01.09.2009

A two-week program to last forever

Elisa Martins reported to IL her experience attending FEE’s Freedom University Seminar in New York, and CATO University in California last July.

Dear Friends of Instituto Liberal,

It is impossible to choose the best part.

In the Freedom University Seminar, I had the opportunity to share the company of students from different parts of the world.

We attended Sheldon Richman’s and Ivan Pongracic’s lectures among other highly qualified speakers, as well as Paul Cwik’s humorous addresses that made the audience laugh while learning valuable notions on freedom.

At lunch time, I had the pleasure to sit at the table with FEE’s president Lawrence W. Reed. He is a captivating figure who won the audience over with his extremely interesting stories. The students’ admiration for him became even more evident after his last lecture when they gave him a standing ovation. They applauded him for a long time as though the applauses wouldn’t suffice to express their enthusiasm.

In the sequence of our journey in the classic liberal ideas world, we went southward to CATO University seminar, in San Diego, California.

Right from the beginning I could realize the audience in California would be much different from the one we had in New York. Different generation people, from various professional and nationality origins met together with students, which resulted in a more profitable personal experience.

David Boaz, Tom Palmer and Robert Higgs were among the Cato’s brilliant speakers.

The intensive lectures program, combined with the relaxing talks at the beautiful and comfortable Rancho Bernardo Inn’s premises, was the perfect prescription for a liberal educational week.

Thank you very much for the wonderful experience you provided me.

Sincerely,

Elisa Lucena Martins