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

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

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

This article was sponsored by New Acropolis. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy