Celebrated at UNESCO’s initiative every third Thursday of November since 2002, World Philosophy Day took place this year on 18 November 2010.

The events organized by UNESCO, and by its partners, were an opportunity to make philosophical reflection accessible to all (professors and students, scholars and the general public, the young and the less young), thereby enlarging the opportunities and spaces for the stimulation of critical thinking and debate.

This year, a special event took place on 18 November at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on philosophy, cultural diversity and the rapprochement of cultures, thereby contributing also to the celebration of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2010).

Celebrations were also organized by different academic actors in more than 80 countries from all regions of the world, from Bremen (Germany) to Dakar (Senegal), from Guatemala City (Guatemala) to Havana (Cuba), from Réunion (France) to Mexico City (Mexico), as well as in Montevideo (Uruguay), Rabat (Morocco), Rochester (United States of America), and Tunis (Tunisia), etc.

At UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the Day was officially inaugurated by Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s Director-General, in the presence of Luc Chatel, French Minister of Education. An International Forum was organized on the topic “Philosophy, Cultural Diversity and Rapprochement of Cultures”, with the participation of internationally-renowned philosophers and eminent figures.

During the Day at Headquarters, UNESCO also hosted a series of symposia and several other events:

• Round table “Women philosophers and political correctness”, organized jointly with the members of the International Network of Women Philosophers, 18 November 2010.
• Round table on “Al-Fârâbi: enlightened bridge-building among different cultures”, organized jointly with the Permanent Delegation of Kazakhstan to UNESCO, 18 November 2010.
• Symposium on “Rethinking intellectual, cultural and political issues relating to the notion of civilization”, 18 November 2010.
• 10th International Meeting on New Philosophical Practices, jointly organized with the University Institute for Teacher Training (IUFM) of Créteil and the “Philolab” Association, 17-19 November 2010.
• Symposium on “The reason and its struggles: Enlightenment, modern rationalism and revolution, yesterday and today”, jointly organized by the Gabriel Péri Foundation, the journal La Pensée, the Study Group on Rational Materialism, the Centre for the History of Modern Thought Systems and the Centre for Studies in Rhetoric, Philosophy and the History of Ideas, from Humanism to the Enlightenment (CERPHI), 18-19 November 2010.
• Symposium on “Questions on the universal and diversity”, jointly organized with the journal Insistance, 18-19 November 2010.
• Symposium on “The work of Mohammed Iqbal, a proposal for human achievement”, jointly organized with the Esprit and Philosophie Magazine journals, 17-18 November 2010.
• Symposium on “Rethinking the human condition - homage to Gustave Guillaume and Jean Piaget”, jointly organized with the Collège international de philosophie, 16-17 November 2010.
• Symposium on “Philosophy of education and philosophy teaching. From knowledge transmission to building competencies”, jointly organized with the Collège international de philosophie, the “Philolab” Association and the IUFM of Créteil/Paris Est Créteil University, 19 November 2010.
• Presentation of audiovisual tools to rectify erroneous collective representations that persist within and between the Arab-Muslim and Western worlds, “Intercultural Vademecum” initiative, 18 November 2010
  • Scientific, philosophical, literary and artistic itineraries between the Arab-Muslim and Western worlds (from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries)
  • Launch of the publication “Arab-Muslim civilization in the mirror of the universal: philosophical perspectives”.
• Programme for the events at UNESCO Headquarters [PDF, 930 KB]
• Activities around the world [PDF, 74 KB]

The side events that took place on 18 November include a “café philo”, a book fair, workshops on philosophical practices with children, an e-forum with young philosophers, an exhibition of photographs on "East-West: The Spiritual Roots of Europe" organized in cooperation with the Martin Bodmer Foundation, the presentation of the FFCU Concours philo prize for 2009-2010 and launch of the 2010-2011 edition, etc.

The day finished with a concert on “Philosophy and Music”.

Contact
E-mail: worldphilosophyday(at)unesco.org
Tel.: +33 (0)1 45 68 45 48