Text Box: Throughout the IAPC 30th Anniversary Conference I was constantly reminded of what an honor it was to be a member of the international Philosophy for Children (P4C) movement and a representative of the IAPC. Most impressive to me was the longevity of people’s involvement in P4C and the seriousness and good will with which they engaged with one another’s ideas. Most participants had attended a Mendham workshop at some time, and many had been graduate students of Ann Margaret Sharp and Matthew Lipman. While there was an overwhelming sense of indebtedness to Ann and Mat, there was an even greater sense of our shared dedication and expertise, having all been involved in implementing and developing the program in our own contexts. Together we constituted a mature community of inquiry: sharing a common language that has been evolving over thirty years, and a concern with many of the same issues, and being aware of each other’s work by way of conferences, workshops and research publications.
Many significant achievements were shared, of which I can mention only a few here. Michel Sasseville from Laval University, Canada previewed a thirteen-part television series on Philosophy for Children and demonstrated an on-line P4C course that is being piloted this year—both ultimately representing the culmination of Sasseville’s work in P4C since the 1980s. Eugenio Echeverría, Tere de la Gaza and Rosario del Collado spoke about the achievements of the Mexcian P4C Federation in the national coordination of teacher training. Peter Shea from the USA spoke about his work applying P4C to folk schooling.