Gross national happiness, instead of gross national product (GNP) or gross national income (GNI).
Buddhist ethic and economic liberalism, aside from Confucian ethic, Protestant ethic, Christian ethic, etc.
The event will be organised by four organizations, EFN Asia, QED Group, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), and WWFLiving Himalayas Initiative. With support from the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, National Environment Commission and Royal Thimphu College.
EFN Asia is holding an annual conference of independent, non-government and free market-leaning think tanks, research institutes and academics, in different Asian cities. The theme varies yearly, in partnership with country-based host think tank/s and institute/s.
Venue will be the Taj Tashi hotel in the capital city of Thimphu, on November 23 to 24, 2015, with a third day conference on the 25th on sustainable development goals (SDGs) mainly sponsored by the WWF.
I saw some photos of this hotel, it looks very exotic and inviting.
If I were asked what is the formula for human happiness, my quick and immediate answer will be individual freedom and material wealth, protected by the rule of law. If there is more material wealth -- like more sturdy houses and offices for the people, cheap and stable electricity that run 24/7, more schools and institutions of learning, more modern healthcare facilities and health professionals, more tractors and mechanized harvesters for farmers, etc. -- then people can live more productively, live wealthier, healthier and longer. As one saying goes, "Money cannot buy anything but it is better to cry in a van or SUV than in a bicycle."
The conference theme will focus on "Freedom and (ecological) resilience" as the WWF is among the major sponsors.
Among the key speakers of the Conference 2015 will be the following.
1. Thinley Palden Dorji, Founding Partner of QED Group, Bhutan,
2. Ronald Meinardus, Regional Director, FNF South Asia, India,
3. Siegfried Herzog, Regional Director, FNF South East and East Asia, Thailand,
4. Dr Robert Lawson, Director of the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, Southern Methodist University, USA
6. Dr Razeen Sally, Assoc. Prof, National University of Singapore and Director, European Centre for International Political Economy,
7. Dr Parth Shah, President, Centre for Civil Society, India,
8. Dr Kwon Tae-shin, President, Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), S. Korea,
9. Fred McMahon, Resident Fellow, Fraser Institute, Canada,
10. Hon. Oyun Sanjaasuren, MP Mongolia; President, United Nations Environmental Assembly; and Chairperson, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD)
12. Dr Deunden Nikomborirak, Research Director, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI),
13. Jamyang Tashi, Managing Partner, QED Group.
More names will come out in the coming weeks as EFN Asia Secretariat are still waiting for confirmation of other speakers.
Thimphu, Bhutan is a valley and still in a very high elevation of 2.25 kms (7,375 ft) and 2.65 kms (8,688 ft) above sea level. For us from an archipelagic country and capital city just few meters above sea level, and our highest mountain is only about 3 kms. high, Thimphu should be a brrrry cold place. Especially in late November.
I will participate in this conference as among the minor speakers during the "Asian Cafe", a quick discussion and open forum where the participants hop from one discussion area to the next every 10 minutes I think.
Other speakers in the Asian Cafe are the heads of their respective institutes: Peter Wong, Lion Rock Institute (LRI), Hong Kong, Michael X.Y. Feng, Cathay Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), China; Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Malaysia; Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput, Thailand Future Foundation; Ulil Absar Abdalla, Freedom Institute, Indonesia; and many others.
Membership and active participation in the annual EFN Asia conference is very important for me. Not only to meet up with old friends in the Asian free market movement, along with partners and friends in Germany, US and Canada, but also to learn, redefine or re-assert, economic and individual freedom as the world continues to modernize and evolve.
Will give more updates about Conference 2015 in the coming weeks.
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See also:
EFN Asia 45: Growth, Inequality and the Philippines, November 14, 2014
EFN Asia 46: A Young Korean's Reflections of Conference 2014 in Hong Kong, February 10, 2015 EFN Asia 47, Participation in Jeju Forum 2015, May 08, 2015
EFN Asia 48: Report on "Free Market Environmentalism", May 29, 2015