Findtrue north.

Praxium is an independent Maldivian institute for research, debate and the preservation of knowledge, grounded in philosophy and the scientific method.

Join the founding members Read our principles

Malé 4°10′N 73°30′EFounded 2026

030060090120150180210240270300330N
SAPIENTIASCIENTIAPRAXIS

The name

PRAXIS+PRACTICUM= PRAXIUM

Praxis
Thought carried into action. The Greek word for what a citizen does once the argument is settled.
Practicum
The place where a student learns by doing the work under the eye of someone who has done it before.
Praxium
A house where ideas are tested against the world, and the results are put to use for the Maldives.

SAPIENTIA · SCIENTIA · PRAXIS

Why Praxium exists

The Maldives makes large decisions with little public evidence. Policy is often written in a hurry, argued in slogans and forgotten when a government changes.

The record of the country's own past is scattered across private collections, fading photographs and the memories of people who will not be here forever. Much of it has never been catalogued. Some of it is already lost.

Praxium exists to change that. We do research that others can check, publish it in plain language and keep the sources so the next person can test our work. We are independent of every party and government. We accept support only on terms that leave our conclusions our own.

No funder buys a conclusion.

Mission and vision

Mission

Praxium Institute is dedicated to advancing the Maldivian identity and to promoting public policies that safeguard individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise, and the traditions and heritage that have shaped the Maldives for more than a thousand years. Grounded in philosophy and the scientific method, and working through research, education and advocacy, we strive to empower citizens, inform policymakers and preserve the nation's intellectual heritage for a better future for all Maldivians.

Vision

To be the preeminent source of thought and policy solutions in the Maldives, shaping national discourse and informing decisions that build a stronger, more prosperous and sovereign Maldives for generations to come.

Truth before convenienceWe publish what the evidence shows, welcome or not.
Reason and methodArguments are stated so they can be tested.
Liberty and responsibilityFreedom comes with answering for its use.
IndependenceNo party, ministry or donor sets our findings.
StewardshipWhat is entrusted to us is kept for the next generation.
RootednessWe think from the Maldives outward.

Eight principles, one bearing

Each principle sits on a point of the rose. Choose one to bring it under the needle.

000°

Economic freedom and prosperity

Open markets, secure property and sound money let Maldivians build wealth on their own terms. We study what holds enterprise back and how to remove it.

    Philosophy and science, in that order

    We stand in a long line of people who asked how to know what is true, and how to act on it.

    1. c. 470–399 BCE

      Socrates

      Ask what a word means before arguing about it.

      Our first method is the question. Every paper starts by defining its terms.

    2. 384–322 BCE

      Aristotle

      Phronesis: practical wisdom.

      Knowing what is good, and how to bring it about in a particular case. The root of praxis.

    3. c. 965–1040

      Ibn al-Haytham

      Test claims by experiment.

      Doubt your authorities, including yourself. An early statement of the scientific method.

    4. 1332–1406

      Ibn Khaldun

      History as a science of society.

      Societies rise and fall on cohesion, trade and taxation. Heavy taxes shrink the revenue they seek.

    5. 1711–1776

      David Hume

      Experience before theory.

      Humility about what reason alone can prove, and respect for custom that has stood the test of time.

    6. 1723–1790

      Adam Smith

      Prosperity grows from exchange.

      The division of labour, free trade and rules that apply to everyone make nations rich.

    7. 1751–1836

      James Madison

      Power must check power.

      A constitution should assume that people in office are not angels, and build accordingly.

    8. 1902–1994

      Karl Popper

      A theory earns trust by surviving refutation.

      Open societies find and correct their mistakes. Closed ones repeat them.

    9. A thousand years of seafaring

      The navigator's science

      Knowledge proven by arriving.

      Sun, swell, current and reef, read with care, carried Maldivians across open ocean between the atolls and beyond.

    Eight programmes

    Research is organised into eight programmes, each led by a Senior Fellow once the fellowship is in place.

    • 000°

      Philosophy and Ideas

      First principles under public debate: liberty, justice, reason and the good life, written for readers outside the academy.

    • 045°

      Science, Technology and Engineering

      How the country builds, powers and connects itself, judged with an engineer's eye for evidence and risk.

    • 090°

      Heritage and Identity

      Maldivian history, language, manuscripts and material culture, recorded, preserved and made available.

    • 135°

      Economy and Enterprise

      Tourism, fisheries, public debt, taxation and the conditions that let small businesses grow.

    • 180°

      Education

      Standards, choice and outcomes from the first school year to university.

    • 225°

      Transport and Aviation

      Air, sea and land links for a nation of nearly 1,200 islands, and the regulation that keeps them safe.

    • 270°

      Governance and Rule of Law

      Courts, institutions, decentralisation and the constitution in practice.

    • 315°

      Security, Sovereignty and Foreign Policy

      More than 900,000 square kilometres of ocean, and the alliances a small state needs to keep it.

    What we do

    Publish

    Policy papers, briefs, essays and data notes, reviewed before release. Every paper names its sources and its method, so readers can check the work and disagree with precision.

    • Open summaries for every paper
    • Full papers and datasets for members
    • A journal of Maldivian ideas, twice a year

    Keep

    A library and archive of books, articles, photographs, audio, film and manuscripts.

