What ESFL Means To Me
I first attended an ESFL event in Munich, Germany in 2012 during the penultimate year of my degree. I met so many great people such as Fred Roeder, Wolf von Laer, Lukas Schweiger and many others who comprised the board of ESFL back then. I was working full time at the time and couldn’t commit to being a volunteer back then but was keen to join after I finished my studies. I finally joined in 2016 as Regional Director of Ireland & UK.
Some of the practical skills that I learned included events management and planning which I have worked into my own local activism in Ireland. There is also the communication skills which allows me to better communicate the ideas of liberty to people who might not have previously been exposed to the ideas. Presentation skills are learned by doing and ESFL grants its leaders many opportunities to present on a variety of topics on the many leadership training webinars, events and retreats that our leaders can avail of in-house and through many of our affiliate programs. I have also taken the opportunity to be a part of the editorial team on this Speak Freely blog which has enabled me to improve my own writing skills and learn a lot about writing and blogging and some of the other technical skills that go along with it.
I can safely say that joining ESFL has enabled me to become a better person by practicing my leadership skills and creating a really strong team in the region. When I took over, the region was in its infancy but it is now really catching on in places like Scotland and Wales, where for so long, the ideas of liberty didn’t get a fair voice on university campuses. We have leaders now in all countries on the British Isles which fills me with pride that I have played a part in spreading the presence of the organisation in this region.
I was also afforded the opportunity to work more closely with the Belgians, Dutch and Luxembourgish as Regional Director of the Benelux last year. This experience was very interesting, as ESFL as a presence, especially in Belgium was somewhat perceived to be in ‘competition’ with the already established Belgian LVSV which has a rich tradition of building leadership through the classically liberal tradition. I found it a joy to work with the leaders in this region especially Sander Casier and Wannes de Roeck who are a credit to LVSV and now also ESFL. This region goes from strength to strength and I look forward to the future building of bonds between the two organisations.
Being a leader in an organisation such as ESFL also gifts you access to the global network of liberty which has also opened doors for me. Through our connections to the Irish think tank The Hibernia Forum I have made good contacts over the last few years and recently became the Company Secretary. Our activities continue from strength to strength and ESFL has enabled me to grow in confidence that my/our activities can have a greater impact on reaching more students and therefore creating more leaders who will bring these ideas to the fore within Irish and British campuses and society going forward into the future.
The people and inspirational leaders across the world which are a part of this network is something which helps me to grow as I become aware of the things they are doing. Our own first Welsh SFL group, Cardiff Students For Liberty recently overcame some uncertainty about hosting Yaron Brook from the Ayn Rand Institute. This was brought about by their student union asking them to pay extra fees for security and make a change to the topic of the talk. This was supposedly based upon a previous appearance Yaron Brook made in the UK in years past where certain individuals took offense to some of the topics Yaron Brook spoke about. Free speech is one of the main issues that our leaders such as Prashant Garg in Cardiff have found it important to raise awareness about in recent times.
Other individuals such as Yon Goicoechea bring a dose of reality to what it is we are involved in with ESFL. Yon, who is an SFLer in Venezuela, was recently released from prison where he was imprisoned for protesting the Maduro regime. This brings home the reality that while the issues we speak against do not carry the same relative threat where I live, they are vastly different in other parts of the world where it can be a matter of life and death to stand for what is principled and right.
Finally, the career prospects which become available through the associations and affiliations of our work in ESFL are amazing. I have acquired many new clients for my own coaching business through people hearing about what I do and the trust and borrowed ethos from working within the organisation is something I am truly grateful for. Having the SFL stamp on your CV is a real eye-catcher for many companies in the market looking for leaders to join their companies and organisations as staff so I feel blessed to have been a part of this amazing worldwide organisation.
My advice to anyone hesitant in applying to join the organisation as a volunteer would be to take a chance because it can empower you to become a greater person and advance you to positions you may have not before thought possible.
Rob Duffy, Regional Director for Ireland & UK