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Dear John,
I’ve been “giving it a rest” for a bit—Thanksgiving was a great time to recharge after Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, Atlas Network’s biggest event of the year in New York. As much as I loved having some time with family and friends when all the work is over, I’m always a little sad to see such an amazing gathering of people who love freedom come to an end.
Meeting leaders who share our values from every corner of the globe and celebrating their achievements for real people in their countries and communities is one of the best parts of my job. What made it even better is that so many people who get this email were also there to be part of the experience. Thank you to everyone who joined us and made this year’s Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner possible.
It’s practically impossible to leave an Atlas Network event and not feel more energized and inspired. The people we meet and the stories we share give us a powerful reminder that local organizations advancing freedom can improve millions of people’s lives.
The biggest story I have to share comes from the Philippines. The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) won the 2023 Templeton Freedom Award. It’s hard enough to win once, but this was actually the second time since 2019 that their team won our biggest prize.
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Only the world’s biggest achievements for individual rights and economic opportunity compete for the Templeton Freedom Award, and FEF has succeeded in bettering millions of lives in every corner of their country, which is made up of more than 7,000 islands.
In the Philippines, laws and regulations dating back to the 1930s had limited foreign investment and competition in services including telecommunications, transportation, and renewable energy. FEF led the way in advancing reforms that opened these industries to more competition, increasing access and affordability for wireless broadband internet and renewable energy, especially in the country’s many remote areas.
In short, there are schools, businesses, and homes now connected to new providers like Starlink wireless internet in the Philippines today, all because of the changes championed by FEF.
Liberty Forum is also a place where our partners who are working in some of the world’s most challenging regions and countries can dream big. This was the first year we hosted our Smart Bets Pitch Competition on our main stage, where our judges selected Ideas Beyond Borders—which works in countries including Iraq and Afghanistan—to receive a $50,000 grant for their project to advance entrepreneurship and better policies for free enterprise in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
The room lit up when Ideas Beyond Borders’ founder Faisal Al Mutar celebrated his team’s win. He shared with us that advancing entrepreneurship in the Middle East brings hope to people who have ”chosen construction over destruction” in such a trying time for the region.
If you want to relive any of these moments or see them for the first time, you can do so anytime you want by visiting our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@atlasnetwork
All my best,
Kam Griffin
Associate Director of Development
Atlas Network
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