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Mihaela Frunză
She is a researcher in applied ethics, associate professor of PhD at the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the “Babeș Bolyai” University of Cluj.
Mihaela brought philosophy with children to Cluj. She started organizing children’s workshops at the County Library in 2016 and saw the children growing up before her eyes. In 2020 he started another type of workshop, for the older children and teenagers of the club, called PhiloPop. These are workshops in which the discussion starts from elements of pop culture, music or movies loved by teenagers. Mihaela Frunză created the Philosophy course with children at Babeș-Bolyai University, thus managing to train other specialists in philosophy with children and continues to mentor these specialists.
Iulia Grad
Iulia Grad coordinates the activity of the Philosophy Club with children at the “Traian Brad” Branch of the “Octavian Goga” County Library in Cluj. She has been a member of the club’s team since 2016, when she coordinated the “Adventure of Thinking” project, funded through the participatory budgeting process Com’On Cluj-Napoca. She obtained her doctorate in philosophy in 2012, with a thesis on Martin Buber’s thinking and she is a lecturer in the Department of Communication, Public Relations and Advertising of the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, UBB.
Erzsébet Kerekes
Erzsébet Kerekes (born in 1977 in Brașov) works as a university lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philosophy, Department of Philosophy in Hungarian of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. She is a member of the Center for Applied Philosophy (UBB), of the Research Group on Philosophy with / for children, of the Research Group of Applied Ethics in Cluj, of the Tree of Life Association – Életfa Családsegítő Egyesület, external / foreign associate member of the Hungarian Academy de Știință, member of the Hungarian Philosophical Society of Transylvania, of the Cluj / KAB Academic Committee, Transylvanian Museum Society / EME. In 1996 she obtained the diploma / certificate of teacher at the Pedagogical High School “Bod Péter” from Tg.-Secuiesc, in 2000 she graduated Philosophy at UBB (level of education), in 2002 she obtained the Master’s degree also here. She graduated from the Doctoral School of Philosophy at ELTE University in Budapest and at Babeș-Bolyai University, presenting her doctoral thesis in 2010. She studied with scholarships in Szeged, Budapest, Vienna, Florence. She has published three books and many articles in the fields of hermeneutics, philosophy of religion, philosophy for children and philosophy of education. In 2010 she organized the international conference “The Child in the Educational Process. Philosophy for children today” (the conference material was published in the journal Többlet, 2010/2), she leads the Working and Research Group on Philosophy for Children of the Hungarian Society of Philosophy in Transylvania. She takes part in the organization of the Philosophy Club with children in partnership with the County Library “Octavian Goga” in Cluj, coordinating activities in Hungarian from four branches of the library.
Ariana Guga
4 years ago I entered the adventure of philosophy with children, an always surprising and energizing journey! Each workshop is a challenge, but also a great satisfaction. Being a Philosophy graduate, I had the privilege of quickly understanding that age is irrelevant, that curiosity feeds our hopes at any time of our lives.
Persida Bec
Hi, my name is Persida. I like philosophy and I like children. So, a very harmonious and provocative combination, it was right at the meetings at the Children’s Philosophy Club. That’s how I discovered, surprisingly or not, that every child, when listened to, has something to say. Then, I discovered how smart children are when given the opportunity to express their opinion about love, friendship, environment, consciousness, depth, courage, curiosity, technology, information and many more. At the same time, I discovered that in every child there can be a smaller or bigger philosopher. And some of them … what philosophers they would be.
Along with them, I also discovered that in me there is a child with many questions, with bold ideas, but also a fierce philosopher.
Livia Creț
I’m Livia and this year I made my bangs. I wonder if I’m the same Livia before I had bangs. Identity is a sensitive subject, but it is precisely such topics that interest us and that we like to approach at the philosophy club, both with children and teenagers. In February 2021 I will be two years old as a facilitator of philosophy for children – time is a useful tool to measure, but even he can not take into account all the conversations in the club. The discussions I had with the children ranged from topics about the role of art to paradoxes in language, to the meaning of life and the responsibility that comes with power. But how many were not discussed and how many places did the philosophy club not reach? From libraries to cafes and now online, the club is adapting to encourage children to express their opinions, to speak their minds, to embark on the indefinable and eternal race that is philosophy. I am happy to be with the children and listen to them, to offer the spark that starts the interest in such a topic and then to witness some super interesting arguments and ideas. I recently worked with teenagers on the Possible Worlds Project and I was glad that I was able to start with pop culture media such as anime and manga. With children or teenagers, what I know for sure is that the discussions are always colorful and surprising. Every minute in the club is a minute gained for freedom of thought, so let’s do philosophy (together)!
Liana Precup
Children always teach us a way to be very respectful of the world and its components: to ask and to ask yourself. Not to decide that you know things well just because you’re an adult and you’ve been through it all. If we listen to them, I think that every meeting with the children is a chance to rethink our journey around the world and to reevaluate what we know. What I want philosophy to bring to the children who choose it is to keep the spirit of asking and wondering as they grow up.
Iulia Medveschi
Iulia Medveschi has a PhD at FSPAC, she is a specialist in brand communication and a collaborator in the Children’s Philosophy Club. In the summer of 2016, she created the Facebook page of the Children’s Philosophy Club. She is currently promoting the club’s visual identity on social media and disseminating information about upcoming workshops in various groups for children and parents.
