Team Members

Dina Mendonça (Ph.D. Universidade da Carolina do Sul, EUA, 2003) researches on both Philosophy of Emotion and Philosophy of Education, with special focus on Philosophy for Children. Her research on emotions focuses on developing a Layered Theory of Emotions, which understands emotions within layers grounded taking them as situated and dinamic occurrences (Mendonça 2024). This pragmatist research of Deweyan inspiration aims to elaborate a perspective upon emotions that can provide a philosophical critical stance on theories of emotions clarifying the various issues and benefits of different theoretical takes on Emotion Research, as well as identify some of the main philosophical topics for emotion theory (paradox of fiction, meta-emocional processes, etc.). In addition, she teaches Didactics of Philosophy, focusing on the role of writing for education and ways to foster and promote thinking. She was the PI of the national project P4C-AIM which combines the practice of Philosophy for Children with Argumentative Theory by developing research in the field of Ethics in Philosophy for Children showing how the philosophical field greatly contributes to ethical development of citizens, and how its connection to Argumentation Theory can bring interesting theoretical outcomes to both disciplines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGndOT1ARsA Having been originally trained in Philosophy for Children by the founders of the P4C program, Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp, she is the author of several papers in philosophy for children highlighting the importance of philosophy for teaching thinking well (importance of questioning, relevance of refining strategies of thinking with others rigorously, etc.), and she promotes and creates original material for the application of philosophy to all schooling ages. She has worked Philosophy for Children in Portugal since 2005 and co-authored a book with kindergarten teacher Maria João Lourenço, for the application of philosophy for Children in kindergarten, which is the outcome of another previous project carried out in collaboration with Voz do Operário. In addition to participating in a variety of pedagogical projects in a multitude of pedagogical settings (schools; Museums and Cultural Foundations; council pedagogical departments) she has written several papers on philosophy of emotion and the interrelation between emotions theory, ethics and education.

Dr. Susana Cadilha is a research fellow at IFILNOVA, where she coordinates the Ethics and Political Philosophy Lab. https://ifilnova.pt/laboratorios/eplab/. She is also a lecturer in ethics and applied ethics at NOVA FCSH. She teaches and writes on ethics, metaethics, and practical rationality. Before coming to IFILNOVA, she was an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, and Católica Porto Business School. She was also a Guest Researcher at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where she was trained in bioethics. She was a team member of the FCT funded project Philosophy for Children and the Dawn of moral intuition: values and reasons in rationality and reasonability and of the FCT funded project Integration of refugees in Portugal: assessing moral duties and integration policies in the context of European values and policies.

Aléxis Trindade is the teacher and coordinator at Externato João XXII, since 2017, of the Philosophy for Children project, that starts at the primary level, with students from the age of six to nine, and that then evolves into the class of Citizenship and Development – Practical Philosophy, from 5th to 9th year of schooling, with students from age ten to fourteen. He as a degree in Philosophy and a frequency at the master’s degree for Teaching Philosophy for High School. But with the discovery of Philosophy for Children, Aléxis develops these methodological practice and project believing that is fundamental for children, that live evermore at a global world, to develop millennial skills attributed to the philosophical work, such as critical thinking, as well as the technological skills needed for the 21st century.

Rita Rodrigues is a kindergarten teacher at Externato João XXIII. They believe that one of the many challenges that schools must address nowadays is the incorporation of the digital revolution on the educational contents, school methodologies, and pedagogical action. All holding degrees in Childhood Education (Rita has participated in a social inclusion project entitled “Migration and Intercultural Relations - Migrants and Education”). They all develop work with the children from age three to five, in the storytelling expertise as well as the dramatic expression as a medium for children to know themselves and others, and to better express themselves. They think being in this project will help them and the parents give a better pedagogical preparation for future working years and for the children to better deal with  the 21st century.

