The 1st International Janusz Korczak Kite Festival
In Honor of World Children’s Day
Monday, November 22, 2021
“It is the duty of every boy and girl, in the valley, to have a kite! After all, it is the wind that controls you on the hills of Ein Harod, and why not use it to your advantage, to expand the hearts of children, to make them happy… ”
“Just as the sea gives a child a toy — a boat, so the wind must give him a kite. You need so little: string, plywood, or cardboard.”
(Janusz Korczak, letters, 1937)
Like so many elements in Janusz Korczak’s thought, the kite has become a symbol of the child-human spirit: the simple and aesthetic construction that surpasses the spaces of the spirit and expands the heart. There is something in a kite that moves in an intermediate space and allows us to produce a dialogical contact with nature which seems to carry and motivate our thoughts.
As a result, it is no surprise that the kite has been so significantly influenced and been influenced by trends of humanistic and anthroposophical education. On the basis of this diagnosis we seek to construct an intellectual kite festival built around Korczak’s thought.
The conference seeks to present a collage of knowledge organized around concepts, theories, ideas, projects, and works of art inspired by Janusz Korczak’s humanism.
We seek to unite Korczak’s thinking that continues in one arena where we can attract conceptual kites, share them in shared flights and create new kites with complex and innovative structures. A gateway to contemporary projects and a call for creative collaborations.
We seek proposals for 10-minute talks that may take the form of an academic lecture, presentation of a social or artistic project, a dialogue among multiple participants, and more.
Possible directions include:
- Historical figures in dialogue (directly or indirectly) with Janusz Korczak.
- Intellectual concepts central to Janusz Korczak thought.
- Janusz Korczak in various national and/or cultural perspectives.
- Real-world manifestations (historical and/or contemporary) — educational programs, social projects, policy initiatives — of humanistic pedagogy.
- Works of art — visual, musical, film, performance –that come in contact with Janusz Korczak.
More details and proposal submissions can be found here: http://www.school-of-life.org/event/world-childrens-day/
The School of Life Garden: http://www.school-of-life.org