Today’s episode is very special – not only because Education is a tremendously important aspect for every person’s development towards self-determination, prosperity and happiness in live but also because we would like to commemorate the late Dr Stefan Melnik who has contributed immensely to IAF, in fact he helped build and develop IAF to where it is today. Education has always been a theme very close to his heart. And this is why we would like to share with you a talk of four wonderful experts on Education that we recorded a few years back: In this episode we are meeting Professor James Tooley, who is best known for his work on low cost private education. He has worked in various parts of the world bringing together insights from his research and has published on low cost private education in – amongst others - the book “The beautiful tree”. Ekta Sodha actually is an entrepreneur who is active in the field of education, an edu-preneur perhaps, who runs a number of low-cost private schools in India. Manali Shah, who is also a facilitator at IAF and has worked for the CCS, the Center for Civil Society, in Delhi, who actually pioneered in India the idea of voucherizing the school system. And of course Dr. Stefan Melnik who has been an independent consultant specialising in training programmes for executives. He designed and directed workshops on human rights, the market economy, environmental issues, basics of liberalism, secularism and of course education reform – often but not exclusively at IAF. Stefan also moderated this discussion.

IAF Talk

#12 Talking about Education

“All politics is local” is a prevailing phrase – not only in U.S. politics. Apart from the strategic meaning it implies a liberal view of politics – starting off from the individual, who should be instrumental in all decisions that affect their life. Looking for solutions at the local level, involving responsible individuals and making use of decentralised local competences and knowledge are important principles to get local government politics close to citizens, encourage their participation, communicate with them more effectively and make government more efficient. However, in reality local politicians around the world are facing huge challenges to implement such principles due to administrative, legal, financial, political and practical problems.  In this episode of IAF TALK we are meeting Petra Franke and Kylie Hatton who facilitated our seminar on "Local Politics and Citizen's Participation" and share the insights and key learnings from the seminar.

#11 Talking about Local Politics

For liberals private property is a defining characteristic of a free society. In our seminar "Liberal, Property and the Environment" we explored how the concept of private property might conceivably be a solution to problems as diverse as pollution, land degradation, overfishing, deforestation, species extinction and waste. Can enforcement of robust property rights help to protect the environment, rehabilitate areas that have suffered considerable damage, and promote the aim of achieving sustainability in the use of natural resources? Would the poor and disadvantaged sections of society stand to benefit? To what extent would successful “green” and “blue” growth policies benefit from efforts to apply and foster a property rights-based approach to economic growth and well-being? In this episode we will meet Dr. Emmanuel Martin, an Economist from France, and Sven Gerst, a PhD Student in Political Philosophy at the Department of Political Economy at King's College London, who facilitated this seminar and who will not only give us an insight into this important topic but also share their impressions of a very special excursion with eye-opening experiences and the key learnings from this seminar.

#10 Talking about Environment

In a world dominated by competing messages, brands and ideas - how will your message resonate with your voters or supporters? Why is it so important to have a clear communication strategy and how can you actually prepare for communication in a crisis? In this episode we are meeting Kylie Hatton from South Africa and Wulf Pabst from Germany, both long standing experts on communication and strategy as well as politics, who facilitate our seminar on “Communication: Strategy and Skills” and share their key take-aways and main learnings from the seminar.

#9 Talking about Strategic Communication

This year we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the International Academy for Leadership (Internationale Akademie für Führungskräfte - IAF) and together with its founding director Jörg Dehnert, his successor Birgit Lamm, and the current director of the IAF Bettina Solinger, we're taking a trip down memory lane and learn how it all started in 1995, what challenges they faced over the years and what makes it all so special at IAF.

#8 Talking about 25 Years of IAF

Using Apps for finding a shop or restaurant or looking for some friends nearby is already a reality and millions of people all around the world are using those conveniences every day. Still, this is just the first step of possible developments and changes of our cities. By using “big data” and digitalization our cities can turn into smart cities and help us to manage today’s and future challenges of growing cities in fields such as administration, urban planning, environment, economic development and others. Transparency, participation and better decision making should be among the chances of smarter cities as well. However - and especially from a liberal perspective - privacy protection and keeping autonomy of one’s own data must be taken into consideration. In this episode, hosted by Armin Reinartz, we're meeting Leah from South Africa who is the political head of Johannesburg's Department of Economic Development and gives us an insight in her work, Rashed from Bangladesh who is an architect involved in various urban projects with the government designing streets and addressing how people want to use them, and Marco from Mexico is especially focussing on smart regulations and smart legislation regarding urban development and city transformation and advises local and federal governments in Latin America to promote reforms.

