The Female Exile, the award-winning documentary produced by Spanish think tank Fundación para el Avance de la Libertad (Fundalib), is a cautionary tale of the excesses of state power. Four women exiled from Venezuela share their experiences of the human rights abuses of the socialist state and the cost of standing up against this brutal regime. The half-hour documentary is subtitled in English and can be viewed here.

Soviet-era restrictions in Ukraine prohibit the sale of farmland, leaving small landowners land-rich and cash-poor—and unable to use their assets productively. When the Ukrainian government refused to initiate reforms, Ukrainian think tank EasyBusiness organized to challenge the law in court. Through economic research, an advocacy campaign, and creating tools to empower local farmers and landowners, they are working to opening up land markets nationwide. The case study is also part of Poverty & Freedom, a new book of case studies that showcases the inspiring work of 13 local think tanks that are committed to expanding freedom for vulnerable populations by fighting government abuse, making legal markets more inclusive, and removing other barriers to opportunity all over the world.

The Herald of Freedom, Montenegro’s first and only liberty-oriented magazine, has quickly become one of the top forums for promoting dialogue for liberty and free speech in the country. Created by the Global Communications Network, this online platform is a way for younger generations to engage with concepts of liberty. From LGBTQ+ issues to the roots of Objectivism, the publication is proving to be an effective tool to advocate pro-market economic reforms.

Lawrence J. Mone, who recently stepped down from the top leadership role at Manhattan Institute, will receive Atlas Network’s inaugural Sir Antony Fisher Achievement Award at the 2019 Freedom Dinner on November 7. As president of the Manhattan Institute, Mone’s work has been instrumental in promoting free-market solutions to problems of criminal justice, tax policy, welfare reform, and school choice. Mone will offer a special Toast to Freedom at the annual gala at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan. To register for Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, click here.

The Bulgarian Libertarian Society and the Institute for Market Economics are showing Bulgarians the cost of big government on Tax Freedom Day, which lands on the day when Bulgarian workers stop paying off their government tax debt for the year. This year, organizers threw a celebratory festival to educate locals about their tax burden—and they created an educational video to reinforce their message. 

Bryan Cheang, director of the Adam Smith Center in Singapore recently published Free Market Humanitarianism: A Primer, as a way to show young people that the best solutions to the issues of inequality, third-world poverty, environmentalism, social identity, and LGBTQ+ rights lie in free markets. Cheang explains in an op-ed that “...for social justice to truly be achieved, market institutions and policies are absolutely non-negotiable.”

Institute of Economics and Social Studies in Slovakia (INESS) has created an event that not only makes economics understandable for younger generations, but also fun. Their second annual Economic Olympiad engaged 5,300 students from all over the country in competitions to prove mastery of economic issues. INESS is hopeful that the Olympiad will inspire the next generation of Slovaks to discover how markets really work.
 

“Do we have any capitalists in the audience?” asked Jonathan Hoenig, keynote speaker at the sixth annual FreedomCon Israel, hosted by Israeli Freedom Movement. The conference has become a staple for Israeli liberty activists, bringing together ministers, members of the Knesset, academics, and students for a celebration of individual rights and free markets. This year’s conference attracted 530 Israelis from 23 organizations, making it the largest FreedomCon Israel yet.

Economic Freedom of the World: 2019 Annual Report, published by Canada’s Fraser Institute, is the world’s premier measurement of economic freedom, ranking countries based on sie of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulatory issues. The report, which also includes a gender disparity index that illustrates that women are less likely to flourish in countries where they are prohibited from freely participating in the economy, is widely used to show which countries are supportive of economic liberty.

For Zubair, an entrepreneur in New Delhi, the dream of starting his own web design business seemed out of reach because of minimum capital requirements needed to register a business in India. Thanks to the work of the Centre for Civil Society, these requirements were removed. Now, Zubair’s business is thriving, with 13 employees—and he’s able to put his time and resources back into his community.