Inauguration of the Edgar Morin People's University

Montpellier Faculty of Medicine,historic building,anatomy lecture hall – 2 rue de l'école de Médecine 34000 Montpellier.

Edgar Morin is one of the greatest contemporary thinkers. For his readers and listeners, his work often represents a point of no return to the paradigm of tomorrow: that of complex thinking. The Edgar Morin People's University aims to bring this work to life through a series of lectures, debates, and thematic workshops. The inaugural session will focus on war and its impact on our societies and on the "Earth-Homeland."

Detailed description

Edgar Morin's interest in major societal and global issues is reflected in his concepts of "reliance," solidarity with the "Earth-Homeland," and a global "community of destiny." These three concepts bring together issues that are often neglected in formal education: knowledge of knowledge, human complexity, understanding others, confronting uncertainties, globalization, the enormous crises caused by wars, epidemics, climate change, and the erosion of biodiversity, as well as complex ethics, urban issues, and the revitalization of villages and rural areas. These are all major themes that the Edgar Morin Popular University aims to disseminate without delay to as many people as possible at the dawn of this third millennium, which holds as many dangers as it does promises.

The topic of the inaugural conference reflects this focus on current issues, encouraging reflection not only on the nature of conflicts (particularly in Ukraine) but also on their impact on human societies, the environment, and the economy.

Going against the grain of popularization in favor of dissemination, this inaugural session is intended to be a meeting place for intellectuals (from both the humanities and sciences), artists, politicians, journalists, and members of civil society. The aim is to create a symbolically powerful event in Montpellier's cultural life around complex thinking, with the goal of disseminating it to the general public. This project is one of the achievements of the " Reliance en Complexité " network, which aims to make Montpellier the reference site and a breeding ground for complex and Morinian thinking in various scientific fields. Although our initiative is global (our network extends to South America and Canada), we first want to establish ourselves at the local level (Edgar Morin resides in Montpellier). The decision to organize the event in the amphitheater of the Montpellier School of Medicine (a historic building) is part of this approach.

Together, we will strive to honor the inspiring figure who spearheaded the creation of this People's University, continuing his work through a series of lectures, debates, and thematic workshops on a variety of topics (including upcoming special sessions on "Health and Complex Thinking," "Ecology and Complex Thinking," and "Art and Complex Thinking").

General schedule:

Several officials will speak to launch the inauguration (including an introductory speech by Agnès LANGEVINE, Vice-President of the Occitanie Region), followed by a lecture by Edgar Morin. Finally, a symbolic action will be organized to close the event, which also marks the end of his centenary year (which, as we remember, began at the Élysée Palace).

Target audiences:

The principle of the Université Populaire is to be open to all audiences (of all ages and social backgrounds).

Program:

• 5:00–6:00 p.m.: Opening remarks
• 6:00–7:00 p.m.: Lecture by Edgar Morin
• 7:00–7:30 p.m.: Questions from the audience
• 8 p.m.: Closing surprise

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