About Polis

An academy
of the ideas
freedom

We study, teach, and defend the democracy, individual liberty and the leadership of the citizen. From Basin, with Latin american vocation.

History and origin

We were born to change how you think policy

POLIS was born in 2023 as an initiative of young ecuadorians with public vocation and passion for the ideas. In front of a continent that needs more institutions, more freedom and more trained leaders, we decided to build the academy that does not exist.

Since then we have established ourselves as a laboratory of applied thought: we train, we investigate and affect. We are not just a gym — we are a platform in expansion to the service of the ideas of freedom in Latin America.

2023
Year of foundation
First training academy has long-standing policy of Ecuador
3axles
Training · Research · Incidence
Built-in work from the local to the whole of Latin America
22+
International partners
Atlas, NED, UDLA, UNESCO, GIZ, Students for Liberty, and more
Mission
To form leaders for the freedom

Formar líderes que defiendan la libertad individual, el Estado de Derecho, las instituciones limitadas y la economía libre.

Instituciones limitadasEconomía libreEstado de DerechoDerechos individuales
Vision
Referente en América Latina

Ser la academia de referencia en América Latina en formación política, pensamiento estratégico e investigación aplicada al servicio de la democracia y la libertad.

Purpose
Ideas that transform

Conectar las ideas de la libertad con la ciudadanía — democratizando el acceso a la formación de calidad y construyendo la próxima generación de líderes libres.

Our manifesto

What we believe

Lo que guía cada curso que diseñamos, cada investigación que publicamos y cada líder que formamos.

01
Freedom
We believe in individual freedom as a principle indispensable of any fair society.
No individual freedom, no real democracy — only your appearance. We are leaders who understand and defend that difference.
02
Democracy
Creemos en la democracia como sistema de instituciones limitadas y separación de poderes.
La democracia se construye con reglas claras, instituciones que se controlan mutuamente y ciudadanos formados para exigir cuentas.
03
Ideas
We believe that ideas are the most powerful engine of political change.
Political systems change when the ideas that support it. That's why we are thinkers, not just activists.
04
Training
We believe in rigorous training as the basis of all genuine leadership.
The leadership training is improvisation. Polis exists for the continent's leaders have the intellectual rigor that the policy requires.
05
Latin America
Creemos en América Latina como un continente capaz de construir su propio modelo de Estado.
We do not import models outside — build Latin-american thought from the experience of its own, with a universal vocation.
06
Institutions
We believe that strong institutions are the best guarantee of freedom for all.
The dukes pass. The institutions remain — when someone builds and defends. Polis way to those people.
How we work

Three pillars, a mission

Training policy

Training programmes are rigorous — from intensive workshops and schools of leadership until certifications with university endorsement. Face-to-face and virtual, to Ecuador and Latin America.

Applied research

We generate knowledge of impact on democracy, institutions, and political culture. Our publications are tools for public debate and policy design.

Incidence

We translate ideas into strategies and accompany processes of real change. Articulate actors and strengthen the democratic dialogue in the region.

Join Polis

Ideas
need people.

Polis exists because there are people who believe that ideas matter, that the training makes the difference, and that Latin America deserves leaders more prepared and more free. If you share that belief, this is your place.

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