Friday, September 26, 2008

The liberty triumph!

There is a great event on “Opportunities for Liberalism in India. Given the present crisis it would be right time to muse about the words like liberty, individual freedom, economic freedom etc because without which human being hardly believe there is life.

Please do attend. I am posting the whole programme below.

 Symposium 

Opportunities for Liberalism in India 

Organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit 

At the occasion of

50 Years Friedrich Naumann – Stiftung für die Freiheit

and

40 Years of Project Work in India

New Delhi, 27 September 2008

 Venue:

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi 110001

 The cornerstones of a vibrant democracy need a constant screening, because democracy is always in danger of slowly declining unnoticed. Central to democracy is the trust in individual freedom and responsibility. There is no freedom without rule of law, economic freedom, peaceful resolution of conflicts and equality of opportunities. These are also the core liberal values.

 How much freedom of speech and thought is ensured to the citizens of India, considering the current threats to religious minorities in many place of the country? How does the Indian state try to resolve its many violent conflicts, for instance the most serious one with the Naxalites? How does the state tackle the threat of terrorism? What is left of the licence and inspector raj in India, which affects growth rates and millions of people’s jobs?

 We invite you to have a closer look at “Opportunities for Liberalism in India” and be part of the discussions with distinguished speakers such as Soli J. Sorabjee, B. G. Verghese, the German Ambassador H. E. Bernd Mützelburg, Prof. Bibek Debroy, Arun Jaitley, MP, Sharad Joshi, MP, and John Lord Alderdice, MP (Britain), and President of Liberal International.

 Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF) is the German foundation for liberal politics and the only liberal organisation if its kind world-wide. We lend our expertise for endeavours to strengthen freedom, democracy, market economy and the rule of law. The symposium commemorates 40 years of our partnership with Indian civil society actors.

 Programme: 27 September 2008 

 09.00 Registration

 09.45 Inaugural Session

 Chair: Ajoy BAGCHI, Indian Liberal Group, Delhi; Executive Director, Peoples’ Commission on Environment and Development of India (PCEDI)

Welcome Address: Dr. René KLAFF, Regional Director South Asia, FNF

  • Lord John ALDERDICE, President, Liberal International
  • Soli SORABJEE, Former Attorney General of India
  • H. E. Bernd MÜTZELBURG, Ambassador, Federal Republic of Germany

11.00 Tea Break

11.30 Liberal Values: Dissent and Democracy

 Chair: George VERGHESE, Senior Journalist

 Speakers:

  • Soli SORABJEE, Former Attorney General of India
  • Father Cedric PRAKASH, SJ, Director of Prashant (Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace), Ahmedabad
  • Dr. Jayaprakash NARAYAN, President Lok Satta Party, Hyderabad
  • Tempa TSERIN G, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi

13.00 Lunch

 14.00 Economic Liberalisation: Ethics and Markets

 Chair: D.N .PATODIA, Industrialist 

Speakers:

  • Sharad JOSHI, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, President Swatantra Bharat Paksh
  • Gurcharan DAS, Author and former CEO
  • Bibek DEBROY, Professor, Centre for Policy Research

15.30 Break

 16.00 Liberalism and Conflict Resolution: Political Confrontations inIndia

 Chair: Lord John ALDERDICE, President, Liberal International Speakers:

  • Barun MITRA, President, Liberty Institute, New Delhi
  • Sundeep WASLEKAR, President, Strategic Foresight Group, Mumbai
  • Arun JAITLEY, Member of Parliament, General Secretary, BJP
  • Sudeep CHAKRAVARTI, Author

17.30 Closing Remarks

  • Dr. René KLAFF, Regional Director South Asia, FN St
  • S.V.RAJU, National Co-ordinator, Indian Liberal Group, Mumbai

18.00 Reception 

FNF Contact person:

Dr. Mohan Panda

Mohan.Panda@fnst.org

Telephone: 0091 9818499296

http://www.indefenceofliberty.org/story.aspx?id=1975&pubid=1766

 

 

 

No comments: