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| International conference “Philosophy as Educational and Cultural Practice: A New Citizenship” |
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Events 4 of 7
 The conference is organized by the French Committee of "New Philosophical Practices", responsible for the organization of annual meetings in this field for several years, in partnership with the SCEREN network.
The objective of this conference is to engage the public in a major debate on the subject of, and the need for, philosophy as practice, in the educational but also the cultural, social or political fields. The organizers of this event intend to show that philosophy is not a “superfluous” activity or one reserved for an elite, but that, to the contrary, it is one essential for the life of the city. The emergence of numerous practices in recent years, such as philosophy with children, philosophy cafés, philosophy workshops in libraries and bookshops, philosophical counselling, and the success of philosophical editorials with the general public, are all evidence of the renewed vitality of this discipline. Certain countries, such as Belgium, Norway, Australia and Brazil, have already taken decisions to introduce philosophy in primary education. The development of the teaching of “critical thinking” or of ethics in numerous countries also indicates this newly found awareness of the stakes related to philosophy.
This extension of the teaching of philosophy also entails thinking about, or rethinking, pedagogy. Philosophy as a practice means that, in order to teach it, it is not sufficient to transmit knowledge. It also requires educating and developing the pupils’ thought and capacity for judgement.
Philosophy will therefore be approached as a method of teaching and not only as a specific discipline, and will be considered as broadly educative, as a place for discussion, for the development of autonomous and critical thought, and so on. This explains the importance the conference will give to “philosophy for children” and the mobilization of international networks of experts in this field. Such a definition of philosophy naturally has political implications, in particular with regard to citizenship, democratic practices, and “living together”.
The conference will take place in Room II at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris (125, avenue de Suffren, 75007 Paris). Entry will be possible upon presentation of an invitation, which could be obtained from Mr Oscar Brenifier, alcofrib@club.fr.
For more information, please contact Mr Oscar Brenifier, alcofrib@club.fr.
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