World Philosophy Day 2021: By celebrating World Philosophy Day each year, on the third Thursday of November, UNESCO underlines the enduring value of philosophy for the development of human thought, for each culture and for each individual.
Philosophy is an inspiring discipline as well as an everyday practice that can transform societies. By enabling us to discover the diversity of the intellectual currents in the world, philosophy stimulates intercultural dialogue. By awakening minds to the exercise of thinking and the reasoned confrontation of opinions, philosophy helps to build a more tolerant, more respectful society. It thus helps to understand and respond to major contemporary challenges by creating the intellectual conditions for change.
UNESCO leads World Philosophy Day but does not own it. It belongs to everyone, everywhere, who cares about philosophy.
On this Day of collective exercise in free, reasoned and informed thinking on the major challenges of our time, all of UNESCO’s partners are encouraged to organize various types of activities philosophical dialogues, debates, conferences, workshops, cultural events and presentations around the general theme of the Day, with the participation of philosophers and scientists from all branches of natural and social sciences, educators, teachers, students, press journalists and other mass media representatives, and the general public.
What Do People Do?
World Philosophy Day is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiative that draws people around the world to engage in shared reflection on contemporary issues. Various events and activities include:
- Philosophical dialogues, debates, lectures, and meetings involving renowned philosophers.
- International conferences on philosophical topics such as the connection between philosophy, education and culture.
- Exhibitions and philosophy book fairs.
- Philosophy cafes.
- Different organizations, community groups and government agencies in many countries, including (but not exclusive to) Chile, France, Morocco, the Philippines, and Turkey, have participated in actively promoting World Philosophy Day.
Public Life:
World Philosophy day is a global observance and is not a public holiday.
World Philosophy Day 2021 Theme:
World Philosophy Day 2021 opens the discussion on the different interactions of human beings with their social, cultural, geographical and political environment, with the underlying objective of better understanding the contribution of philosophy in our contemporary societies and the challenges they face, the pandemic in particular. Philosophy, and even more so intercultural philosophy, is concerned with context and is therefore, in its very essence, concerned with the transformation of society.
