I often attend meetings, workshops, debates. I can surely say that the meetings promoted by the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais in Porto Alegre stand out. Only a few times have I seen so many people together, so many young people, so much seriousness and such a good organization. My participation there was a lesson for me and a reaffirmation: there is still much to be done in Brazil to strengthen democracy and achieve progress for the population. But with people such as those I saw in Porto Alegre, with so much energy, there are good reasons to go on believing in this journey. There is more than hope, there are positive achievements".

I would like to congratulate IEE for its 23 years anniversary. This concept of bringing together young businesspeople to analyze society, to transform society, to participate in society, to make proposals to make it better is very interesting. I think they should get the support of companies and businesspeople that are no longer so young. In a training course, they could explain what a leader is all about, what are their basic features. But a leader is someone who transforms him/herself when facing difficulties in a company, in a given situation, overcoming adversities. And by overcoming these obstacles, they become more confident, more motivated and then, they achieve something better. For this reason, I think that the transformation of an individual into a leader will only take place when he/she faces obstacles and overcome them".

IEE is important not only for academicians and researchers, but also to all those involved with the daily business practice who are interested in promoting knowledge, particularly showing how good free market is for freedom at the economic, cultural and political fields".

This is one of the most important organizations for the future of our country. The way IEE is structured, the organization of the Liberty Forum, the dialogues, the debates, the analyses and all the training initiatives for young businesspeople or professionals all contribute to make IEE an organization that educates elite professionals. Thus, I would like to congratulate you all for the existence of this Institute and let us proudly celebrate these two decades of work".

By seeking market solution with proven success, IEE members show there is hope for the future of this Country and a belief in our individual capacity as a people".

I am very pleased to see that the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is working to train leaders who are concerned with the defense of ethics and freedom. I think that this organization should have been established 20 years before, or even earlier. Had this happened, maybe the then businesspeople would have acted differently and Brazilian history could have taken a different direction".