Transcending the frontiers of thinking: What the 9th International Symposium of the World Centre for Humanist Studies left behind


The ninth International Symposium of the World Centre for Humanist Studies, one of the five organisations of the Humanist Movement, a movement founded by the writer and activist Mario Luis Rodríguez Cobos, better known by his pseudonym Silo, took place between the 28th and 30th of April.

Throughout the three days, nearly one hundred activities took place with participants from the five continents, who were able to attend and exchange around twelve thematic axes.

In the introduction to the symposium, which the organisation organises every two years, one can read:

“Often, when we look for responses in the face of this crisis, we are overcome by the feeling of moving within certain limits which do not allow us to go beyond a short-sighted pragmatism….

… These limits that prevent us from “flying” freely are related to the substratum of basic beliefs of the time. Paradoxically, on the one hand, we need references to guide our action in the world but, on the other hand, the traditional references appear to us as inadequate and stifling”.

The invitation of the event was to reflect and ask her what are the limits, where are they and how do they prevent the human being from growing and evolving? What are their origins? How do they manifest themselves? What can we do to overcome them? Is it perhaps, the very conception of the Human Being that limits possibilities of growth and development?

“In order to find creative solutions, it is necessary to make an effort to overcome the limits that prevent us from thinking with relative freedom,” the organisers stated in their announcement.

At the closing ceremony of the conference, the coordinators of each axis had the opportunity to present a synthesis of what had been achieved.

The presentations, work tables and different exhibitions can be viewed by accessing the programme schedule

PROGRAMME IX WCHS International Symposium – Friday 28 April 2023

PROGRAMME IX WCHS International Symposium – Saturday 29 April 2023

PROGRAMME IX WCHS International Symposium – Sunday 30 April 2023

Undoubtedly the results, far from being exhausted in the event, will resonate for a long time far beyond the circle of those who participated. The frontiers have been opened and the invitation is to continue to push the boundaries collectively.

Javier Tolcachier