by Kevin Bjornsson
As Rick Steves of the Travels in Europe US TV program has said, "Why not be part of the party, instead of the tourist economy." You don't have to take part in an archeological dig in Greece to have an educational and authentic experience.
For the fifth consecutive year, advocates and students of liberty have met for a week-long summer camp at Lietuva on the Baltic coast of Lithuania.
The purpose of this Liberty Camp is to familiarize students with English, the language used at the ISIL conferences in Europe. An interesting ingredient of the training procedure is to include libertarian texts as the basic
reading material (the libertarian philosophy is an eagerly-received novelty in this formerly communist region).
We had for the first time this summer a significant number of University students and professors from neighboring Belarus and the Ukraine (most of them on ISIL scholarships).
The intellectual level of libertarian discussion was quite high – and we enjoyed being right on the Baltic coastline where we were able to use the camp's sauna, and also walk 5 klicks into nearby Palanga (past the male and female nude beaches).
Next year, we anticipate a significantly larger number of scholarship students from East and Central Europe, and may hold the seminar by a lake in Belarus.
Serban of Romania attended with help from the Horia Rusu foundation in Bucharest and will help us to include more countries to make this a truly regional get-together. Check out our new website at
www.phrasereader.com/LibertyCamp/index.php.
On this site you'll be able to peruse essays written by scholarship applicants, and even ask questions
about the essays. This way, those wishing to make donations may provide input, if they wish, into the selection of scholarship recipients.
Virgis Daukas of Vilnius coordinates the program.
An ISIL rep and president of Club Nuomone (the seminar co-sponsor), Virgis also hosts a weekly TV political discussion program in Vilnius. His wife, Ilona, assists companies affected by the upcoming admission of Lithuania into
the EU.
Next year, we hope to have another appearance by Ken Schoolland, Jonathan Gullible author, ISIL director, and professor of economics at Hawaii Pacific University. Ken is able to provide personal direction and participation
in JG skits.
Ken's recently-published third edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is even better, and probably the best yet for introducing the ideas of liberty around the world.
The presentation is jargon-free, and harnesses the power of analogy. The JG plays allow those unfamiliar with libertarian ideas to sympathize with, and participate in, skits illustrating the ideas. The JG website is
www.jonathangullible.com.
Stephen Browne pioneered the idea of promoting liberty through the teaching of English as a second language - using libertarian texts - and has presided over numerous of these events. He teaches English in Warsaw, and has
authored many articles in publications such as Liberty magazine. His wife, Monika, teaches English to youngsters in Warsaw, and is mother to their young son, Jerzy.
Long-time freedom activist Judith Hatton (who lives near London) again regaled us with her poetry, including an unpublished Kipling poem about Woodrow Wilson:
"He lies beneath the earth he made his own; and now he's dead, God rules the world, alone."
Beginners were taught by American expatriate Michael Rudmin, digital entrepreneur and teacher in a Lithuanian high school.
Another teacher was Elena Rakova an economist from Minsk, who works for privatization in Belarus. She has been attending these seminars for three years.
TEACHERS NEEDED
Your English teaching abilities are needed. There is a great demand in East and Central Europe to learn English. Even if you don't have a teaching background, a knowledge of liberty studies and a communicative personality will earn you much gratitude.
Make it a three week learning vacation. Teachers at the seminar will first receive one week of intensive training in Berlitz/Socratic teaching methods. This will be followed by a week of teaching - with the third enjoying
the ISIL world conference which will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania from July 7 to 11.
If you can't participate in the teaching seminar, please consider making a donation to the scholarship fund. Donations may be made through ISIL (and are tax-deductible in the US). Specify Liberty Summer Seminar.
Due to one of the lowest standards of living in Europe (monthly incomes of $30 a month for 40% of the people), students and activists from neighboring regions may not be able to attend without your help.
If you would like to be a participant in or contributor to this exciting political movement, please contact Virgis at: ilond@takas.lt
TRAVEL INFORMATION
There are now affordable flights going into the capital, Vilnius. Inexpensive buses also take the visitor into Vilnius proper, including the train and bus stations.
Those from the West coast of North America may wish to fly the polar route into Moscow (saving hours of flight time), and transferring to a smaller plane for a flight into Vilnius (for the conference) or Minsk (for the seminar). No Russian visa is required if you don't leave the Moscow airport, although Westerners need a visa for travel into Belarus.
International Society for Individual Liberty
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Lithuanian Liberty Summer Seminar
