The second annual Corax Conference takes place in Malta, from July 28 through July 31.

Some famous libertarians have already been announced as speakers, including Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Adam Kokesh, and Julie Borowski.

But what is Corax? How come they have such a cool conference? And what are they doing on a small island in the Mediterranean? Read on for the inside scoop on this relatively unknown but very resourceful libertarian organization.

The Corax media network

Corax is the international version of a libertarian media network which has been operating in Sweden since 2014 under the name bubb.la (Swedish for bubble). The core of the project is a news aggregator inspired by the Drudge Report but with links crowdsourced by a team of volunteer editors. There are currently about 100 editors and some 20,000 daily readers through a variety of channels.

Additionally, a large number of spin-off projects have been created and at this point bubb.la is the largest and most active libertarian organization in Sweden. Some of the flagship products are a news commentary podcast with three live broadcasts per week, a separate aggregator specializing in libertarian blog,s and a large and very active internal forum for members.

Corax is the – as of yet embryonic – English language version of the project. So far only the news aggregator itself is fully operational, but the goal is to recreate the most successful projects for the benefit of a global audience. Anyone interested in helping out is welcome to get in touch: [email protected]

The conference and the unconference

The conference in Malta was created as a way for volunteers, members, readers and friends to meet and interact in-depth during a week of summer vacation. The inaugural event in July 2016 had some 50 attendees but the second one this summer is much more ambitious. Participants from all over the world are welcome, and no particular background or connection to Corax is required.

In the week leading up to the main conference program, a large number of meetups and workshops will take place throughout Malta, some part of the official conference, and others created spontaneously in an unconference fashion.

Action and business, not theory and politics

The Corax network focuses on entrepreneurial rather than political strategies, building alternative institutions, exit over voice, personal and regional secession, alternative media and innovative ways of distributing information. The Mises-Rothbard tradition is taken as a theoretical foundation, but the network itself primarily seeks practical ways of building freedom.

In other words, Corax is not active in policy debate or advocacy. Instead, the focus is on getting people out of politics and instead building alternative institutions, beginning by networking with other liberty-minded people and starting businesses.

Why Malta?

One of the core ideas of Corax is exit, and relocating to more beneficial jurisdictions is actively promoted. The founders have themselves moved from Sweden to Malta, which not only has a superior climate but also a non-progressive culture, a business-friendly government and a booming economy. Libertarian expat groups are forming all over the world but Malta has become the particular focus for Corax.

If you attend the Corax conference you will get to know this new and vibrant libertarian group. You will likely get some inspiration for taking action in your own life to create your own freedom. Doubtless you will make new interesting friends. Especially if you are there for pre-conference meetups and workshops – this is where the real magic happens!

As a co-founder of Corax and chief cat-herder of Coraxconf, I am happy to answer any questions. Feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. Discounted ticket prices are available for students and others who have trouble financing their attendance. There are also openings for sponsors.

Fingers crossed that we meet on Malta this summer!

* Sofia Arkestål is the co-founder of bubb.la and Corax.