After the Wall Street Journal, also the New York Times writes about the controversial issue of this year’s UNESCO “World Philosophy Day”. Although the event was originally planned to be held in Tehran, it has now been moved to Paris, where it will be officially celebrated on November 18th (www.unesco.org). Although the day in Tehran has not disappeared, is now presented as one among many other events of the same set. This is also due to ResetDoc’s protest, supported by many important philosophers and intellectuals around the world: especially after the debate has been spread on a public meeting in New York (September 27th) which has caused an unacceptable embarrassment to UNESCO.

The New York Times examines the risk that the event would become a “propaganda platform” for a brutal regime, if the World Philosophy Day in Tehran was confirmed to be the main event. Among the signatories of the protest there is the Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, jailed in 2006 for having “contacts with foreigners” and for “fomenting a velvet revolution” by bringing Western philosophers to Iran (Habermas, Rorty and others). Even Otfried Höffe, who disagrees with the replacement of Iran’s Philosophy Day’s director Gholamreza Aavani with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son-in-law, declared that he will not participate to the event.

The main event will be celebrated in Paris on November 18th along with other special meetings which have been organized in Havana, Mexico City, Rochester, Rabat and other cities. ResetDoc invites philosophers all over the world to broaden the debate on the role of philosophy in the construction of a free and critical thought, not only by sending their contributions to ResetDoc’s website www.philosophy4freedom.org but also by discussing this issue in their social networks and in all philosophy websites.