The 2008 EFN Asia International Conference

In an attempt to continue facilitating debate on issues relating to economic freedom in Asia, the Economic Freedom Network Asia (EFN Asia) recently convened a very successful international conference on ‘Private Property Rights: The Economic Foundation of a Free Society’ on 18-19 September 2008.

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FNF Supports Five-Day Training Workshop for NGO Activists and Media Professionals

The Southeast & East Asia office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation has the pleasure to support a five-day training workshop for NGO activists and media practitioners to strengthen the organisations they represent to serve the public even better as independent information sources.

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Global Launch of the Economic Freedom of the World Report 2007

Honourable Shri Kamal Nath, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, is to officiate the launch of the report in New Delhi on 4th September 2007. The event is held in honour of the late Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman. The Economic Freedom of the World project was his brainchild to which he dedicated his time and energy into getting this project off the ground. Today, the Economic Freedom of the World Report 2007 compares the level of economic freedom in 141 countries. As a global index, it measures the degree to which policies and institutions of these countries support economic freedom. The essential ingredients of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete and security of privately owned property.

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Economic Freedom Network Asia Forum 2007: Freedom in Education

What does it take to ensure that quality education, which is so important to individual development as well as national economic prosperity, is accessible to all?

Governments all around the world spend substantial amounts on education and per pupil. Yet millions have no access to quality education. Literacy rates remain low in many parts of the world, including Asia. While governments of developing countries try to provide free or low-cost education for the poor, their efforts are often hindered by limited budgets, human resources and bureaucratic red tapes.

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8th EFN Asia Conference: “Preferential Trade Agreements – Local Solutions for Global Trade?”

The East and Southeast Asia Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation is going to hold the 8th annual conference of the Economic Freedom Network Asia from 12th to 13th September 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This year the conference theme is "Preferential Trade Agreements - Local solutions for global free trade?" The conference will assess Asian nations’ experiences with bilateral and multilateral preferential trade agreements. The aim is to hold an in-depth discussion on this topic from a pro-trade and free market perspective.

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Asian Launch of the Economic Freedom of the World Report 2006

The Economic Freedom of the World 2006 Report compares the level of economic freedom in more than 120 countries. As a global index, it measures the degree to which policies and institutions of these countries support economic freedom.

The index demonstrates impressively the importance of economic liberties for the sake of attracting trade and investment, boosting economic growth, increasing life expectancy, eliminating child labour and maintaining a functioning democracy. Free economies prove to be the engines for growth and anchors of political stability in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

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