Aim of the project
We would like to create an international society/environment/community of young people interested in a bold popular-scientific debate regarding topics connected to the relation between faith and reason as well as its influence on the culture and in turn the influence on the world which surrounds us.
In our activities we’re focusing on the spiritual heritage of saint John Paul II, saint Edith Stein, saint Faustyna Kowalska and Benedict XVI.
We hope to formulate new goals as the project evolves.
Nomen est omen – what does our name mean?
The name of the project itself should give the project its direction and content.
The word fides means in Latin faith, whereas cultura used to refer to tillage, nowadays the meaning includes the effects of human activity (in the opposite to nature, which is not influenced by the human). Culture is a spiritual and material legacy of a certain society. Faith as a part of the spiritual culture shapes significantly the culture, which in turn influences the identity of an individual. The second important factor in the process of shaping the culture is next to the human works also their unique nature as a creation gifted with reason.
Number 2020 points out the year, when the project was established.
2020 was also a hundred anniversary of John Paul’s II birthdays. He is the spiritual patron of our undertaking. For a very popular figure which he is in Poland, the content of his teaching is often unknown. That’s why one of the project’s tasks/aims is to zoom in on his perspective on the world in relationship with God and human as well as comprehending John Paul’s II extraordinary personality.
2020 is also a year, when the pandemic changed the surrounding reality and became a challenge for both faith and reason, two central engines of our culture.
2020 is also a hundred anniversary of the Battle of Warsow, also known as the Miracle on the Vistula. An event, which had strong impact on the development of culture in Poland after the first world war and influenced history of Europe in the 20th century.
How do we meet?
Meetings within the project take place online once a month and are based on the topic suggested by the participants and prepared by the fides et cultura 2020 team. A meeting includes a 30 minutes presentation given by an invited lecturer and followed by a discussion. During the discussion every participant has a chance to ask questions, share their doubts and discuss the topic with others. According to our plan the meeting lasts 90 minutes (like a football match) but our experience shows it is usually not enough for the discussion, in which case we kindly suggest not to make other plans for the evening.
Within the project we also organise conventions – in the winter time, between Christmas and New Year, conferences focused on a chosen topic, which we explore together with invited lecturers. In the summer time we organize trips in more recreational-philosophical form. Their aim is to follow our four patrons and dive into their spiritual heritage, as well as spending time together in real life. All the details regarding conventions both from the past and the planned ones can be found in the section “events”.
Topic
Every participant can suggest a topic for a meeting. We would like to take all the ideas into consideration, of course not at the same time. During the discussions we observed tendencies in interests in specific topics or an interest to continue them. That’s why we’ve decided to broaden chosen topics and continue them in a series of meetings, like e.g. subjects regarding priesthood in June and September 2022 or Judaism in the Autumn 2022, which play a role of an introduction to our annual conference in Lublin in December 2022. We’re also providing our participants with reading tips – before the meeting, as a preparation, or after, as a possibility to deepen the topic individually.
Future of the project
When we were organizing our first meetings the online form was the only one possible, any other life meetings and international conventions seemed to be a distant dream. As the pandemic situation was stabilized and the restrictions were withdrawn we were able to realize our ideas regarding conference in December 2021 as well as our trip to the mountains in August 2022. We plan to meet in different cities of Poland and Europe in order to get to know the variety of European heritage and enjoy the life together. We open to the meetings not only in Polish, but also in English. We would like to cooperate with scientific, cultural and church institutions.
It’s all up to you – your readiness, creativity and openness.
Who can participate in the project?
Every young person who is interested in faith, culture and can speak English and/or Polish.
Please note: the participants of the project don’t have to be a believer. We invite everybody who would like to discuss, ask and search for the Truth in a cultural way, because who seeks shall find and the most of believers are people who are searching!
How can I participate?
Please send an email to the address zapisy@fidesetcultura2020.com