Our volunteers organise events, write popular articles or publish academic research, contribute to policy reforms, or are part of movements advocating for change in their countries or beyond.
Amjad Aun, our current team leader for Germany, is one of the few who manages to do all of these and more. Originally from Homs, Syria, Amjad picked up his studies at the University of Ilmenau after his family emigrated to Germany, and started a thriving Students For Liberty chapter in the city, hosting a range of events including last year’s regional conference.
Being a keen student of Hayek and Austrian economics, Amjad has been a contributor to Der Freydenker, SpeakFreely and various other publications, and gave talks at a wide range of conferences, including at our 2023 regional conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, or at LibertyCon Europe 2023 in Lisbon. Besides economic theory, he also acquired experience with policy work during his internship for the Consumer Choice Center, and this year, he went on to begin his PhD in economics, intending to pass on his knowledge on to others.
However, despite all his focus on spreading sound economics and supporting the Students For Liberty team in Germany, Amjad’s key interest has always been in the possibility of helping the ideas of liberty take root in the Middle East, and seeing his home country flourish as a result.
This is why several years ago, Amjad started working with Ideas Beyond Borders, a Students For Liberty’s partner organisation dedicated to fostering the ideas of liberalism in the region. At first, Amjad was mainly an external author and speaker with the organisation, but already the first podcast he recorded reached over half a million listeners.
In July 2024, Amjad officially joined Ideas Beyond Borders in a larger role as an Economic Advisor, and wasted no time since, producing videos, articles and other educational content advocating for the cause of liberty for viewers in the Middle East, and for the importance of their cause internationally as well.
Most recently, together with Faisal Al Mutar and other activists, Amjad visited the German Bundestag where they spoke with policymakers and legislators about the necessary alliances, international aid, and strategy for more freedom in the region.
On December 18, Amjad also gave an interview on the ongoing situation in Syria and possible opportunities for the ideas of liberalism in the current political vacuum in the country, which you can find on our YouTube channel.
