At Stoicon-X in London last October we had a short presentation introducing The Aurelius Foundation, a new non-profit organization led by Justin Stead. I first met Justin around six months earlier, when he attended a weekend course on Stoicism led by Christopher Gill and myself. Justin was already well versed in Stoicism and had been developing the idea for the foundation for a while. Since then, Justin and I have met up a number of times to progress things further, culminating in his presentation at Stoicon-x. In the presentation Justin outlined his vision for this new venture:
- The VISION of the Aurelius Foundation is to increase awareness and to share the principles of Stoic philosophy based on the four cardinal virtues of Wisdom, Justice, Temperance and Courage in the pursuit of happiness.
- The foundation endeavours to share this philosophy to help young people consider how they might plan their journey through life and support their considerations of how to live a life that contributes to the greater good.
- The foundation is dedicated to youth and youth development through the education of higher principles and values of stoic philosophy to bring positive and constructive change through their life contributions to improve upon the many challenges in the world today.
Justin’s presentation generated lots of interest and discussion, and the whole thing was all the more intriguing because there wasn’t any further information available at that point. Well, now there is. It now has a website up and running at https://www.aureliusfoundation.com where people can sign up for regular updates.
More importantly, the foundation’s first event is now planned for Friday 6th March in London. This event will be an opportunity for people to learn more about the basic ideas behind Stoicism and to hear from people who apply Stoicism in a variety of personal and business contexts – from professional sport to prisons to business and finance. (I’ll be presenting in the morning, setting out the central ideas in Stoic ethics and talking about Marcus Aurelius.)
The goal of the event is to offer guidance and support for people at the outset of their adult and professional lives in the 18 to 30 age group. It hopes to bring together university students, recent graduates, and young entrepreneurs in order to foster useful networks for the future. If you fall into this age group, or know someone who does, then this might be of interest.
The all-day event – completely free – will be in central London (W1). Refreshments will be provided throughout the day. In order to register for a place, visit https://www.aureliusfoundation.com/events/lets-talk-stoicism
I feel as though there may be an opportunity list by focusing on a specific, more youthful demographic. After all, it is often in middle age that people find their way to philosophy.