OUR STORY
Like most things, The Philosophers' Yard began as an idea.
This particular idea had its roots in Birmingham - a city full of diverse cultures, traditions, and ways of understanding life. However, these diverse perspectives rarely interacted with each other. Whether due to social media echo chambers or people not associating with others outside of their own academic, cultural or religious traditions, we had missed opportunities to learn from each other and to grow in wisdom.
The name 'The Philosophers' Yard' was chosen because the literal meaning of a philosopher is someone who loves (philien) wisdom (sophia). The idea and dream of The Philosophers' Yard remains to create a suitably robust, balanced, and open space for people to come together to explore life's big questions.
Our History
Work on The Philosophers' Yard began in early 2022, with the creation of a name and visual identity. Dan’s early draft is shown here. Thankfully we were able to employ a designer to bring this to life!
In May 2022, a survey was circulated via social media, providing an opportunity for respondents to vote on topics that they would be interested in learning about and to join the planning team.
From the summer of 2022, a small group of volunteers began to meet regularly to set the vision for The Philosophers' Yard and to plan the first series of events, which had been selected unanimously from the survey as being ‘Individualism and Collectivism’. All event themes are chosen democratically by attendees.
Our inaugural series of events took place across May and June 2023, featuring academics, practitioners and performers from across the region.
In September 2023, The Philosophers' Yard became a registered charity; Charity number: 1204617.
Our Activities
The core activities of The Philosophers' Yard stem from events and education.
All events are carefully curated to ensure that ideas are presented in an accessible and welcoming format. We identify a diverse set of speakers – both academics and practitioners, both from organisations and from our participants – to provide a breadth of perspectives on a chosen topic. Most events begin with a creative activity - such as meditation, live music, or spoken word - which serves to ‘ground’ attendees at the start of the event.
Events are designed to be inclusive:
All Main Events are hybrid, allowing attendees to join online.
We have flexible ticketing prices, including free tickets, so that cost is not a barrier to participation.
Where permission is granted, recordings of talks and performances are uploaded to YouTube.
We are in the process of developing the 'education arm' for The Philosophers' Yard that will provide tools and guidance for corporate organisations, community groups, and schools.
