Philosophizing in Nature: Traveling Philosophy Workshops

Your Project

Philosophizing in Nature: Traveling Philosophy Workshops

The idea is to organize eight free philosophy workshops in public green spaces throughout the city of Lausanne during the month of July 2022.

Association

This project is proposed by the Association Moment des Philosophes

Le Moment des Philosophes is a nonprofit association and a UNESCO partner. It offers practical philosophy workshops for children, teenagers, and adults.

Its goal is to offer philosophical activities through dialogue and group work, as well as to provide a space for exchange and reflection accessible to everyone, with the goal of spreading philosophical thought throughout the city, breaking down the barriers between philosophy and texts, and encouraging the development of reflective thinking that is both individual and collective.

Summary of Your Project

The project involves organizing eight philosophy workshops in public green spaces throughout the city of Lausanne during the month of July 2022, specifically on July 11, 13, 26, and 28. These workshops will be free of charge. Four of them will be for children ages 6 to 12, and the other four will be for adults ages 16 and up. The adult workshop will be followed by a more informal discussion over iced tea. To facilitate the overall organization of these workshops, the plan is to hold one children’s workshop followed by one adult workshop on four days spread throughout July, in order to bring families together for this event while addressing the specific needs of both adult and child participants.

Logistics

We’ll be bringing our supply of canvas cushions, as well as complimentary drinks. A request for permission to use public space has been submitted to the relevant city department.

We will announce events three weeks in advance via our social media channels, our newsletter, a press release, and by distributing flyers at select public locations near the workshop venues.

To ensure children’s safety, it is important that parents stay nearby so that their children remain under their supervision for the duration of the workshop.

Process

The philosophy workshop itself will consist of an approximately one-hour discussion on philosophical topics chosen by the participants. A round of introductions allows participants to suggest potential topics, which are then selected by a vote. These topics vary greatly depending on participants’ interests, but among the themes covered in previous workshops are: happiness, the commons, freedom, fear of the other, intergenerational understanding, friendship, changes in the body, and wonder. If participants cannot agree on a topic, the facilitators can suggest one.

Everyone will then be able to propose questions related to the chosen topic, which will kick off the discussion. The facilitators will guide the discussion by stepping in to reignite the conversation, ask for clarification, rephrase points, or draw connections.

Objectives

These workshops provide an opportunity to come together and reflect on a topic chosen by the group. The facilitator helps formulate ideas and manages the group’s dynamics so that it becomes a research community. A research community is defined here as a group of individuals gathered around a philosophical question to discuss and explore collectively.

This project thus combines social objectives of sharing and connection with objectives of fostering critical thinking.

By making the selected venues free and accessible, we are opening up a space for exchange to everyone in a supportive environment, fostering mutual understanding.

Your request

The total cost of the project is 2,280.-, which includes the salaries of the two facilitators and any assistants, promotion of the workshops, and the cost of ingredients for food and beverages.