Liberalism Today: Freedom First

Online Seminar: 11.02. 10.03.2013

Freedom First is the central message of liberalism since its beginnings in the early 19th century. The emergence of liberalism at that time can be seen as a logical culmination of the Enlightenment. This is as true today as it was then. It is not an ideology but an approach to ordering society and resolving problems focusing on the needs and aspirations of the individual, relying on individual initiative and based on reason. For liberals freedom is secured primarily through rule of law, limited government, secure property rights and tolerance. Liberalism has affected each and every one of us in some way. The fact that many of us strive for freedom and democracy, that we think highly of human rights, that we treasure tolerance and pluralism and that we see market economies as the way to prosperity is a measure of how important liberal ideas have been in shaping our lives and ideas. And even if liberal ideas haven't been successful in many of our countries, there are many who continue to struggle for liberal reforms. After a long period of the 20th century dominated by socialism and social democracy, liberalism has made a comeback. It has scaled new heights. The 'velvet revolution' - that saw the end of communism as a serious force threatening to shape our future - was a bloodless liberal revolution. The universal standards on human rights we accept today are predominantly liberal. The consensus concerning international trade and the objectives pertaining thereto, tearing down tariff barriers and eliminating subsidies, are liberal in the broadest sense of the term. And yet in many of our countries what we know about liberalism, liberal ideas and liberal policies is rudimentary. There is very little access to liberal literature. The claim is often made that liberalism is in some way 'Western ideology.' (Strangely, no-one claims that socialism is a Western ideology!) Moreover, there are very few liberal parties and highly visible and vocal liberal initiatives. So: what is liberalism? Is it an ideology or a frame of mind? What are its basic values, concerns and goals? What kind of policies do liberals espouse? How important is liberalism when it comes to finding answers, sustainable answers, to the many challenges we face both at a national and a global level. These are the questions we will address in our seminar. It is divided into two parts, an online part and a sur place part in Gummersbach near Cologne. The online part is competitive in nature and will serve as a basis for inviting participants to the sur place event in Germany. Liberalism today freedom first online: the online phase will last for four weeks and deal with basics: an introduction and basic texts on liberalism which participants are asked to read. Participants will also be asked to cooperate with one another participants and write a report on liberalism in the respective regions they come from. A further task will be to examine a subject that is in the news and of particular importance for liberals throughout the world. This will be done using an online discussion forum. Finally, participants will be asked to submit a contribution in written or in audio-visual form on a controversial issue from their own respective domestic perspectives. The purpose of this part of the seminar is to ensure that all participants are well-acquainted with important aspects of liberalism in theory and practice and are also informed about liberalism and how liberalism is seen in other parts of the world.

International e-Academy | Liberalism Today: Freedom First | Online Seminar 2013

Liberalism today freedom first sur place: the event at the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) in Gummersbach will commence by taking a deeper look at the liberal value system, contrasting it with those of its rivals, socialism and conservatism, and seeing how it affects people who consider themselves to be liberal and how they act. Values are an important first step because they determine an individuals outlook and, moreover, the principles and objectives underlying the policies liberals espouse. It will treat the central pillars of liberalism: rule of law, limited government and private property as the central institutions protecting individual liberty; active tolerance as a central ingredient of a plural and peaceful society; opportunity, entrepreneurship and competition as guarantors of progress and prosperity. One aim is to demonstrate that these central pillars are as important today as they were in the past in ensuring peace, well-being and the fullest measure of civil and political rights for all individuals in society. At the same time it will attempt to show how the civil rights and economic aspects of liberalism are interrelated. The seminar in Gummersbach will also look at central challenges we all face today rapid globalization, demographic change, the re-emergence of religion as a force to be reckoned with, international terrorism, poverty, gender issues, to name but a few and will help participants to determine how relevant liberalism is in meeting them. We live in a world that has been molded in part by liberal ideas the nation state, human rights, the removal of barriers to trade, the preference for peaceful resolution of conflict, the methodologies employed by modern science. Will liberalism continue to play a central role in the future? Does it have relevant solutions? Participants mainly with a political background and a position of responsibility within the organization they represent are expected to have a basic knowledge of what liberalism is and, even more importantly, to consider themselves to be liberal. The seminar is designed not as a basic introduction, but as an opportunity to consolidate participants knowledge and understanding of liberalism and to demonstrate how relevant liberal ideas are or can be in meeting the most pressing challenges of our time.

Title Liberalism Today Freedom First

Closing Date 08.01.2013

Languages English Spanish

Online Phase I Online Phase II 11.02. 10.03.2013 ca. 18.03. 27.04.2013

Gummersbach, Germany 28.04. 10.05.2013

Selected participants of Online Phase I

Successful participants from the Online-Phase 1 will continue with Online- Phase 2 and then be invited to the presence phase in Gummersbach. To secure an international and regional mix of participants the Foundation will invite the two best performers from Africa, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, Eastern Europe, from the Mediterranean Countries and from Latin America - presumed a good performance. This will result in 12 participants. The remaining 12 invitees will be chosen according to performance regardless of the region of residence. Website: http://en.e-academy.fnst.org

International e-Academy | Liberalism Today: Freedom First | Online Seminar 2013