Templeton Freedom Awards

The Templeton Freedom Awards have been given by the Atlas Network since 2004 using funding from the John Templeton Foundation. The awards honor work done by free-market think tanks around the world. Each year, two winners are named in each category. Winners receive a cash prize of $100,000.

Awards are given in the following 8 categories: Solutions to Poverty, Ethics & Values, Student Outreach, Social Entrepreneurship, Initiative in Public Relations, Innovative Media Award, Award for Special Achievement by a University-Based Center, and Award for Special Achievement by a Young Institute.

The Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) won for undertaking a large project on regulatory reform in 2007 as part of a campaign to promote a free market economy. The project involved 130 experts from a large range of backgrounds including economists, government officials, and business leaders. Five focus groups considered the efficacy of about 5,000 regulations.

The Independent Institute of Oakland, California won for publishing the book Lessons from the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit. In this book real-world examples are used to make the case for entrepreneurship as a development strategy for poor countries.

The following awards were made in 2009:

The New Economic School in the Republic of Georgia was selected for their efforts to influence the political debate in favor of free-market policies.

The Free Market Foundation of South Africa won for publishing the book "Jobs for the Jobless", a condemnation of South African labor laws said to lead to widespread unemployment.

Samasource won for its programs that offer training to small businesses in Africa and introduce them to American clients.

Fundación Paraguaya was selected for its San Francisco Agricultural School that trains poor youth to become entrepreneurs.

The Conservative Institute of Slovakia was recognized for its lecture programs that have hosted distinguished speakers on the topics of economics and ethics since 2005

The Globalization Institute won for publishing "The Mythology of the Greenhouse Effect", right before the 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań.

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