Theme: How Capitalism Can Rebuild Failing Economies
Date: 6-8 October 2021
Report provided by Rowland Kingsley – [email protected]
The event was organized by Rowland Kingsley – Liberty International African Representative. It took off on 6th of October with a discussion and sensitization with high school students, as well as educating on basic principles of liberty and capitalism.
We had the opportunity to meet with secondary school board directors during the discussion on how high school students can be equipped and mentored on rule of law and basic entrepreneurship.
250 high school students participated in the event and all of them received copies of the books on beginners’ guide on liberty. What is more, top essays were rewarded with a cash gift worth $400. $200 were available thanks to Liberty International.
We had a brief moment to explain some contents of the book with the high school students. We provided their school library with some copies of the book as well.
The event was a hybrid event in which we welcomed speakers and some participants from across 6 continents who joined us live online via zoom.
We had a great conversation with the student who was introduced to the principle of capitalism and the morality of capitalism, its benefits and rewards. Both students and school authority asked multiple questions and provided us with their feedback.
On the 8th of October, which was the grand finale of the Global Capitalism Awareness day, we distributed books at Rivers States University. We have managed to distribute a total of 750 books among students from the Department of Law, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Mass Communication, History and Philosophy, Business Administration, Marketing, Accountancy and Information Management. Among these departments were undergraduates, postgraduates and PhD students.
The event kicked off at 8:30am WAT with an opening remark from Dr Jenifer Igwela who serves as the university librarian. There were also: Dr Graham Nesigbe of the Political Science Department, student leaders, faculty board of directors at students’ level, representative of the Dean of Student’s Affairs and other visiting students of political science from other universities. We were applauded by the representative of the Vice Chancellor who came to observe the book distribution as the Network for a free society was acknowledged for their support through Madam Linda Whetstone.
Students were charged by the representative of the University to learn important lessons from the book and to ensure that they treat it as a key guide to liberating our African Economy.
After 3 hours of distributing books we had a conversation at the Department of Political Science at a hybrid event during which there were different speakers who talked about the theme of this year’s edition: How Capitalism Can Rebuild Failing Economies.
The guest speaker Dr Tom Palmer and co-host Michael Malgeri had their presentations and two panel sessions addressed the topic of falling African economies. Great libertarian minds, such as Linda Kavuka, Ibrahim Anoba and Jacek Spendel commented on the situation. The second panel was about the morality of capitalism and how young people could ensure they use their voices and ideas to change the world. We had a total of 50 students at the conference, and because it was a hybrid event students and individuals from 6 continents were present.
The most important outcome was that the Rivers State University management adopted ideas of the global capitalism event and also the librarian sought books on entrepreneurship and democracy to consolidate the teaching from faculty of social sciences and improve the knowledge of students. The Department of Political Science has also sought support and partnership from NFS, Atlas Network and Center for Prosperity in Africa to create more programs and conferences for their students.
The head of Department Political Science sincerely appreciated the various organizations that supported the event to happen in the university. A few remaining books were donated to the University Central Library. We also welcomed the university’s press to broadcast the event on their radio station and university publications.
In conclusion, the university asked for support and partnership with Atlas Network, Liberty International and other libertarian organizations so that it could start a research based center that will benefit all students.
