About Us

The Austrian Centre for Philosophy with Children was founded in 1985 with the aim of promoting the new branch of research P4C - "Philosophy for Children and Youth", i.e. to develop it theoretically and practically. It is the sponsor of the Institute for Philosophy for Children and Youth.

The "Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children" (IAPC) at Montclair State University (New Jersey, USA), where intensive studies have been carried out since the end of the 1960s, provided the main impetus for "Philosophy for Children and Adolescents". The philosopher Matthew Lipman did pioneering work in this field and founded the world's first institute for children's philosophy in Montclair.

The Institute for Philosophy for Children and Youth promotes education and training for children, adolescents and adults, advises educational institutions, plans projects, develops and recommends seminar and work materials, and serves as a philosophical counseling center.

Research projects, theoretical work in the field of basic scientific research, material development, concrete investigations and evaluations of school experiments are carried out and published with the aim of transferring knowledge for practical use.

An additional task is the processing and documentation of historical and current references to the philosophy of children and adolescents as well as the archiving of the extensive literature, which is collected and accessible in our library. Seminars, courses, workshops, symposia and congresses are organised, working and project groups are initiated, experiences and work results are published.

2020 is a special year - the "Institute for Philosophy of Children" celebrated its 35th anniversary. The balance is very gratifying: more than 20,000 teachers attended training and continuing education events of the Institute and more than 50,000 children and young people participated in philosophy courses.

We cooperate closely with domestic and foreign universities, schools, NGOs, institutions active in the field of children and youth, as well as various adult education institutions.

The Austrian Society for Philosophy with Children is an active member of the "International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children" (ICPIC), a founding member of the "European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children" (SOPHIA); one goal of both international institutions is to promote the exchange of experiences between scholars and practitioners from more than 80 countries and to organize meetings and congresses. In addition, the Austrian Society for Philosophy with Children is a long-standing member of the Association of Scientific Societies of Austria (VWGÖ) as well as a member of the Austrian League for Child and Adolescent Health.