2015 Activity Report

International Society for Individual Liberty

President Ken Schoolland

The Asia Liberty Forum: Advancing Liberty & Markets in Asia, was attended by more than 200 members of Students for Liberty and a multitude of Asian think tanks. It was hosted by the Asia Centre for Enterprise (ACE), the Samriddhi Prosperity Foundation, the Centre for Civil Society, the Atlas Foundation for Economic Research, & the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. I presented on the topic of “Open Borders & Free trade: Migration & Trade Policies in Asia” in Kathmandu, Nepal. And I was pleased to learn of the radio production in Nepali of my book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey.

While there, I was also invited to speak to the MBA students and faculty at several universities on “Entrepreneurship, Migration and Economic Growth”: Tribhuvan University; Ace Institute of Management; and Kings College. I was also asked to participate in a media policy forum at the Hotel Everest, presentation on “Property Rights and Economic Growth” to the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON).

Before departing Nepal, I was able to work with Riya Basnet in preparing the publication of the Braille edition of Jonathan Gullible. Riya and Nisha Niraula have been working with Students for Liberty in using the book in local schools and in founding Women in Liberty, to help women with identity and rights for entrepreneurship. The Braille edition was publicly released at the Bali World Conference in June.

Barun Mitra, Founder and President of the Liberty Institute of Delhi, introduced me to the schools of Kesroli where we distributed Hindi editions of Jonathan Gullible to both public and private schools. Ekta Sodha, featured on the cover of Education World (in red) in India, has adopted the English and Hindi editions for 5 of her schools.

Then Barun took me to Gujarat Province where we met the founders of the Right to Property Movement that is using GPS devices to register land title for tens of thousands of farmers, thus vastly improving their economic conditions. This is massive undertaking is the work of Trupti and Ambrish Mehta and their organization, Active Research for Community Health and Development (ARCH). Kenli Schoolland, Director of Development for the International Society for Individual Liberty helped them establish their website the previous year. And I have published articles supporting their efforts.

Back in Delhi, I spoke at the First Annual Asian Students for Liberty Conference, “Open Borders for Peace and Prosperity.” This event was also well attended, with youth activists from all over India. Shruti Sharma has utilized the English commentary edition of JG in discussion groups at universities in India.

As my Spring economics teaching schedule finished at Hawaii Pacific University, my wife and I set off for a meeting with our host, the free market Minister of Parliament in Thailand, Dr. Kriengsak Chareonwongsak. We also met the folks of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Bangkok as they prepare a Thai edition of JG for publication. Then we flew to Phnom Penh to speak at the Professional Research Institute for Management and Economics (PRIME). They have since informed me of progress in producing a Khmer translation of Jonathan Gullible.

My wife, Li, organized the highly successful Bali World Conference on Market Liberalization at the estate of Hugo van Reijen. The four-day conference was attended by 150 participants and 30 speakers from all over the world. All of the proceedings are now viewable on line. The stars are too many to name, but Shin Dong Hyuk and Yeomi Park, both escapees from North Korea, were fabulous inspiration. Preceding the conference, we held the first Bali Society Meeting of 30 discussants, deliberating over a range of hot topics from migration to the environment, from money to peace.

Amin Ahmad announced the future publication of the Malaysian edition of JG, Bala Rangaraju the Tamil edition, Sanjay George the Malayalam edition, and Shruti Sharma with Nikesh Pahuja the Punjabi edition. Winning the Torch of Freedom Award was Khalil Ahmad, publisher of 6 editions of JG: 3 Urdu, 2 Sindhi, and Baloch.

As the guest of Aruni Shapiro, Ishara Gamage and the Bastiat Society, Li and I next traveled to Sri Lanka to give a talk and to meet the translator and publisher of the Sinhalese edition of Jonathan Gullible, Raja M.B. Senanayake. This was followed by extensive coverage of the event in Ceylon Today.

The 6th Annual Summer Program for International Economics and Management was held at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China, for more than a hundred students from all over China and Hong Kong. My wife, Li, has persisted over the years, at great personal sacrifice, to bring a gathering of international free market scholars. This year included Cris Lingle, Barun Mitra, Jeff Crawford, Doug Bandow, Matt Dale, and Wolf von Laer. My own topics included “Trade, Migration, & Prosperity;” “Problems of Income Distribution;” and “Supply Side and Austrian Economic Ideas on Taxation.”

Then on to Beijing where the IAPP-CIPA, International Academy of Public Policy and Cathay Institute of Public Affairs, invited Cris Lingle, Barun Mitra, Wolf von Laer, and myself to present. My talk was “Lessons From Greece” in their Seminar on Financial Stability and Rule of Law. And for the Unirule Institute I presented “Proper and Improper Rule of Law” at the Conference on Economic and Financial Deregulation, Stability and Rule of Law.

In Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia I was invited by the Silk Road Foundation to the book signing presentation of the second printing of the second Mongolian edition of Jonathan Gullible. A couple television appearances followed with a presentation to the Economic Club and a meeting with the Young Presidents Organization of Ulaan Baatar.

The primary focus of my visit was teaching in the countryside at the Free Market Academy for 25 select students. This involved seven lectures on public policy. I am greatly indebted to Dashka Pobruush and all the founders of the Silk Road Foundation including P. Tsenguun, Tsatsral, Batchuluun, Enkhchimeg, Khaliunbat, and more.

For Jonathan Gullible, Edo Omerčević, Director of the Center for Advancement of Free Enterprise, published the Bosniak edition this year and many more projects are underway. On going is the musical production of Lyudmila Melnikova in Kazakhstan and the CD in Armenia. A business plan has been structured for a JG movie production with Matthew Parker, Keith Baxter, and their animation team in Hollywood. Spearheading the drive for investment, especially in China, is the work of my wife, Li.

Li is also planning for her TFT Events: The World Conference on Peace and Entrepreneurship in Marrakesh, Morocco, May 26-28. This may be preceded by another International Society for Individual Liberty Bali Society Meeting and by Glenn Cripe’s youth seminars of the Language of Liberty Institute. Join us, support us.

Appendix My interview recently in Mongolia: http://jargaldefacto.com/кэн-скүлланд-ken-schoolland/ My article in Sri Lanka: http://ceylontoday.lk/22-98655-news-detail-trade-migration-entrepreneurship-prosperity-open-borders.html Last year I gave 28 presentations on trade, migration, entrepreneurship and prosperity in 7 countries of Asia. The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is now published in 80 editions in 50 languages, with 3 plays touring 3 continents, and a movie production in progress.