The following post by Jan Škapa is from SFL’s 2015-2016 Annual Report.

In March, the 5th Annual European Students For Liberty Conference (ESFLC) welcomed a total of 908 participants passionate about the ideas of liberty at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. It was the biggest gathering of young minds to date in Europe who will shape the future of our society in pursuit of a freer future.

The conference was organized by about 100 students who prepared three days of lectures, interactive sessions, workshops, outings, and much more. The event touched on topics like economic freedom, civil liberties, and entrepreneurship, with over 60 speakers. The theme of the conference was “Students We Should Remember.” On Friday, the conference keynote was delivered by Lawrence Reed of the Foundation for Economic Education, who told the crowd many stories of past heroes of liberty and why we need more in the future.

Michal Šindlář, one of SFL’s best student leaders in Europe, chose the theme of the conference and delivered the introductory talk about Czech student leaders who gave their lives for freedom. Specifically, he talked about Boris Kovaříček, who started a student group in Prague in the 1940s to connect pro-liberty students—only to be arrested and executed.

The two opening talks energized the attendees about the fight for a freer future. We couldn’t wished for a better start to this conference.

Saturday was a full day of workshops, short lectures, and outings—a great time to meet like-minded individuals in a niche area of their expertise. Session topics included everything from the the impact of technology on education to practical photography. Groups of participants also left the conference venue and ventured to organized outings (including one to a shooting range), while others joined roundtable discussions with prominent speakers.

Later on, the ESFL Awards were given out to the best student leaders in Europe. Slobodan Franeta was selected as Student of the Year. Slobodan is an ESFL leader from Montenegro and has done an amazing job in promoting the ideas of liberty in his country and beyond. You can read more about Slobodan’s activism on page 19 of the Annual Report.

Maastricht Students For Liberty was selected as the Group of the Year, and Liberty Classes from Ukraine won Event of the Year. All the nominees were great and showcased the strength of the liberty movement in Europe right now.

The day ended with the Liberty Pitch competition, after which everyone moved to one of Prague’s hottest nightclubs to celebrate all the knowledge gained. Chants of “Don’t Tread On Me!” under the tunes of two pro-liberty bands and a DJ could be heard throughout the night. The attendees were ecstatic!

The conference closed on Sunday, with multiple lectures and a keynote by Tom G. Palmer of the Atlas Network, who reminded us about why we actually fight for liberty. We do it to change the world.

Students departed Prague inspired. Since the close of the conference, ESFL has seen a huge spike in the number of applications for our top student programs. The new Executive Board in Europe now consists of individuals who proved themselves during the conference. SFL is more optimistic than ever about the prospects for liberty in Europe.