New Acropolis

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by New Acropolis's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from New Acropolis is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.newacropolisuk.org

41NEW ACROPOLIS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

Chair Sabine Leitner

World Philosophy Day 2017

New Acropolis are an educational charity with the

aim of promoting the renewal of philosophy in the

“classical tradition” and a rediscovery of the timeless

values that have guided humanity throughout history. They

work in the fields of philosophy, culture and volunteering

to provide – what they call – an “education for head, heart

and hands”. Chairing this organisation is Sabine Leitner,

who tells

TheParliamentaryReview

more about the value of

NewAcropolis.

Why philosophy?

Many of the problems facing humanity today – social, environmental, moral and

spiritual – will not be solved long term with more technology or money alone.

They are problems created by ourselves and a way of life that is the product of our

thinking, that is, our “philosophy”. In order to create a future that resolves these

problems, the solutions must include or, indeed, be rooted in an inner development

of our thinking and collective values – that is, a change in our philosophy. How can

this be achieved? This question has inspired us and guided our activities for more

than 20 years.

What is philosophy in the classical tradition?

At New Acropolis, we understand philosophy in its classical sense as

philo-sophia

meaning “love of wisdom”: the discovery of wisdom through a practical and active

FACTS ABOUT

NEW ACROPOLIS

»Chair: Sabine Leitner

»Founded in 1996

»Located in Highbury and

Islington

»No. of trustees: 9

»No. of students: 50, from all

walks of life, aged between 18

and 70

»600 participants in our

courses, talks and events every

year

»www.newacropolisuk.org

New Acropolis

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

42 | NEW ACROPOLIS

attitude to life rather than something

purely intellectual or contemplative.

Wisdom is knowing how to act,

knowing what is ‘good’ and knowing

which ends are worth striving for.

What do we do?

We work in three areas: philosophy,

culture and volunteering. Our

approach pursues two goals: the

development of the latent potential

within the human being through

education (from the Latin

educare

to train, and

educere,

to draw out,

to bring forth) and the renewal of

culture, the soil in which human

beingsdevelop.

Our philosophical activities are centred

around ongoing weekly evening

classes for adults (around 600 hours

of teaching a year). Our syllabus is

based on the comparative study of the

major systems of thought of Eastern

and Western traditions. The purpose

is to make the vast heritage of human

wisdom accessible to all and to draw

inspiration for our own actions from

the universal ideas that have stood the

test of time.

We organise about 20 public events

a year, such as talks, courses and

workshops, where we invite guest

speakers from a wide range of fields,

including philosophy, psychology,

medicine, economics, science

andecology.

We also stage public “happenings”

to promote broader philosophical

conversation. Last year we organised

an event in front of the National

Gallery on the theme of Philosophy

and Art to celebrate UNESCO’s

World Philosophy Day. We find

at these events that many people

really appreciate the opportunity

for philosophical conversation and

the chance to explore their values

and ideas. We always encounter

surprising insights and heartfelt human

exchanges. Since 2013, we have

been publishing a digital bimonthly

magazine on a range of relevant topics

covering philosophy and culture.

Why culture?

We understand culture as the ‘soil’

in which individuals can find all the

nutrients they need to flourish. Culture

is education in the widest sense of

the word because it transmits values

and provides us with forms through

which we can express these values.

We transmit to our students the value

of culture and encourage them to

think what kind of culture we need to

create in order to bring out the best in

the human being. To support this, we

organise visits to museums and trips to

sites of cultural and historical interest

in Britain and abroad. We revive

traditions and celebrations to enable us

to reconnect with nature and human

history in a profound way.

Why volunteering?

Our programme of studies is

designed to provide an education

that develops not only our mind

but also other human faculties such

as love, compassion, imagination,

Public talk at the New

Acropolis centre, Islington

– “Immanuel Kant:

Certainty in an Uncertain

World”

Wisdom is

knowing how

to act,

knowing what

is ‘good’ and

knowing

which ends

are worth

striving for

“

43NEW ACROPOLIS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

perseverance, willpower and

creativity. Volunteering helps to

develop these key faculties and forms

part of our philosophical training,

and we encourage our students

to become active and involved in

communityprojects.

Our own volunteering projects

include helping with the planting and

maintenance of the public garden

in front of our school. For the last

nine years we have been helping

to organise a garden volunteering

day every month, which also brings

together neighbours and other

Londoners. This has created a much

stronger community within our

neighbourhood and a good co-

operation with Islington Council.

We also transformed a derelict space at

the back of our premises into a garden

and created a bee sanctuary, as bee

populations are under serious threat

in the UK and elsewhere. Currently

we have two beehives, which are

managed in a bee-centred way, with

the idea of providing a home for bees

rather than obtaining honey. Every

year we open our bee sanctuary to the

public under the auspices of “Open

Garden Squares Weekend”, attracting

hundreds of visitors who are attended

to by our volunteers and receive talks

about thebees.

For several years, we supported a

local homeless project run by the

Union Chapel Margins charity, and

this year we have started to put our

gardening skills to use with another

local charity which works with isolated

elderly people in Islington. Our school

of philosophy itself offers many

volunteering opportunities as it is run

entirely by volunteers.

Philosophy is the foundation

of the future

How can we measure the success of

our work? We think the success of our

work is visible in the changes within

the people who attend our classes. We

further believe that our kind of holistic

and practical philosophical education

awakens a clearer sense of purpose

and a greater sense of responsibility,

initiative, respect, courtesy, generosity

and tolerance of differences. It can

produce a profound transformation

within the individual, which in turn can

lead to new ideas and transformation

in society.

All our activities were achieved with

an annual budget of around £30,000

and no salaried roles. Our work

demonstrates that a shared vision, an

attitude of co-operation and good

will can achieve as much as, or more

than, material resources. Our belief

is that we need to cultivate human

potential and non-material resources

in our society so that we can resolve

the problems we are currently facing

and prepare a better society for the

nextgeneration.

“ Without commonly shared and

widely entrenched moral values

and obligations, neither the law,

nor democratic government,

nor even the market economy

will function properly.”

– Václav Havel

understand

culture as the

‘soil’ in which

individuals can

find all the

nutrients they

need to

flourish

“

Volunteering day at

Compton Terrace

Gardens, Islington

www.newacropolisuk.org

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister