Call for Secondary School Teachers to Participate in the Young Minds Project

Dear colleagues,
The association Mala filozofija, as the lead partner of the Young Minds project within the Erasmus+ KA2 programme, invites you to a specialized training intended for secondary school teachers. The project runs from October 2024 to March 2027 and aims to improve teachers’ skills in the area of mental health by using European films as an innovative and engaging educational resource.
The goal of the project is to foster critical thinking and empathy among students, reduce the stigma associated with mental health, and equip teachers with innovative teaching methods.

Teacher training will take place from January 2026 to mid-March 2026 and consists of three interconnected modules:

1. Mental Health

• How to conduct workshops on mental health in the classroom

• How to recognize students’ needs and safely facilitate discussions

• Working with the Young Minds handbook and prepared teaching materials

2. Critical Thinking

• Introduction to critical thinking methods

• Practical techniques teachers can apply in the classroom

• Developing students’ communication and analytical skills

3. Film Literacy and Filmmaking

• How to guide students through the process of making short films about mental health

• Basic techniques of filming, scriptwriting, and visual storytelling

• Using film as a tool for expression and destigmatization

The training includes three forms of work:

Online webinars
Interactive sessions with trainers and experts in mental health, critical thinking, and film art.

Self-paced learning
Teachers receive prepared materials (guides, video lessons, manuals) to work through at their own pace.

In-person workshops at PGŠ Zadar
Practical workshops with exercises, simulations, and preparation for implementing activities in classrooms.

Applications:
Send to mala.filozofija@gmail.com (the number of participants is limited)

What is expected from teachers

• Participation in all parts of the training (online, self-paced, in-person)

• Implementation of the prepared workshops in their own classrooms during spring and autumn 2026

• Cooperation with the project team and partner schools

• Participation in programme evaluation

Participation is free of charge, and all teachers will receive a certificate of completion as well as access to all educational materials.

More at:

https://youngmindsproject.eu/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Young-Minds-61572229677301/
https://www.instagram.com/young_minds2025/
https://www.petit-philosophy.com/hr/young-minds

Mala Filozofija Association Seeks Administrative Secretary in Zadar

The Mala Filozofija Association is hiring a full-time administrative secretary. We are looking for a responsible, well-organized, and communicative person who wishes to work in a dynamic environment and take part in implementing educational, cultural, and research projects.

Job description:

• Administrative and office support for the Association’s work

• Communication with partners, collaborators, and institutions

• Preparing and managing project activity documentation

• Coordinating meetings, travel, and events

• Updating databases and archives

• Basic financial and administrative tasks

Requirements:

• Secondary school, two-year college, or university degree (preference for administrative, economics, or social science fields)

• Excellent organizational and communication skills

• Reliability, independence, and accuracy in work

• Good computer skills (Word, Excel, e-communication)

• Advantage: experience in administration, project documentation, or EU-funded projects

We offer:

• A 2-month trial period

• Possibility of continued employment and professional development

• Supportive and collaborative work environment

• Work within an organization dedicated to developing critical thinking, philosophy for children, and innovative educational programs

Application:
Send your CV and a short motivation letter to: mala.filozofija@gmail.com
The call is open until November 21, 2025.

November 14, 2025

Final Activities of the Project “The Mediterranean – Between Waves and People” Held in Bol

The final presentation of the project “The Mediterranean – Between Waves and People” took place at the Bol Cultural Center, marking just under a month of work on developing cultural, artistic, and educational content dedicated to the Mediterranean. The event brought together students, local residents, and lovers of Mediterranean heritage, and its program included a photography exhibition, a film screening, and the presentation of new publications inspired by the Mediterranean.

As part of the event, an exhibition of the twenty winning photographs from the international contest “Look at the Mediterranean” was opened. The selected works depict two faces of the Mediterranean—its everyday life and its quiet, poetic depth. The exhibition will remain open at the Bol Cultural Center until the end of November, and visitors can view it during the Center’s regular hours.

