Stoic Week Around the World
Stoicism was marked out in antiquity for its cosmopolitan spirit. The Stoics claimed that, by nature, we are all inherently social beings, and that it is our duty to contribute to the welfare of humanity, or to the ‘common good’. ‘I am a citizen of the world’ was their motto.
And, in 2013, Stoic Week is happening all over the world, from Canada to India, from Ireland to Thailand. In this post, I survey some of the Stoic Week activity that has been going on this week.
First of all, let’s take a look at Stoic Week in the media. Stoic Week was covered worldwide in different newspapers and news websites, from The Financial Times, Times Literary Supplement, Spectator, Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 in the UK, the Toronto Globe & Mail, Elle Magazine in Canada, the Delo in Slovenia, the Irish Times in Ireland, the Las Vegas Guardian Express and Top News US in America.
On the radio, Chris Gill spoke to BBC Wales (The Jamie Owen Show) and on the BBC Today programme with Angie Hobbs. Meanwhile, Patrick Ussher spoke on the BBC World Service (36.30-42.20), and Jules Evans debated Stoicism with Edith Hall and Mark Vernon on BBC Nightwaves (26.30-42.20). On Monday, when the World Service and Today programme interviews were broadcast, the blog had 25,000 hits and 1,200 extra sign-ups.
Events have been taking place worldwide too. In the UK, events were organised by Philosophy in Pubs, Kings College London, and Reading University. Workshops were also given to the NHS and to a group of Exeter MBA students interested in ethical business. Through social media, groups met in New York and in Canada in Montreal. In Ireland, and in Bangalore India too, events were held for Stoic Week.
Readers of the blog also contributed guest pieces for the wee – from pieces on Stoicism in Sport by a gap-year student, to Stoicism and Urban Homesteading, to Stoicism and Logotherapy, the therapy created by Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust.
Schools took part too, including including Wellington, Shrewsbury, Brooke House Sixth Form College in London, St. Cuthberts, the James Allen Girls’ School, all in the UK, and also a school in the Netherlands, Hermann Wesselink College, and Jerudong School in Brunei.
Students in Brunei make laurels for Stoic Week!
Mike Hobbiss, the teacher who organised Stoic Week activities along with his students at Jerudong School wrote into the blog:
‘Today was ‘Think like a Stoic’ Day at Jerudong International School, Brunei. There’s a definite irony in how hard it is to remain stoic when organising a whole school event on Stoicism. The stresses of organisation were an excellent tool for testing out the ideas themselves! Acceptance was a real challenge when a key member of the organising committee was off sick, for example!The students took to the various Stoic-themed activities around school really well, and at the very least, they have had an experience of a very different world view than they might normally get. A very successful day.’
In addition, dozens of bloggers around the world have written about and participated in the events surrounding Stoic Week. The link below leads to a Google Blog search that should display recent blog posts about Stoic Week:
Recent Blog Posts About Stoic Week 2013
Any other Stoic week events you attended which you think should be included here? Did you find any bloggers’ posts particularly inspiring? Post your thoughts below!
