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This two-day colloquium will enable students from any academic discipline to explore the foundations of a free and virtuous society.

The event will begin with lectures centered on the Christian view of the human person, natural law, economics, and government. The next day, participants will be split into two groups of twelve students. Students will then engage in Socratic discussion of the readings they received in advance of the colloquium.

The two groups and their topics are:

  • The Unity of Liberty: This group will be reading and discussing sections of the Acton Institute book, One and Indivisible. This book explores the vital foundation for religious liberty that exists within other liberties, such as the right to engage in commerce and own property.
  • Foundations for a Free & Virtuous Society: This group will be reading and discussing sections of the Acton Institute book by the same name, Foundations for a Free & Virtuous Society. This group will focus on basic economics, the importance of prices and property to human flourishing, and discuss topics such as inequality, equality, and freedom.

During the concluding portion of the event, selected students will have the opportunity to present papers they have written on topics related to the conference.

Conference attendance is by application only. This conference is ideal for undergraduate students of all disciplines that reside in western and eastern Europe. Conference fees, meals, and lodging will be covered for accepted applicants. Travel scholarships are available. Applications close July 11, 2018.


Victor V. Claar, Ph.D.
Acton Institute

Affiliate Scholar in Economics

Victor Claar is BB&T Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise at Florida Gulf Coast University and an affiliate scholar of the Acton Institute. A past Fulbright Scholar at the American University of Armenia, Professor Claar has a long, impressive record of publications, including his influential book, Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy and Life Choices (2007), now in its fifth printing and recently translated into Chinese. Professor Claar is also the author of Fair Trade? Its Prospects as a Poverty Solution (2012), an incisive, thoughtful work that challenges us all to rethink how we buy what we need and want. You can follow him on Twitter @ VictorClaar.

Trey Dimsdale, J.D.
Acton Institute

Director of Program Outreach

Trey Dimsdale came to the Acton Institute from Fort Worth, Texas, where he served as the Associate Director and Research Fellow in Law and Public Policy for the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement. At the Land Center, Trey helped to administrate a very active calendar of events that involved students, academics, and pastors from around the broader Christian world. Trey is actively involved as a board member and advisor for the National Faith and Work Association, the Lausanne Movement’s Workplace Forum, and as an organizer of a program in the Balkans that seeks to equip unemployed and underemployed young people to launch new businesses.

Trey served for several years as assistant pastor for preaching, teaching, and theology on the staff of a church near Kansas City, Missouri where one of his primary responsibilities, in addition to regular preaching and teaching, was the oversight of a fully accredited K12 Christian school.

Trey holds a B.L.A. degree with emphases in Political Science, History, and Natural Sciences from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, as well as a master’s degree in theology and ethics. While in law school Trey was an active member and officer in the student division of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, a member of the UMKC National Moot Court Team and Moot Court Board, and a staff editor of the Urban Lawyer journal, the official journal of the ABA’s Local Government Practice Division. He also served as a clerk with judges on the Jackson County, Missouri Circuit Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District, and the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

His academic interests include entrepreneurship, business ethics, legal ethics, political philosophy, and public theology.

Event Details

Start Date

End Date

Location

Kreitingos g. 36
92307 Klaipeda Lithuania
Lithuania

Schedule

Registration Closed