowly-defined ideology or political orientation.