MAP IYPA 2023 - "What Does It Mean To Belong?"

For 2023 the IYPA invited young people from around the world to think about the theme of belonging.

Belonging seems to constitute a crucial aspect of our lives and has been related to a fundamental need for human interdependence or to be accepted as a valuable member of a group, for example, in terms of family, friends, colleagues, nation-states, the world, and so on. The topic of belonging becomes ever more important in the current time where people face sudden displacement because of war, poverty, and the climate crisis, or due to experiences of exclusion, or racism, gender and sexual discrimination, for example.

Throughout the years the participants of the IYPA have helped us understand how timely issues affect young people, but have also inspired us to focus on contemporary issues that might have escaped our attention. The IYPA Team are therefore confident that this year’s participants will help provide a better understanding of the role of belonging in our lives and especially in the lives of young people.

The international component of the Young Philosopher Awards aims at enabling young people from around the world to develop and express their thoughts about important issues. The IYPA strongly encourage you to come up with your own philosophical questions in relation to this year’s theme, but they have also created a list of possible start up questions for inspiration:

• What does it mean to belong?
• Is belonging always positive?
• How important is belonging in our lives?
• Is there a relationship between loneliness and belonging?
• Can belonging to one group limit our self-understanding?
• Is the need to belong always a good thing?
• Can belonging to a certain group have a negative impact in one’s life?
• Can one belong in communities with conflicting values?
• Do we always choose where we belong?
• What kind of belonging is involved in the relationship between state and citizens?
• Does belonging to a group cultivate an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ or ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ distinction?
• Is there a relationship between identity and belonging?
• Do you have to be the same as others in order to belong to a group?
• What is the relationship between belonging and difference?
• Do human beings belong to nature? If yes, do they have a responsibility to protect the environment?
• Can we say that belonging to the human species is in tension with our belonging to nature?
• Do animals belong to our world and in what ways?
• How do we cultivate a sense of belonging to people that have suffered from massive displacements because of war, or social, economic and environmental factors?
• What are the key ingredients of belonging?
• What does it mean to belong to a community of young philosophers?
• Can a sense of belonging be cultivated via social media?
• Is there a difference between actual and virtual belonging?