Media Release
Date February 18, 2004
For Immediate release
AIMS short-listed for new Templeton Awards
‘Atlantic Canada’s public policy think tank’ gains more international acclaim
The international think tank community is again considering the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies for one of it most prestigious awards. AIMS’ comprehensive project dealing with the future of coastal communities, “Who Should Own the Sea and Why It Matters: Bringing Prosperity to Coastal Communities” is one of the top five finalists for the first Sir John Templeton Freedom Prizes in the category of Market Solutions to Poverty.
Who Should Own the Sea and Why It Matters is a wide ranging project developing ideas on how to give people in coastal communities ownership, not merely of the wild or capture fisheries, but of aquaculture sites and many other aspects of the sea’s productive capacity, creating opportunities for employment, investment and better husbandry of the ocean’s resources. The project provides an innovative perspective on private ownership and property rights as a foundation for prosperity in coastal and rural communities both in Atlantic Canada and internationally.
Spanning seven years of research and writing, Who Should Own the Sea draws on a rich collection of intellectual capital presented in AIMS books, papers, commentaries, opinion pieces, and drawn from a variety of conferences and events. One of the clear indications of the success of this project was the invitation AIMS received to present this material at “Foreshore, Law and Politics” an international conference on coastal, fishery and aboriginal issues at the New Zealand Parliament in October of 2003.
The Templeton Prize short list was winnowed down from nearly 40 applications from think tanks around the world. The Templeton Freedom Prize is open to non-profit research organizations and applications are judged on the following criteria:
Vision that is consistent with a free and virtuous society
Innovativeness of the proposed solution
Quality of the research involved in the project
Potential for transforming public understanding of this subject
AIMS is nominated for one of four Templeton Prizes that will be announced in Chicago in April of this year. Each of the four has a $10,000 first prize, and $5000 second prize
This is not the first time AIMS’s work has been singled out for praise by its peers in the international think tank community. For example, the institute has been the recipient of four Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Awards, which recognise excellence in think tank publications and projects. No other think tank in the world has been the recipient of this award more often.
For more information on the Templeton Awards, visit the website of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation at www.atlasusa.org/programs/tfa/index.php. The Atlas Foundation administers both the Templeton Awards and the Fisher Awards.
For more information on “Who Should Own the Sea and Why It Matters: Bringing Prosperity to Coastal Communities”, please contact:
Jordi Morgan
Director of Communication and Development
Atlantic Institute for Market Studies
[email protected]
Direct 902 446 3532
Fax 902 425 1393