A screening of the documentary film Tourism! (2016) was also held, followed by a discussion on the benefits and challenges of tourism in the Mediterranean. In conversation with participants, topics such as sustainability, seasonality, the impact on the local community, and the importance of responsible development were explored. Although some critical perspectives on tourism practices emerged, participants agreed that tourism still brings more benefits than drawbacks to the local community.

At the end of the event, three new Mediterranean-themed publications were presented: a picture book, a poetry collection, and an academic volume, each exploring Mediterranean themes in different ways and serving as a lasting contribution to the cultural and educational reflection on the region. Two of the most engaged participants won copies of Filip Škifić’s poetry collection Tramontana and a picture book about Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor.

Exhibition Opens in Zadar, Discussion Held After the Film “Tourism!” in Šibenik

The exhibition Look at the Mediterranean was created as the result of the international photo contest of the same name, organized within the project “Mediterranean – Waves and People,” carried out as part of the national campaign “30 Days for the 30th Anniversary of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation.”
The project is organized by the Center for Independent Culture (Zadar) and the association Mala filozofija.

The contest theme, “The Mediterranean in Contrast,” encouraged authors to explore the coexistence of preserved landscapes, old town centers, and everyday life on one hand, and areas under increasing pressure from tourism, overdevelopment, and capital on the other.

A total of 360 photographs were submitted to the contest, and a professional jury—Aleksandar Bonačić, Vinko Radovčić, and Milan Šabić—selected the 20 best works presented to the public.
The exhibition opened at the National Museum in Zadar, then at Azimut in Šibenik, and the next installment will take place on November 14 at the Cultural Center in Bol.

During the opening in Zadar, the contest winners were announced:

🥇 First place: Jin Jang – author Silvija Butković
🥈 Second place: Comunique – author John Čolak
🥉 Third place: Conflict – author Robert Brkljača

Exhibition “Look at the Mediterranean” Opens at Azimut Club in Šibenik

The exhibition Look at the Mediterranean has opened at the Azimut club in Šibenik, created following the international photo contest of the same name, held as part of the project “Mediterranean – Waves and People.” The project is organized within the national campaign “30 Days for the 30th Anniversary of Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation.” The organizers are the Center for Independent Culture (Zadar) and the association Mala filozofija.

More than 320 photographs from four countries were submitted to the contest, and a professional jury selected the 20 best. These photographs depict the contrasts of the new and old Mediterranean—spaces where tradition, modernity, and the changes shaping our everyday lives meet. Those 20 photographs are now exhibited at Azimut in Šibenik.

Alongside the exhibition opening, three publications dedicated to the Mediterranean were also presented:

· Marijana Tomelić Ćurlin and Tanja Brešan Ančić (eds.): The Mediterranean as an Identity Marker – Proceedings from the International Scientific Conference (Split: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, 2024)

· Denis Bobanović: Conversations with Marcus Aurelius (Zadar: Udruga Mala filozofija, 2023)

· Filip Škifić: Tramontana (Split: Naklada Fragment, 2024)

We thank everyone who attended the opening and book presentations and who, with their presence, supported the dialogue about the Mediterranean as a space of ideas, identity, and inspiration.

The exhibition can be viewed at Azimut Club (Šibenik) until the end of November. We invite you to stop by and see the Mediterranean through the lens of its contemporary observers.

INTERNATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST: “LOOK AT THE MEDITERRANEAN”

As part of the Mediterranean Day celebration, the associations Mala filozofija and the Center for Independent Culture are announcing an international photo contest, “Look at the Mediterranean,” with the theme The Mediterranean in Contrast. The contest officially opens on October 14, 2025, and runs until November 4, 2025.