#7 Talking about Smart Cities

"Have your program worked out doesn't mean that you are prepared" says Marike Groenewald, one of our guests in this podcast episode. Audience participation and engagement depends on the “way of being” of a facilitator. But what does it need to create a liberal environment in training sessions and events, where an audience is able to participate fully and think well for themselves? In this episode we're meeting Marike Groenewald who is the founder of Anew, an organisational and people development consultancy based in Cape Town, South Africa. Marike also served for nearly eight years as the Director of the DA's Young Leaders Programme, the party's flagship year-long leadership development course and the only programme of its kind in the world. Trisha Lord, Trainer and Coach lecturing in advanced Coaching Skills, has trained with Arnold Mindell in Process Facilitation; and is accredited by Nancy Kline as a Faculty Member, Consultant and Coach in delivering the Thinking Environment. Trisha is also based in South Africa.

#6 Talking about Seminar Facilitation

Populists seem to be on the rise around the world and their opponents from different political camps seem to have difficulties to find the right antidote to fight that new (?) political force. Some place their bet on facts to fight lies, others on copying some of the populist features or trying to tackle what is perceived as the underlying causes that play into the hands of populists. But what is populism and why is it so dangerous for liberal open societies? What do populists have in common and how to deconstruct populism? In this episode of IAF TALK we're meeting Sven Gerst, Secretary General of IFLRY (International Federation of Liberal Youth) and Political Philosophy PhD Student at King's College London, and Radu Magdin, Global Analyst, Consultant and Trainer, who facilitated our international seminar on the topic.

#5 Talking about Deconstructing Populism

Campaigning is a core function of any political party. It is the way through which parties connect with voters to garner enough support to get into government, and to ultimately implement its vision for a better future. Often the lack of a proper campaign structure and operation stands in the way of a party being able to turn its vision into votes. With the rise of the internet, big data and social media, traditional campaign methods have undergone radical change making it easier to communicate instantly with millions of potential voters. And yet, many liberal political parties across the world struggle to connect with voters in a world that is more connected than ever before. Furthermore, the prevalence of right-wing parties and increased populism across the political spectrum begs the question, how are progressive and liberal parties to respond to this change in a way that makes the world freer and respects the interest of the individual. In this episode of IAF TALK we're meeting Jonathan Moakes, political administrator and strategist, and Warwick Chapman, technologist and executive director, both from South Africa and both highly experienced with managing campaigns, strategies and tools. Hosted by Clinton du Preez, who himself was appointed the Deputy National Campaign Manager for Training for the Democartic Alliance’s 2019 general election campaign and after which he returned to be the Acting Director of the Development and Learning Department.

#4 Talking about Campaigning

Digitalisation has opened up a world of opportunity. Today we have access to vast amounts of information, inconceivable 20 years ago. The cost of communication with others has plummeted and is now marginal. The majority of the world’s population has cheap access to the means of communication, hardware, software and the associated services. As far as freedom of expression is concerned, this no longer tends to be the privilege of professionals. Other rights have become easier to enjoy because of digital media: the right to freedom of assembly, the right to education, the ability to enforce and protect one’s right to property more effectively, the right to freedom of belief. But digitalisation and the way it has been implemented also pose serious challenges to freedom as we know it. They are in the news. They include attempts by various governments to control or cordon off the internet, efforts to abolish the principle of net neutrality, the use of social media and associated technologies for hybrid warfare, an increasing readiness to engage in “fake news” and exploiting susceptibilities in this regard, a compartmentalisation of news driven by user preferences, surveillance of internet use, internet security, and restrictions imposed by dysfunctional rules on copyright, to mention only a few. In this podcast episode we're meeting Majida Lubura (Serbia), Sukarn Singh Maini (India), Kristo Enn Vaga (Estonia) and Nicolas Martinez (Bolivia) who are sharing their experiences and personal stories of how they are benefitting from using a free internet but also how they are encountering enormous challenges.  Hosted by Dr Stefan Melnik.

#3 Talking about Digital Freedom

Innovation is not only about robots, artificial intelligence or futuristic concepts but there are many ideas on how to be innovative as an individual or as an organization. But what is needed to stay innovative and create a company culture that is constantly innovative? In this episode of IAF TALK we're having three guests who are exchanging on the topic and give a couple of practical examples: Marike Groenewald, a leadership developer and coach from South Africa; Rainer Heufers, founder and executive director of a consulting firm that provides strategic counseling, public policy consulting, leadership training from Singapore and Armin Reinartz who is the Director of the Global Innovation Hub of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom based in Hong Kong. This IAF TALK is hosted by Katja Manuela Egger, Consultant for Learning and Development at ABB Switzerland.

#2 Talking about Innovation

In the first episode of IAF TALK we're meeting Milosz Hodun, International Officer of Nowoczesna party in Poland, and Ines Holzegger, International Officer of YUNOS (youth organization of NEOS party Austria), who give us an insight into the latest political developments in their countries and how populism is affecting the situation. Hosted by Sven Gerst, Secretary General of IFLRY (International Federation of Liberal Youth) and Political Philosophy PhD Student at King's College London.

#1 Talking about Populism

We are bringing you insights and experts from our seminars of the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Germany. We are exchanging with international guests on different political, economic or social topics with a liberal approach, bringing people from all over the world together to discuss and offering key insights and learnings from our seminars and workshops.

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IAF Talk

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