Training: Philosophical and artistic workshops for children and teenagers

Tomorrow's leaders will be people of great wisdom, which is why we offered to train Venetians to lead philosophical workshops for children and teenagers. The first Little Lights training took place in October-November-December 2021. We hope that many Little Lights philosophical circles will emerge throughout the Venetian archipelago.

The Little Lights project aims to guide children in discovering philosophy in a playful way. This project combines reflection and creation through the practice of philosophical dialogue coupled with artistic expression.

In 2016, UNESCO officially established a UNESCO Chair on “ The Practice of Philosophy with Children: A Basis for Intercultural Dialogue and Social Transformation .”
Les Petites Lumières is honored to be a partner of this Chair!

We are also official members of ICPIC  ( The International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children ), the leading organization that supports initiatives to facilitate philosophical inquiry with young people.

The goal of this training is to help children to:

• Thinking for themselves and by developing autonomy of reasoning ; the child builds himself as an autonomous subject who reflects in order to develop "his" answer, and not to find the "right" answer, the one that is for example expected by the teacher.
• To flourish, to gain self-confidence , to learn to identify, name and therefore better understand one's own emotions and, consequently, those of others.
• Developing empathy, cooperation, and tolerance for difference .
• To be more responsible as citizens and as human beings. In this sense, the workshop perfectly fits into a form of civic education .

Training in philosophical and artistic practice with children and adolescents

in three modules

at Palazzo Morosini in Venice

Trainer: Chiara Pastorini, founder of Les Petites Lumières and also a trainer at the SEVE Foundation,  the Monaco Philosophical Encounters , the Tournai Unexpected Encounters , the Shoah Memorial , and the Musée de l'Homme in Paris

Module 3

Further development of philosophy workshop practice: feedback from experiences and design of teaching materials.

Saturday 04th and Sunday 05th December 2021

In order to participate in module 3, you must have already led at least 3 philosophy workshops.

Programs and topics covered in each module

Module 1

The topics covered will be:
– Introduction to philosophy for children and teenagers (history and current overview)
– Presentation of different methods (Lipman, Tozzi, AGSAS-Levine, Socratic)
– Analysis of articles and videos
– Presentation of the holistic method of the Little Lights
– The facilitator's role
– Preparation exercises: practical work in philosophy workshops

Module 2 

Doing philosophy means working with concepts. But we often forget a fundamental component at the heart of our processes of abstraction and thought: our body. It is through perception—what we see with our eyes, what we hear with our ears, what we touch with our hands—in short, it is through our sensory experience of the world, of others, and of ourselves that we create the conditions for reflection. Without the body, there is no thought. And often, too often, when we do philosophy, we forget this.
This advanced module will allow participants to experience the holistic method of the Little Lights, which involves combining an artistic practice (for example, mime, painting, drawing) with verbal discussion, while placing the perceptive body at the heart of the processes that constitute thought.

In a philosophy-art articulation thus conceived, the participants are therefore the actors of an artistic practice where the creative gesture of the body is the source of a philosophical questioning.

The themes addressed will be:
– The relationship between philosophy and art
– Experimentation with a philosophy-art workshop that uses artistic materials as teaching tools (participants are observers )
– Presentation and analysis of artistic materials that can be used in a workshop with children (paintings, films, sculptures, photographs, plays, etc.)
– Experimentation with a philosophy-art workshop using the holistic method (participants are active participants ): philosophical questioning based on artistic practice
– Presentation and analysis of artistic practices that can be used in a workshop with children (modeling clay, painting, collage, mime, dance, music, etc.)
– Art as an illustration of thought: artistic creation as an extension of reflection
– Opportunity to observe a workshop with children led by Les Petites Lumières

Module 3

This advanced module will allow participants to reflect on their experience leading philosophy workshops, gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges, strengths, and potential difficulties. We will analyze, in particular, any difficulties that may have arisen related to the framework, managing the group of children, the facilitator themselves, and the venue hosting the workshops. Through collective reflection, we will explore how to address and overcome these challenges.
Part of the training will also be dedicated to workshop design (to refresh and reinforce key concepts) and practical exercises for participants.

For more information

The six days of training, which will take place in the form of interactive exchange, small group work and artistic activity, are aimed in particular at facilitators, educators, librarians, mediators, teachers, but also, quite simply, at those who want to become familiar with the practice of facilitating philosophy workshops.

Training price €50 per weekend

Minimum: 6 participants
Maximum: 25 participants

At the end of the training, you will be issued a certificate (Les petites Lumières is also a “Training Organisation”).

Information and registration:
email: e.de.barros66@gmail.com
tel: +39 347 518 6231

For more information:
contact@ateliersdephilosophiepourenfants.com
Tel: +33 6 03 50 36 27
Website : http://www.ateliersdephilosophiepourenfants.com/