My 2016 Free Market Road Show in 23 Pictures
by Federico N. Fernández*
The 2016 Free Market Road Show ended last week with the event in Chisinau (Moldova). This year I attended 23 cities. In most of them I gave talks, in others I was there to help with the organization and logistics. Like always, I had the chance to meet great people and have amazing talks with some of the brightest minds in the Libertarian movement.
Enrique Ghersi said that the Free Market Road Show is the biggest Libertarian event in the world. He definitely has a point. This year the FMRS went to 45 cities and gathered close to 10,000 attendees. That’s something…
I hope the pics and comments you’ll find below can give you an idea of the scope and magnitude of this great adventure that’s the Free Market Road Show. And, again, please bear in mind that these are just the cities I visited.
1. Tenerife
One of the places we visited for the first time. We teamed up with the Instituto Atlántico. In the picture you can see Bernardo de Sagastume, member of IA and a great guy.
2. Madrid
That in the middle is Dr. Barbara Kolm. She’s the heart and soul of the Free Market Road Show.
3. Seville
I could write a whole book on this picture. This is Seville. To your right you can see Fernando Nogales. He commands a group -Círculo Liberal Bastiat- comprised of some of the nicest and most committed libertarians that you can find. In the center is Enrique Ghersi. A Peruvian intellectual, brilliant and great speaker. The two young guys to the left are Diego Sánchez de la Cruz and Ángel Martín Oro. Both very talented. They’re the future of Spain.
4. Prague
Robert Murphy, from Texas Tech University, giving his keynote speech. The caliber of speakers that we gathered is simply impressive.
5. Vienna
Another superb speaker: Dr. Erich Weede. He gave an uncompromising speech on immigration at the Vienna event.
6. Berlin
First panel in Berlin getting ready to start. Sitting there you can also see Anders Ydstedt, Richard Vedder, John Kartch, and Ed Stringham. Business as usual.
7. Iasi
Second time we go to this Romanian city and same result: full house! The local Hayek Institute does a great work.
8. Thessaloniki
This was the queue to enter the venue, at the University of Macedonia. Thessaloniki is one of the capitals of the Road Show. This year, again, we had 1,000+ attendees.
9. Komotini
Selfie with Lawson Bader. He is a great speaker, has a keen mind, and is a nice person. Something you should know about Lawson is that he really likes trains…
10. Athens
An old time favorite and someone I met this year. John Charalambakis is one of the best speakers the Road Show has. Energetic, clear, always sharp. We can see John talking to Michael Williams. Michael spoke at the FMRS for the first time this year. And he was amazing!
11. Jerusalem
One of best additions the Road Show had this year: Nick Hubble. Nick wrote the official FMRS newsletter, named “The Road to Freedom,” which we published in collaboration with MoneyWeek.
12. Larnaca
Larnaca (Cyprus) made its debut within the FMRS. That one sitting there is Ben Powell. Ben is a powerhouse himself. He leads the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University. If you’re planning to pursue an academic career, that’s the place you have to be.
This picture also shows what the Road Show’s all about: great speakers who are really committed to promote our ideas… and who sometimes barely make it to the events.
13. Brussels
This, unfortunately, aren’t people queuing to attend our event in Brussels. This picture was taken when we were trying to get out of Brussels. How the post terrorist attack was handled tells a lot about the “capital” of the European Union.
14. Amsterdam
We had a lovely venue in Amsterdam, as you can see. And once again, these are the sort of panels we assemble in the FMRS stops. Standing is Yaron Book, the executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. Sitting are Barbara Kolm, Dan Denning, from MoneyWeek, and Alex Salter. It was Alex’s first time and the Road Show and he was a fabolous speaker.
15. Paris
The Liberty Fund books are present in each and every city of the tour. Liberty Fund is one of our major international partners and we’re very proud to collaborate with them.
The second table belongs to European Students for Liberty. ESFL is also an institution that really helps us.
16. London
Deirdre McCloskey. An extraordinary individual.
17. Dublin
Just outside the Dublin airport. Good old Irish Catholicism.
18. Edinburgh
That’s Panmure House. Do you know lived there? A relatively renowned Scottish philosopher and economist named Adam Smith.
19. Tallinn
International economist Razeen Sally talking at Tallinn. Businessman Ron Manners, who’s finishing his notes, will follow.
20. Warsaw
Our Polish local partners of FOR always do a great job. But this year’s FMRS in event in Warsaw was just superb.
21. Kiev
Oleksandr Danylyuk, minister of finance of Ukraine. Talked at the Free Market Road Show in Kiev. Calls himself ‘libertarian.’
22. Tbilisi
About to have dinner in Tbilisi (Georgia). Beautiful evening with friends.
23. Chisinau
Legendary Moldovan wines.
* Federico N. Fernández is senior fellow of the Austrian Economics Center (Vienna, Austria), and vice president of Fundación Bases (Rosario, Argentina).
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