    • Digitised and catalogued
    • Rare items preserved and handled with care
    • Oral histories recorded

    Convene

    Lectures, seminars and roundtables that bring scholars, officials and citizens into one room.

    • Public lecture series
    • Closed roundtables with policymakers
    • Mentored study for young scholars

    The fellowship

    Scholars join Praxium by appointment. Each rank carries clear expectations, and every appointment is reviewed on the record of work.

    The founders hold the first rank.

    Meet our experts

    1. Founding FellowThe founders, and those who build the Institute in its first years.
    2. Distinguished FellowScholars and practitioners of national or international standing.
    3. Senior FellowLeads a programme, with a sustained record of published research.
    4. FellowPublishes regularly with the Institute.
    5. Research FellowHolds a funded research project or term.
    6. Associate FellowContributes papers, reviews or teaching alongside other work.
    7. Visiting FellowA scholar in residence for a fixed term.
    8. Praxium ScholarStudents and early-career researchers selected for mentored study.
    9. Honorary FellowConferred for service to scholarship, ideas or the country.

    Founders

    Portrait of M. Zaid Asad

    Founder

    M. Zaid Asad

    Engineer and aviation professional working in flight operations, safety and regulation. He brings the engineer's habit of testing every claim against how things actually work.

    Portrait of Ahmed Alaa

    Founder

    Ahmed Alaa

    Historian who advises government and private institutions on Maldivian history, heritage and culture. He leads the Institute's work to record and preserve the nation's past.

    Membership

    Members fund the work and read all of it. Choose a currency and a billing period for individual plans. Institutional and archive prices show both currencies.

    Annual plans cost ten months.

    Reader

    For anyone who wants the full library.

    MVR 100 / USD 6.50per month

    • All papers, articles and data
    • The library, as it opens
    • Member lectures and newsletters

    Fellow's Circle

    For readers who want to be in the room.

    MVR 250 / USD 16.25per month

    • Everything in Reader
    • Seminars with fellows
    • Early copies of new papers
    • Named in the annual report

    Concession

    For students and retirees.

    MVR 50 / USD 3.25per month

    • Everything in Reader
    • Proof of status by email

    Institutions

    Ministries, companies, schools, libraries and NGOs buy seats. The price per seat falls as the seat count rises. Minimum five seats.

    Price per seat per month by band and sector
    BandSeatsDiscountCommercialGovernmentAcademic, library, NGO
    I5–1010%MVR 90 / USD 5.85MVR 81 / USD 5.27MVR 63 / USD 4.09
    II11–2520%MVR 80 / USD 5.20MVR 72 / USD 4.68MVR 56 / USD 3.64
    III26–10030%MVR 70 / USD 4.55MVR 63 / USD 4.09MVR 49 / USD 3.19
    IV101–25040%MVR 60 / USD 3.90MVR 54 / USD 3.51MVR 42 / USD 2.73
    V251 and overSite licenceBy agreementBy agreementBy agreement

    Per seat per month. Archive access adds 25% to the seat price. Example: 40 government seats on an annual plan come to MVR 25,200 / USD 1,638 a year.

    Rare items in the archive

    Rare film, audio, photographs and manuscripts are priced by item, because some cost far more to preserve than others.

    MVR 75 / USD 5Band 1, 30 days
    MVR 150 / USD 10Band 2, 30 days
    MVR 400 / USD 26Band 3, 14 days
    From MVR 1,000 / USD 65Band 4, by request
    MVR 1,200 / USD 78Archive Pass, per year

    Join, subscribe or give by bank transfer

    Card payments arrive later. Until then, every membership, institutional plan and gift is handled by email and bank transfer, and checked by hand.

    1. Send your requestFill in the form. You get a reference number and a copy by email.
    2. We confirmWe reply within two working days with the amount and the Institute's bank details.
    3. TransferPay in MVR or USD from any bank, quoting your reference.
    4. Send the receiptSign in and upload the transfer slip, or reply to our email with it attached.
    5. Access switched onWe check the payment and activate your membership. Monthly members renew the same way, and access continues while the membership is paid.

    Your request

    Takes about a minute. Nothing is charged here.

    I would like to

    The library

    Books, papers, photographs, recordings and manuscripts, read online through a secure reader. Some of it has never been public before, so it is built to protect what it holds.

    Browse the library

    1. Phase 0Registration
    2. Phase 1Website and platformDone
    3. Phase 2Member accounts and manual paymentsDone
    4. Phase 3The library readerDone
    • Two-step sign-inEvery account is protected by a second factor.
    • Read online, never downloadPapers, films and recordings stream through the reader, marked with the reader's account.
    • Every access recordedWho opened which rare item, and when, is logged and reviewed.
    • Originals kept offlineMaster scans are held in two separate places, away from the public site.
    • Encrypted throughoutData is encrypted in transit and at rest.

    Support the work

    Gifts pay for research, preservation and scholarships for young Maldivians. Gifts never buy a conclusion. Our independence policy sets out what we accept and how we disclose it.

    FriendMVR 1,000 / USD 65
    SupporterMVR 5,000 / USD 325
    PatronMVR 25,000 / USD 1,625
    BenefactorMVR 100,000 / USD 6,500
    Founding CircleMVR 500,000 / USD 32,500
    Any amount is welcome. Circles are a way to say thank you, and every level is optional.