Dr Parth Shah, President of Centre for Civil Society (CCS), was invited to a workshop on private schooling organised by South Africa’s Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (South Africa regional office). This event was one of the Foundation initiatives to provide platforms for South-South exchanges between partners from developing countries and emerging economies.

Dr Shah took part in a round table discussion on Successful low-cost private schooling models from India – Possible applications for South Africa with Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary and provincial spokespersons on education. Both CDE’s report (Hidden Assets: South Africa's low-fee private schools) and Dr Shah’s presentation debunk the myth that private schools are the prerogative of affluent families and in fact show-case that low-cost private schools are the preferred route for many poor parents.

Is the world economy in crisis because it lacks the fundamentals of sound money?

In its second year, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation is holding an essay contest in order to raise awareness and promote knowledge about sound money, and to identify young talents whose keen understanding of this subject will steer the direction of monetary policy toward sound free market principles. This year’s theme is “Money in Crisis.” Deadline is 15 January 2011.

Was liberalism transplanted in India from the west or was it rooted in Indian tradition? Was Gandhi a liberal? What is the role of religion in the evolution of India’s liberal tradition? Is there a liberal space in India politics? Are India’s liberals united or divided when it comes to solutions for India’s problems? How can we move beyond the “marketplace of ideas” to the “marketplace of policies”?

To discuss these questions and more, twenty liberals from politics, media, academics, civil society and government came together at the “Colloquium on the Indian Liberal Tradition” held recently in Bangalore from 13-15 June. It was organised by the Centre for Civil Society in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF).