About Liberty Forum

The 1st Liberty Forum was held in Porto Alegre on April 14, 1988. Conceived and organized by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies (IEE), its main goal was to find feasible alternatives to solve Brazilian problems, thus contributing to construct a more prosperous and decent country.

Twenty-one years have passed and the Liberty Forum maintains the same vigor and dream, but it never stops growing. Today, it is the largest space for political, economic and social debate in Latin America.

The event, which is held every year, is attended by businesspeople, professionals, politicians, professors, university students, members of the press and opinion-makers. Its main feature is the discussions between personalities invited to participate in the Forum. These nationally and internationally renowned speakers, with their view of world trends, bring different perspectives for the Brazil of the future.

The themes discussed at the Liberty Forum are always controversial, innovative and extremely relevant, covering education, economy, social and political issues. These discussions involve the dialogue between different currents of thinking, with the participation of sociologists, politicians, economists and philosophers, thus making the Liberty Forum an event with total freedom of ideas.

Thus, the Liberty Forum has been making a decisive contribution to the sustainable development of our country, to the strengthening of the democratic institutions and, consequently, to the improvement of the life of Brazilians.

Instituto Liberdade is proud to be partner of IEE and to support the Brazilian Liberty Forum.

Liberty Forum 2008: Now, The Market is the World

Venue: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, city of Porto Alegre

Dates: April 7 and 8

From mid 80’s to nowadays, humanity has been going through a period of acceleration never seen before of what is conventionally called Globalization. Meanwhile, technological innovations, geopolitical changes, and socio-cultural movements have steered the global community to a level of interrelation and interdependency ever recorded in the pages of our history.

The mobile phone, the fiber optic cables, the super conductors, among so many tools, reduced the distances and eased the communication between individuals, making simple and regular the real time contact, for example, between a German engineer and a Vietnamese factory manager. In the same manner, the increase access to the internet and other means of information put together a huge number of people in contact with other individuals, creating opportunities of broad and speedy access to information.

In the end, innumerable and essential questionings arose from all the phenomena breaking daily paradigms and changing former concepts and perceptions. How will be the evolution from the shock of cultures and civilizations? Will we walk the path of cultural unification towards a peaceful understanding and plural tolerance or towards a violent rupture? Is Globalization, commercially speaking, an opportunity or a threat? Will the national identity remain the way we used to know? How will the ordinary man be inserted in this context?

Here are a few of the issues derived from the main theme. Actually, this debate in a plural, dynamic and multidisciplinary environment will essentially contribute not only for the individual reflection but also will create awareness in the public opinion. This useful and propositive debate will create sociocultural implications of this global process.