In May 2022, SFL launched their new flagship program, the Prometheus Fellowship program. 50 students from around the world have been selected from among 320 applicants from 36 countries. The Fellowship program is one of the most exciting developments in the history of Objectivism. It is designed to teach top SFL leaders from around the world about Ayn Rand’s philosophy and how it can help them succeed in their personal and professional lives. During the four-year program, the Fellows will engage in an in-depth study of Objectivism, participating in online seminars as well as live, in-person events; working with study partners; writing papers; and giving oral presentations. They will also participate in a mentorship program in which they begin as mentees, and, after graduating, become mentors for incoming Fellows.
Martin Hooss (also a Prometheus Foundation grantee) was hired by SFL as the educational content associate for SFL’s New Frontiers of Objectivism program, but will also be one of the instructors in the Fellowship programs’ first series of seminars, which will take place over the summer of 2022. These seminars include pre-session readings of Ayn Rand’s and Leonard Peikoff’s works and several workshops, including “Who Is Ayn Rand and What Is Objectivism?” with Martin, “Capitalism over Collectivism” with Eric Daniels, “Free Markets over Central Planning” with Raymond Niles, “Ayn Rand’s Theory of Rights” with Craig Biddle, and “The Power of Romantic Art” with Dianne Durante, as well as workshops on “Rand’s Morality of Rational Self-Interest” and Rand’s metaphysics and epistemology (instructors to be determined).
Prometheus Foundation has worked with Students For Liberty (SFL) for several years to introduce students to Ayn Rand’s books and ideas through SFL’s various programs, conferences, and channels. These include SFL Academy, LibertyCon, Freer Future Fest, Learn Liberty, and SFL’s Coordinator Program. In 2021, Prometheus funded SFL’s ambitious New Frontiers of Objectivism program, which is bringing Rand’s ideas to students worldwide. We are currently reviewing a new SFL proposal for a Prometheus Fellowship program to provide in-depth study of Rand’s ideas and Leonard Peikoff’s courses to SFL’s top students worldwide. SFL’s Prometheus-funded programs have already introduced Ayn Rand’s ideas to hundreds of thousands of students. These new programs will expand this reach and increase the depth of study by orders of magnitude.
Here’s an indication of SFL’s Objectivism-oriented programs and activities in 2021:
In April, Craig Biddle worked with SFL to produce a three-part video series about Ayn Rand’s ideas: Philosophy and “The Morality of Life”; Reason, Purpose, and Self-Esteem; and Individual Rights, Government, and Fundamental Philosophy. The series was live streamed and later posted to SFL’s Learn Liberty YouTube channel.
In October, SFL held its 2021 North America conference, Freer Future Fest (FFF), in Nashville, TN, with more than 400 in-person attendees and more than 600,000 livestream views. Prometheus Foundation sponsored several presentations by fellows of Objective Standard Institute (OSI) at the event. These included a keynote talk by Craig Biddle on “Ayn Rand and the Future of Freedom”; a panel discussion by Jon Hersey and Craig Biddle on “Government as a Necessary Good”; an interview by Angelica Worth with economist Brian Caplin on “Freedom and Innovation”; a presentation by Robert Begley on “Frederick Douglass: Role Model for Freedom Fighters”; and breakout sessions by Jon Hersey and Craig Biddle, in which they discussed the vital importance of Rand’s ideas in the fight for freedom with SFL’s top leaders and event coordinators from around the world.
Also in October, SFL launched the first phase of its New Frontiers of Objectivism (NFO) program, which is headed by Martin Hooss. Martin created the core curriculum for the program, including a nine-hour course on Objectivism, which he has been teaching to various SFL groups in Asia.
SFL held a total of fifteen NFO events in South Asia in October—including reading groups, webinars, and courses on Objectivism—with a total of 677 participants. During the same month, SFL rolled out the NFO program in Latin America, with reading groups, webinars, and courses on Objectivism in Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, and Venezuela. The NFO team initially planned ten events in this region, but due to high demand they held fifteen: three in Bolivia, four in Colombia, two in Guatemala, and six in Venezuela. A total of 546 students participated in these events.
SFL students and organizers in Australia heard so many good reports about these events that SFL Australia requested inclusion in the next phase of NFO courses. Martin Hooss is running these throughout 2022. SFL’s New Frontiers of Objectivism program will expand to countries on all inhabited continents in 2022 and 2023.
