Hay Festival Colombia Digital

We at the Hay Festival, with the support of our regional ally SURA and working together with El País have worked with some of the world’s most brilliant minds in order to offer the Imagine the World series of digital events. This fourth event pays homage to the work of the philosopher Edgar Morin, crucial for an understanding of the contemporary world’s challenges and problems. The great British writer and philosopher, A.C. Grayling, will reflect on the human condition, particularly in the light of his magnum opus The Good Book. A Secular Bible, in conversation with Eduardo Rabasa.

Event in English with Spanish subtitles

From the hanging gardens of Babylon to the organic gardens of the "urban guerrillas", the garden has been a reflection of society. The way we use the "tamed nature" of gardens evolves with the world and with each individual. Santiago Beruete (Spain), academic, philosopher and gardener, reflects in his latest book, Un trozo de tierra (A piece of land), on the urgency and necessity of preserving the environment, offering us a close and intimate look at nature, which is both our environment and our livelihood. This work continues the cycle of other texts by Beruete, such as Jardinosofía (Gardensophy), Verdolatría (Greenery) and Aprendívoros (Learnvorous). In conversation with Rosana Arizmendi.

The Queretaro publishing house, Gris Tormenta, presents a beautiful collection of texts in which different authors from different countries reflect on something that is necessary to us in order to be fully human: silence, something that is becoming ever rarer in our world. The writer, theologian, priest, practitioner of Zen meditation, and founder of the Amigos del Desierto association, Pablo d’Ors (Spain), and the publisher and writer Mónica Nepote (Mexico), talk to the book’s editor, José Manuel Velasco.

Hay Festival Querétaro deeply regrets the death of Jean-Luc Nancy, who was going to participate in this edition.

This event will be a tribute to the outstading French philosopher. Professor of Philosophy and author of over 30 books, he has dealt with major themes such as national identity and nationalisms, desire and the limits of community experience. His most recent book is Sexistence (2020), which tackles the topic of human sexuality from a philosophical point of view, returning to the ideas of great thinkers such as Kant and Freud, putting an emphasis on how our experience and relationship with sex creates and feeds the individual, civilization and culture.

How can philosophy promote fundamental values to help us understand today's society?

In this conversation, Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, PhD in Moral Philosophy, President of IE University, and author of several books including Pensadoras y visionarias: Las ideas de diez filósofas aplicadas a la gestión and Global Leaders: la importancia de la formación para los directivos del futuro, will reflect on education and philosophy by exploring the importance of critical thinking and the humanities in business management. He will address how these disciplines can prepare future leaders to face the ethical and social challenges of business and society.

Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño will speak with Beatriz González Cristóbal, entrepreneur, expert in the luxury sector with top international positions in companies such as Bvlgari, LVMH and Hermés and media advisor, Beatriz Cortázar, a journalist, writer and contributor to television programs, and Gloria Lomana, a journalist and expert in communication and female leadership, founder of 50x50 Gender Leadership.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the room next to the entrance of IE University.

Event in Spanish

A brilliant career as a philosopher, writer, academic and professor might be summed up in just one word: wisdom. Emilio Lledó is a wise man, a humanist, and increasingly essential in a world that tends to forget the humanities. He has written dozens of essays on thought, ethics, beauty and freedom, including Filosofía y lenguaje, El silencio de la escritura, Días y libros, Memoria de la ética. He has also received the highest national awards, such as the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, and the Gold Medal for Fine Arts, and holds the “lowercase L” chair at the Spanish Academy. Identidad y amistad. Palabras para un mundo posible (Identity and Friendship. Words for a Possible World) is his latest book.

Lledó will be in conversation with Elena Martínez, editor at Taurus publishers.

Event in Spanish

Once the event has finished, the author will sign books in the booth outside IE University.

Four experts on the classical world will talk to Toni Celia about the lessons we can take from that period, so far off in time, but so influential for Western culture, and whose echoes can still be heard in our legal systems, the philosophical tradition, and in the sciences and arts. Charlotte Higgins (United Kingdom), Chief Culture Writer at The Guardian, is the author of Greek Myths. A New Retelling, about the influence of ancient Greece on our times; Pablo Montoya (Colombia) is the author of Marco Aurelio y los límites del imperio which portrays the last of the five “good emperors” of Rome; and with John Sellars (United Kingdom), philosopher and the author of books such as Lessons in Stoicism, Epicurus and the Art of Happiness and now Aristotle: Understanding the World’s Greatest Philosopher.

John Sellars will participate in this event digitally

Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available

Acclaimed British philosopher Anthony C. Grayling will discuss his latest book, Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars. In this timely and provocative work, British philosopher Grayling, author of more than 30 books and founder of the New College of the Humanities, explores the history and consequences of cancel culture, drawing connections between ancient ostracism and modern political and social polarisation. He argues that many so-called cultural conflicts do not arise from conflicting rights, but from the clash between vested interests and fundamental freedoms.

Following his presentation, AC Grayling will converse with Martin Ivens, journalist, editor of The Times Literary Supplement and former editor of The Sunday Times.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish

Rob Riemen (Netherlands) is an essayist, philosopher and director of the Nexus Institute, through which he aims to generate spaces for debate and keep alive the principles of European humanism. He is the author of books such as Nobility of Spirit and The Art of Being Human. He believes that Europe is at a complex crossroads. One that has to do with the loss of memory of the principles of duty, freedom, justice and even love for others. There are no magic formulas, but Riemen appeals to the 'nobility of spirit' to return to the democratic ideal; and he proposes to do so through philosophers —both classical and contemporary— and leading intellectuals such as Thomas Mann and Albert Camus.

He will talk about all this with Jesús García Calero, director of ABC Cultural. He specialises in heritage information and dissemination.

The event will be presented by Hannah Schildt, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Spain.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

What can Dante teach us about leadership and the human condition in the 21st century? This conversation features British philosopher A.C. Grayling, founder of the New College of the Humanities and author of over 30 books on ethics and reason; Santiago Iñiguez, president of IE University and a leading global voice in higher education and author of Dante in the Workplace; and Fabio Corsico, an Italian essayist and executive known for his work at the intersection of power, culture, and economics.

From philosophical ethics to corporate leadership and strategic decision-making, the speakers will explore the enduring relevance of Dante’s thought in today’s world. Moderated by Anna Bosch, a leading international journalist at TVE and former correspondent in London and Washington.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Darío Sztajnszrajber (Argentina) has brought philosophy to thousands of people, filling venues and appearing on television and radio. He has captivated non-specialist audiences by dealing with the big philosophical questions of history and contemporary ideas. In the eight theses of El amor es imposible, he dismantles the myth of normative romantic love. The philosopher questions ideas such as the perfect partner and invites us to rethink the notion of falling out of love as part of the desire for the impossible. In conversation with the BBC Mundo journalist Ana País.

LSP Peruvian Sign Language interpretation available