The Riyadh Philosophy Conference opened on Wednesday as leading philosophers from around the world discussed topics that demonstrate the important role of philosophy in addressing the challenges facing humanity.
The theme of the Conference is ‘unpredictability.’
CEO of the Ministry of Culture’s Commission for Literature, Publishing and Translation Mohammed Hasan Alwan opened the conference and said that the event is intended to become annual, and marks the “start of Riyadh’s emergence as a major global center of philosophy”.
Addressing the first plenary session about Saudi Arabia’s intellectual landscape, Dr Abdullah Al-Ghathami of King Saud University, noted that questions such as “What connects us” are the ones we ask “in our search for knowledge and an interpretation of the world we live in.”
Dalia Toonsi, Saudi philosopher and founder of the Baseera Educational Consultancy said, “Children, as philosophers, have so much to tell us and our future is going to be prosperous and promising.”
Pedro Monreal of UNESCO, explored philosophy’s “prominence in global intercultural exchanges and said that it is an “important part” of UNESCO’s strategy to “bring peace to the minds of men and women as well as cooperation across education, culture, science, and communication.”
On the close of Day One, Mohammed Hasan Alwan said: “Today’s conference shows Saudi Arabia’s desire not just to showcase our own culture but to forge deep bonds with thinkers and academic institutions throughout the world.”
The conference is held from 8 to 10 December 2021 and concludes on Friday.