What does it take to prepare a new generation of African leaders to think critically about freedom, prosperity and public policy—and then turn those ideas into practical solutions? This question shaped the 2026 edition of Liberty Sphere, an initiative of YAFO Institute that brought together 29 selected participants for an intensive residential programme held on 23 and 24 September 2026.
Liberty Sphere was designed as more than a conventional leadership conference. It sought to create an intellectual environment in which emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, university students and journalists could examine the ideas underlying free societies, understand how public policy affects human flourishing and economic opportunity, develop practical solutions to community problems, and begin translating ideas into action.
Liberty Sphere was designed as more than a conventional leadership conference. It sought to create an intellectual environment in which emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, university students and journalists could examine the ideas underlying free societies, understand how public policy affects human flourishing and economic opportunity, develop practical solutions to community problems, and begin translating ideas into action.
A Curriculum Built Around Ideas and Application
The programme featured 13 lecture sessions, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. The curriculum moved across philosophy, leadership, economics, public policy, entrepreneurship, research and advocacy.
The programme opened with “Understanding Objectivism: A Philosophy of Reason, Freedom, and Human Flourishing,” delivered by Nathaniel Dwamena, President of YAFO Institute. The session introduced participants to philosophical questions concerning reason, individual freedom and human flourishing.
This was followed by “The Fundamentals of Public Policy: Principles, Institutions, and Liberty,” led by Ebenezer Tackie Oblie, Executive Director of the Institute for New Policy Thinking, establishing a foundation for understanding the relationship between public policy, institutions and liberty.
The curriculum then broadened into leadership and economic thinking. Prof. Enoch Opoku Antwi, Founder of the Enoch Servant Leadership Foundation and Dean at Academic City University, delivered “Vision and Purpose: Building a Mission for Meaningful Impact,” while Dr. Eamonn Butler of the Adam Smith Institute in the United Kingdom led a session on “Foundations of Free Market Economics: Markets, Incentives, and Human Action.”
Participants subsequently examined how ideas about liberty can inform policymaking through “Liberty-Centered Policy: Principles for Effective Policy Formulation,” again facilitated by Ebenezer Tackie Oblie.
The entrepreneurship component was addressed through Prof. Antwi’s “Building Businesses That Last: Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainable Growth,” connecting the programme’s broader emphasis on economic freedom with practical questions of enterprise creation and sustainability.
The curriculum also introduced participants to competing ideas about economic and political organisation. Li Schoolland delivered “Behind the Promise of Socialism: Lessons for the Future of Freedom in Ghana,” while later sessions examined Ghana’s own policy choices through “Beyond Welfarism: How Ghana’s Policy Principles Can Promote Opportunity, Free Enterprise and Individual Responsibility,” delivered by Nathaniel Dwamena.
From Ideas to Evidence and Policy
A significant feature of the programme was its emphasis on evidence-based policy engagement.
Dr. Albert Kobina Mensah, Research Scientist at CSIR and CEO of AK Centre for Research & Further Studies, delivered “Evidence for Policy Change: Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Advocacy.” The session exposed participants to the importance of combining different forms of evidence when seeking to influence public policy.
The curriculum also addressed the difficult transition from identifying a public problem to implementing a workable response. Ebenezer Tackie Oblie led “Known Public Problems: Strategies for Practical Policy Implementation,”placing emphasis on the practical challenges involved in translating policy ideas into implementation.
The relationship between research, advocacy and public policy was further explored in Dr. Mensah’s “Research, Advocacy, and Policy Reform: Rethinking Ghana’s Response to Galamsey.” The session provided an opportunity to consider how research can contribute to public debate and policy reform around one of Ghana’s significant policy challenges.
The final sessions also considered institutional sustainability. Prof. Antwi addressed “From Mission to Sustainability: Business Development for Nonprofits,” while Prof. Ken Schoolland of Liberty International delivered “Telling the Story of Freedom: The Case of Markets, Enterprise, and Property Rights.”
Taken together, the lectures created a curriculum that moved from fundamental questions about how people understand freedom and human flourishing to questions about markets, institutions, entrepreneurship, research, advocacy and policy implementation.
Extending the Conference Room Beyond the Residential Programme
Liberty Sphere was not confined to the 29 participants selected for the residential training.
Eight of the 13 lectures were streamed online, allowing the wider public to participate in selected sessions and creating a publicly accessible record of the programme’s intellectual content.
The online sessions extended the intellectual content of Liberty Sphere beyond the residential cohort. The eight streamed lectures generated 249 recorded views on YouTube and 901 views on Facebook, providing a measurable indication of public engagement with the programme’s educational content. The recordings also created a publicly accessible archive of selected Liberty Sphere sessions, allowing the discussions to remain available beyond the dates of the residential programme.
The online component also means that the intellectual resources generated through Liberty Sphere can continue to be accessed after the physical programme has ended.
From the Classroom to the Community
Perhaps the most important element of Liberty Sphere was what happened after the lectures.
Participants were divided into groups and tasked with developing ideas capable of addressing challenges within their communities. The exercise required them to move from identifying problems to thinking about possible interventions and presenting those ideas in a structured format.
The resulting proposals were presented at the Battleground Policy Pitch Competition during the Liberty Sphere Dinner & Awards with the winners awarded cash price up to Ghs6000.
The competition created a practical bridge between the programme’s intellectual content and real-world problem-solving. Participants were required to communicate their ideas, defend their reasoning and consider how their proposals could potentially generate change within their communities.
This aspect of Liberty Sphere is particularly important to its broader purpose. The programme did not end with participants receiving information. It created an opportunity for them to apply ideas, collaborate with peers and develop proposals in response to problems they had identified themselves.
Building a Continuing Platform for Policy Leaders in Africa
The 2026 edition of Liberty Sphere produced a clear set of programme outputs: 29 residential participants, 13 90-minute lecture sessions, eight publicly streamed lectures, collaborative group projects and a policy-pitching competition.
These outputs provide the first measurable record of the programme. The next stage is to document what followed from them.
YAFO Institute intends to track the continuing engagement of participants, the development of the ideas produced during the programme, and any subsequent research, community initiatives, advocacy, entrepreneurial activity or collaboration emerging from the Liberty Sphere network. Such follow-up will provide a more meaningful basis for assessing outcomes and, over time, longer-term impact.
This is why Liberty Sphere is best understood as more than an annual event. Its 2026 curriculum connected philosophy with economics, economics with public policy, policy with evidence, evidence with advocacy, and learning with practical problem-solving.
The residential programme may have concluded, but the work of documenting its contribution continues. The durability of Liberty Sphere will ultimately be reflected not simply in the number of people who attended or viewed its lectures, but in the knowledge applied, ideas developed, relationships sustained and initiatives undertaken by those who participated.
For YAFO Institute, the immediate task is therefore clear: to follow the ideas beyond the programme and document what they become.
Article by
Joshua L. Tetteh
Director, Marketing & Communication
