Report :

It has been a pleasure to attend the IAF program on property rights in October 2008; the huge content that I received during the seminar was extremely valuable. Understanding the different schools of thought was very essential, the experience of more than 20 participants from different countries proved that we share a lot in common, especially in less developed countries. There was some information about the liberal opinion about property rights, also some fields that were not familiar to me, such as matters concerning nation’s customs, and artifacts which were to a great extent a difficult issue to tackle as well as novel especially to a country like Egypt. Also the philosophical base of the ethical dimension of property rights was new to me.

The methodology of running the seminar was really efficient and effective as well; dividing the participants into groups representing different and sometimes conflicting opinions, was a great exercise, especially when you are representing an opinion that opposes your own. This experience enriched my liberal skills and beliefs ,the idea of challenging preconceived ideas even your own ,coheres with the ethics and mental model of a true liberal ,also the presence of a really intellectual moderator like Stefan Melnik was a real added value with his acceptance of different opinions and his dialectic skills.

I contributed with mentioning the problems that I observe in my country due to the abuse of property rights, one of the critical issues were the random areas occupied by squatters. This problem is a result of many things; the major reasons being the prevailing culture and the absence of the rule of law. It was funny to find that South America countries were suffering from the same problem.

The problems related to intellectual property rights (IPR) was my most appreciated subject, I was able to challenge my existing model, through the understanding of different points of view regarding the topic IPR is one of the pillars of establishing a developed country that treasures innovation and creativity as well as free trade. It was clear to me that this concept is not handled in the proper way it deserves in Egypt. The recommendations that all the participants gave at the end of the seminar were very important. Displaying other schools of thought regarding the property rights (socialistic, communistic ….etc), can surely enrich the liberal position regarding future discussions and political involvement.

Developing a project for enhancing and advocating liberal themes in the Egyptian society through business association will be my next project with the Egyptian Junior Business Association year 2009 if the board agrees. At the end I repeat my gratitude for giving me the chance to participate in such a mind stimulating and useful seminar.