MELIMO NEWS

Dear friends and colleagues,



This month the Mozambican Movement of Liberal Students (MELIMO) completed six months after its foundation on December 6th, 2010!



These were six months of intensive work. We planted seeds that will certainly flourish in favor of students action and participation, individual freedom, peace and prosperity in Mozambique.

We shared knowledge until now unknown to the students. Today it is possible to see students speaking about topics that until very recently were mere matters of businessmen, donors, academicians and politicians; today we can find students talking about the business environment, economic freedom and property rights, we find young people talking about limited government and individual freedom – things impossible to imagine not long ago.



In these six months, six discussions were organized which combined more than 600 participants, including students and young professionals discussing and sharing knowledge on youth entrepreneurship and development, inclusive economic growth, competition policy and monopoly in the market, the challenges of the Mozambican economy in the face of crisis (will subsidies be the answer?) and the challenges of the Eduardo Mondlane University, among others.



We brought to our discussions honored speakers as Professor João Mosca (economist), Professor Roberto Tibana (scholar and consultant in Mozambique and Africa), the IMF Resident Representative, Victor Lledo, the Director of the Catholic University in Chimoio, João Ferrão, Director of the Polytechnic University in Quelimane City, Professor Marcos Lourenço, but also brought young panelists such as Eng. Venâncio Mondlane (Young political analyst), the lawyer Cremildo João, based in Chimoio City and the candidates for the presidency of the Association of University Students of the University Eduardo Mondlane, the major and oldest in Mozambique.



Soon after the foundation, we took the public debates to the cities of Chimoio and Quelimane, where we had the opportunity to share knowledge with students, young professionals, academicians, journalists, businessmen, politicians and many others.



In six months, in a pioneering project in Mozambique, we distributed over 1000 CDs and DVDs, containing books and papers on economics, law, governance, democracy, globalization and much more. In the events of release, we openly discussed the contents of these materials, looking to include them in the Mozambican reality.



MELIMO expanded to four provinces of Mozambique (Gaza, Manica, Zambezia and Cabo Delgado).

During these months we co-organized a competition of essays and scientific articles, called "Big Questions Online", where Mozambican students can write about "How should be the economy be in a free society?".



We had the honor of participating in international events like the 2011 ATLAS Experience and Heritage Bank Resource 2011, held in the city Dallas, Texas, United States of America (USA) and the prestigious training program in planning and strategic management think tanks, the hosted by ATLAS NETWORK, called Atlas Think Tank MBA, held in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, from April 29th to May 12th, 2011. In this event, the General Coordinator of MELIMO and CEMOs researcher was awarded the "elevator pitch", for the most motivating speech to donors and partners.

In these six months, we launched our website. We want to make www.melimo.org a reference when talking to students and about the efforts for the emancipation and development in Mozambique.



Last weeks, MELIMO started with the strategic planning process for the next 18 months. Members of the MELIMO General Directorate and partner associations, gathered at a seminar, began to draw the "main lines" of their strategies for action for their target groups (students and young professionals), their partners and also on the organizational development.



Over the next six months we hope to continue to consolidate the work started, as well as open new fronts in favor of a bigger and better involvement of students in Mozambican society.



At this time of celebration and reflection, we would like to congratulate once again our partners and employees for accomplishments in the hope that the next six months will be more work and accomplishments.





The General Coordinator





Henriques Viola