![IES Summer University Poster](https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Poster-View-scaled.jpg)
As societies seemingly move from one crisis to another – private and public finance crises, military crises, environmental crises, and the COVID-19 global pandemic – identifying best practices and preparing for the future was the focus of Summer University 2023, organized by the Institute for Economic Studies (IES) Europe, and co-sponsored by the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom and the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues (IREF).
![Saura Masconale and Simone Sepe](https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Masconale-and-Sepe-1024x576.jpg)
The Center’s scholars played leading roles in the Summer University. Saura Masconale, Freedom Center Associate Director and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Economy & Moral Science, and Simone Sepe, Freedom Center Faculty and Chester H. Smith Professor of Law & Finance at the UArizona James E. Rogers College of Law, delivered a joint lecture: Moral Capitalism, Ethical Shareholderism, and Social Cohesion. Freedom Center Founding Director David Schmidtz delivered a keynote speech: Purpose in Crisis.
![Summer School Reception in Aix-en-Provence](https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Evening-Gathering-768x1024.jpg)
![David Schmidtz giving keynote address](https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Schmidtz-Purpose-768x1024.jpg)
Summer University 2023 brought together twenty eminent researchers, including, in addition to Professors Masconale, Sepe, and Schmidtz, Dr. Steve Davies (The Institute of Economic Affairs in London), Professor Jean-Philippe Feldman (Sciences Po Rennes), and Professor Mario Rizzo (New York University) also delivered lectures during the three-day event.
The City and the University of Aix-en-Provence have been hosting the Summer Universities since 1978. The Summer University has become the meeting place for outstanding professors and participants worldwide who share a passion for freedom and democracy. IES-Europe has been co-organizing this gathering since 1989, helping students and young academics to join the event. Summer University 2023 is the first following a few years of hiatus due to the global pandemic.