Every month, we celebrate the incredible events hosted by LOLA chapters around the world. This month is especially meaningful, as we’re marking a major milestone: in July, LOLA turned 17. In New Jersey, that would be old enough to get a driver’s license.
It feels like just yesterday that 30 of us met at the FreedomFest conference in 2009 and decided that women deserve their own space in the libertarian movement.
Celebrating LOLA’s 17th Birthday
This year, LOLA turns 17. That’s a real milestone, and it’s worth taking a moment to look back. We started as a small group of women at FreedomFest, and since then we’ve grown into places we couldn’t have pictured back then: new continents, new regions, cities and countries we’d only dreamed about. Today LOLA has more than 3,000 members in over 60 countries, with 200-plus chapters and still growing.
This July, chapters everywhere held events to celebrate, and it meant so much to see. Thank you for everything you put into LOLA, and thank you for celebrating with us. These 17 years aren’t the story of one woman, or even a small group of women. They belong to everyone who’s put in the work and stood by this community, year after year.
Brazil
In July, LOLA chapters across Brazil hosted more than 15 events, from self-defense workshops to conversations on political ideology and personal freedom, proving the strength and range of the movement on the ground.
You can see all the events hosted in Brazil below.
- LOLA Natal, RN → Violence against women
- LOLA Porto Alegre, RS → Women in Command of Their Own Lives; For a Culture of Self-Defense
- LOLA Rio de Janeiro, RJ → LOLA’s Anniversary; Literary Dinner | Sexual Persons: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson
- LOLA Tangará da Serra, MT → LOLA’s 17th Anniversary
- LOLA Itapetininga, SP → LOLA Itapetininga Presentation
- LOLA Santa Maria, RS → Liberty in Numbers
- LOLA Niterói, RJ → LOLA 17 Years — Who Controls Your Freedom?
- LOLA Campo Grande, MS → It’s LOLA’s Birthday; Women in Focus MS
- LOLA Curitiba, PR → Meeting with Elena, a Cuban Refugee
- LOLA Brazil, Regional Events → Workshop “How Do Biblical Principles Dialogue with Libertarian Thought in Building a Freer, More Responsible Society” with Paulo Ghedini; Workshop “The Map of the Game: The Great Political Ideologies and Where Liberalism Fits In” with Rodrigo Marinho — 2nd Cycle of Training “Foundations of Freedom”
Latin America
This July, LOLA chapters across Latin America came together to celebrate 17 years of the movement, marking the occasion from La Paz to Lima with events that honored the community built along the way.
- LOLA La Paz, Bolivia → Between Voice and Power; 17th Birthday Celebration
- LOLA Quetzaltenango, Guatemala → Women Who Challenge the Status Quo
- LOLA Arequipa, Peru → LOLA Birthday
- LOLA Tacna, Peru → Freedom Vision Board & LOLA’s Birthday Celebration; A Night for Brushstrokes of Freedom
- LOLA Lima, Peru → 17 Years of LOLA
North America
This month, LOLA USA tabled at two major conferences. The first was Level Up, hosted by our partners at The Objectivist Standard Institute, and the second was FreedomFest, a place with special meaning for us as the very spot where LOLA got its start.
- LOLA USA, National Events → Level Up Conference; FreedomFest 2026
- LOLA Chicago, IL → LOLA Chicago Lunch + Birthday Celebration
Africa
Across the African region, LOLA chapters marked 17 years of the movement with celebrations from Lilongwe to Lusaka, while our Windhoek chapter also invested in building the strategic and conflict resolution skills that keep chapters strong.
- LOLA Lilongwe, Malawi → Celebrating LOLA’s 17th Birthday
- LOLA Ibadan, Nigeria → LOLA Anniversary / Ladies Hangout
- LOLA Yaounde, Cameroon → Celebrating LOLA’s 17th Anniversary
- LOLA Windhoek, Namibia → Strategic Communication and Conflict Resolution
- LOLA Lusaka, Zambia → Celebrating LOLA’s 17th Birthday
Asia
Across Asia, LOLA chapters marked 17 years with birthday celebrations from Colombo to Kathmandu, while our Nepal chapters also pushed the mission further, connecting with youth and taking on climate change awareness. All of this while our teams poured their energy into preparing for Asia’s first leadership retreat, a sign of just how much this region is building right now.
- LOLA Colombo, Sri Lanka → Sweet 17 LOLA Potluck
- LOLA Itahari, Nepal → LOLA Youth Connect; Climate Change Awareness and Action
- LOLA Multan, Pakistan → LOLA’s 17th Birthday Celebration
- LOLA Manila, Philippines → Museum Visit and LOLA Birthday
- LOLA Kathmandu, Nepal → LOLA’s 17th Birthday Celebration
- LOLA Pokhara, Nepal → Empower Flow
Europe
Across Europe, LOLA chapters celebrated 17 years with barbecues, picnics, and a mountain hike toward freedom in Poland, a birthday party and book club in Tel Aviv, and a game night in Stuttgart, proof that the movement’s milestone was felt from city to city.
- LOLA Warsaw, Poland → LOLA Birthday Barbecue
- LOLA Katowice, Poland → Mountain Hike Toward Freedom
- LOLA Krakow, Poland → LOLA Birthday Picnic
- LOLA Belgrade, Serbia → LOLA Birthday
- LOLA Tel Aviv, Israel → LOLA’s 17th Birthday Party and Book Club
- LOLA Stuttgart, Germany → LOLA Game Night