We invite photographers, artists, and all visually sensitive individuals to use their work to show the double face of the Mediterranean: its beauty and its vulnerability. The theme of the contest is “The Mediterranean in Contrast,” and the goal is to capture the tension between preserved values and contemporary pressures. On one hand, we are looking for photographs that depict preserved landscapes, old town cores, everyday life, and moments radiating tranquility, authenticity, and connection to place. On the other hand, we open space for a critical view of those parts of the Mediterranean under pressure from tourism, overdevelopment, and capital—places losing their authenticity for the sake of profit. This contest calls for thoughtful observation, for recording the world we live in, but also for awareness of what kind of Mediterranean we want to leave to future generations.

After the selection process, the 20 best photographs will be printed and exhibited as part of other Mediterranean Day events. The jury—Aleksandar Bonačić, Milan Šabić, and Vinko Radovičić—will assess the submitted photographs and award prizes.

PRIZES:

· €300 for first place
· €200 for second place
· €100 for third place

The deadline for submitting photographs is November 4, 2025.

Send photographs to: mala.filozofija@gmail.com

CALL FOR YOUNG DESIGNERS: CREATE THE VISUAL IDENTITY OF THE IMANARE PROJECT!

We are launching a creative competition for secondary school students to design the visual identity of our new EU-funded project:

IMANARE – Implicit Anthropology of Reforms in Education

The project tackles two big and important questions:

What is a human being?

How are educational systems changing?

Who can participate?

Secondary school students from the project partner countries: Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and  Belgium.

 What to submit?

Your submission should include:

·         A logo for the project (PNG/JPG + vector format if possible)

·         PowerPoint (.ppt or .pptx) template

·         A Word (.doc or .docx) template

Feel free to include elements inspired by the EU (e.g., EU stars, blue and yellow color palette, etc.).

All submissions should be sent to: mala.filozofija@gmail.com

Deadline for submissions: 14 July 2025

What happens next?

·         The top 5 proposals will be selected for online public voting.

·         The final official visual identity will also be selected by the project team.

·         The People’s Choice and the Selected Logo will each receive a €150 award.

If the same logo wins both, the designer will receive €200, and the runner-up will receive €100.

·         Voting ends & results announced by the end of July 2025

This is your chance to shape the image of a European educational project and share your vision with the world! We look forward to seeing your creativity at work!  For any questions, feel free to contact us at the email above.

Updated version of Petit Philosophy website 2.0 published!

Hey there, weary online traveler!

What happens when you give a philosopher the task of redesigning web?

Every possible deadline breached and entirely new set of existential issues to ponder upon!

Nevertheless, the task is completed, our redesigned website has been published, and we’ll leave those existential issues for some other day. The main feature added through redesign has been bilingual component of our site. Now, everything you’ve found here in Croatian, you can find in English as well, and vice-versa. Information flow has been enhanced, as well as access to all of the educational materials we’ve produced so far. Now, it should be easier to navigate through our entire web-content. At least we hope so. You can read about previous projects, you can download and use our open educational resources, and you can order some of our publications!

All that being said, it’s important to mention that while our site has finally been set free, it’s still in Beta phase. That means that some of the components might not work the way we intended they should. We’re currently testing its functionality, clicking all the buttons and links, reading all materials, and sending a bunch of e-mails to ourselves, with quite incoherent text chains (e.g. “Ooogaboogaeinzzweidrei!” A.K. 2020).

So, if you by any chance encounter any anomaly*, some button is not working or part of the content is missing, or link leads you down the path you don’t want to go, you’re free to contact us using this form.

*Association “Petit Philosophy” can NOT be held accountable for encounters of the third kind. This unaccountability extends to encounters including trolls, goblins, dragons, and any others beings not protected by general inclusivity guidelines.

Zadarska promocija slikovnice "Filozofija - ma što pak je to?"

Pozivamo vas s velikim zadovoljstvom na predstavljanje i radionicu prve hrvatske filozofske slikovnice »Filozofija – ma što pak je to? 13 priča o antičkim autorima«, 28. veljače 2020. godine, s početkom u 17.00 sati u Gradskoj knjižnici Zadar!

