Upcoming Saudi philosophy conference shifts focus to young audiences

Upcoming Saudi philosophy conference shifts focus to young audiences

By Aljohara Zarea JEDDAH — After the big success of Saudi Arabia's first-ever Philosophy Conference in 2021, the upcoming 2nd edition of the event will shift its focus to engaging young audiences. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan, CEO of the Ministry of Culture's Commission for Literature, Publishing, and Translation, stressed that the new focus has come in response to a huge amount of interest from school and university students in the second Philosophy Conference, which will take place on Dec. 1-3 at the King Fahad National Library in Riyadh under the theme, "Knowledge and Exploration: Space, Time, and Humanity". Saudi Arabia has witnessed a major shift in recent times with regard to philosophy and critical thinking, which have been included in the school curricula. Dr. Alwan affirmed that they will prove that philosophy is not just an academic discipline but is important to everyday life. It is one of the main objectives of the conference, he said, noting that philosophy is here to shape the views of people and society. Dr. Alwan has confirmed their determination to work toward bringing philosophical thinking to everyday life in Saudi Arabia, in addition to creating an outward-looking and vibrant philosophical