Promoting a Morally-rich Culture of Freedom – Engaging Civil Society Leaders in Latin America

Latin America is a region blessed by high religiosity and vibrant movements for human dignity. But it is also fairly characterized as a region with bureaucracies and structures that invite and encourage corruption between government, the wealthy, and political networks. This corruption leads to an “economy of exclusion” as Pope Francis has identified. This project provides educational opportunities to civil society leaders in Latin America on the connections between spirituality and free enterprise.
This project will address two Big Questions. How can the correct critique of corruption and cronyism be joined by a correct understanding of freedom and free enterprise? How can religious and civil society leaders in Latin America more effectively work to reverse corruption and promote a spiritually informed understanding of an economy that is free, fair, and inclusive?
This project entails the following:
1) 4 major international conferences;
2) Immersion of 140 leveraged leaders in said conferences;
3) Formation and annual gatherings of advisory committees in four Latin American nations;
4) 2 co-sponsored conferences held with partnering organizations;
5) Translation of Acton media products into Spanish and Portuguese.
This project will generate the following outcomes:
1) Enhanced awareness of the connection between spiritual ideas and a culture of freedom;
2) A growing understanding of a moral culture of free enterprise which sustains a flourishing society;
3) Fostering growth of regional institutions to develop sources of future partnership and outreach.
This project has the following possible enduring impacts:
1) Development of substantive answers to the Big Questions explored by this project;
2) Increased writing and research by regional thought leaders on moral culture and a flourishing society;
3) Growing understanding among religious and civil society leaders in Latin America on the relationship between spirituality and a liberal economy;