Autorsko će djelo filozofskog dvojca Matije Mate Škerbića i našeg Bruna Ćurka, uz samog Bruna, predstaviti i zadarski književnik Želimir Periš, a svoj će obol dati i mali filozofi! Osnovnoškolci će imati priliku pročitati priče iz slikovnice, te sudjelovati u kratkoj filozofskoj raspravi. Za sudionike u promociji, pripremljen je ograničen broj slikovnica kao poklon.

Koji je pak značaj ove slikovnice, možda je najbolje opisala zagrebačka profesorica Dubravka Miljković: »Priče za druženja djece i roditelja. Da, premda su priče namijenjene djeci, i odrasli bi iz njih štošta mogli naučiti: o hrabrosti i kukavičluku, o uzaludnim pokušajima da se promijeni ono što se promijeniti ne da,o marljivosti i kreativnosti, o temeljnim i bezvremenim ljudskim vrijednostima i osobinama. Razumjet će ih već i predškolska djeca, uživati u njima ona osnovnoškolska, mučiti se s njima srednjoškolci. Ne vjerujete? E pa odgovorite onda na ovo pitanje: dok se sve stalno mijenja, i mi i priroda, sve oko nas i sve u nama, ima li nešto što ostaje isto i nikada se ne mijenja?«

Nakon promocije prve filozofske slikovnice, za sve zainteresirane, udruga »Mala filozofija« će ukratko predstaviti čime se bavi, uz pomoć europskih paketa svojih obrazovnih projekata:

BEAGLE - Bioethical Education and Attitude Guidance for Living Environment

COMET - A Community of Ethics Teachers in Europe

PEEC - Peace Education in Early Childhood to prevent Bullying

TRACE - Traditional Children’s Stories for a Common Future

Što pak je to filozofija, dakle, možete saznati ovog petka u 17.00 u Gradskoj knjižnici Zadar, povedite svoje mališane, filozofirajte s nama i kao nagradu, odnesite sa sobom besplatan primjerak svoje prve filozofske slikovnice! :)

"Mala filozofija" putuje u Madrid - novim Erasmus+ projektom protiv nasilja

Prošli smo tjedan posjetili drugi kraj Mediterana, tamo gdje je još toplo i ne pada kiša – posjetili smo Madrid! Naravno, svrha našeg puta nije bila samo upijanje sunca (iako nije škodilo), već prvi partnerski sastanak novog Erasmus+ projekta čiji smo partneri – Peace Education in Early Childhood to prevent Bullying (PEEC). Na kick-off sastanku koji se održao 28. prosinca 2019. godine, zajedno s partnerima iz Španjolske, Njemačke i Litve započeli smo rad na projektu i dogovorili prve zadatke koji su ispred nas.

Osnovni cilj projekta je, kako mu i ime kaže, promicanje i poticanje obrazovanja za mir u ranom odgoju i obrazovanju. Projekt je usmjeren prema učiteljima i edukatorima koji sudjeluju u odgoju i obrazovanju za rano djetinjstvo, kako bi ih dodatno profesionalno osposobio i potakao njihovu svijest o važnosti obrazovanja za mir kao temelja prevencije diskriminacije, ekskluzije, rasizma i nasilnog ponašanja.

Kroz aktivnosti projekta, partneri će razviti kurikulum obrazovanja za mir, raditi na stručnom usavršavanju za odgajatelje koji rade s djecom od 3 do 5 godina te, na koncu, izraditi PEEC Toolkit – metodološki paket za učitelje i edukatore koji uključuje otvorene obrazovne i didaktičke materijale. Projekt će dakle, kroz svoje aktivnosti, ponuditi obrazovanje za mir kao sredstvo sprječavanja nasilja u učionicama!

Projekt je financiran kroz Erasmus Plus KA2, EU Njemačke agencije za mobilnost (158.478,00 EUR), s osiguranim sredstvima za provedbu do 31. listopada 2021. godine.