Carla Gomes is a kindergarten teacher at Externato João XXIII. They believe that one of the many challenges that schools must address nowadays is the incorporation of the digital revolution on the educational contents, school methodologies, and pedagogical action. All holding degrees in Childhood Education (Rita has participated in a social inclusion project entitled “Migration and Intercultural Relations - Migrants and Education”). They all develop work with the children from age three to five, in the storytelling expertise as well as the dramatic expression as a medium for children to know themselves and others, and to better express themselves. They think being in this project will help them and the parents give a better pedagogical preparation for future working years and for the children to better deal with  the 21st century.

Liliana Carvalho is a kindergarten teacher at Externato João XXIII. They believe that one of the many challenges that schools must address nowadays is the incorporation of the digital revolution on the educational contents, school methodologies, and pedagogical action. All holding degrees in Childhood Education (Rita has participated in a social inclusion project entitled “Migration and Intercultural Relations - Migrants and Education”). They all develop work with the children from age three to five, in the storytelling expertise as well as the dramatic expression as a medium for children to know themselves and others, and to better express themselves. They think being in this project will help them and the parents give a better pedagogical preparation for future working years and for the children to better deal with  the 21st century.

Dr. Luca Zanetti is the President of Filò. He earned a PhD in Philosophy, then he did a Post-Doc on Philosophical Practices with Children, and from January 2023 he is working on a one-year Post-Doc in the Italian Agency INDIRE on the role of philosophy in education. Luca Zanetti is now adjunct professor at the University of Bologna, where he also teaches a course on dialogic literacy which is focused on learning how to facilitate philosophical dialogues with children and adults. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Verona, where he teaches courses on Philosophy for Children for future teachers in nursery and primary schools. He has published several articles on the role of philosophical dialogue in education, he has a strong experience as P4C practitioner (6 years) at all levels and he has worked extensively on projects that bring university research to schools and public institutions.

Dr. Silvia Demozzi, Associate Professor in General and Social Pedagogy and Philosophy of Education. She teaches Childhood and Family Education and Pedagogical Reflexivity and Deontology. Her main research interests include early education and care (with a focus on children rights and participation) and complex thinking education (with specific reference to the practices of philosophical enquiry - P4C). In 2022, she attended a Workshop in Philosophy for Children at the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (Montclair State University, USA). She was the Principal Investigator of two- year project “Farfilò”, focused on the practices of philosophical enquiry with childhood and adolescence. The project was granted by the University of Bologna and it aimed to study, develop and implement educational proposals based on the practices of philosophical enquiry with and for children, as well as to disseminate knowledge on these topics to citizens and university students. Since her doctoral work on Gregory Bateson's Ecology of Mind, she has always been interested in ecological thought and is now a member of the Environment and Sustainability Group of EDU.

Michela Patuzzo, project manager and researcher in social economy and social design. She has a Master's Degree in European Project Design. She coordinates EU funded projects and projects funded by the National Operational Plan of the  Metropolitan City of Bologna and by private foundations, all of them focusing on childhood, education and inclusion.

Nicoletta Chieregato, who is concluding her PhD in Education Sciences. She earned a master degree in Pedagogy and a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She has over 20 years of professional experience in project management and joined CADIAI as pedagogical coordinator of Early Childhood Educational Services. She's an active member of CREIF (Educational Research Centre on Childhood and Families of the University of Bologna) and her research interests are related to education and politics relationship, democracy and education, transversal skills, philosophical practices with and for childhood.

Beatrice obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy with a thesis on Judith Butler and a Master's Degree in Philosophical Sciences with a thesis on truth in science. During her master's years, she came in contact with Filò by carrying out a curricular internship and after participating as an observer in the workshops is now part of the team at Filò, the thread of thought carrying workshops in Philosophical practices.

Carola graduated in Philosophy at the University of Milan and concluded her studies with a master's degree in Philosophical Sciences from the Alma Mater Studiorum in Bologna. She is part of the team of Filò, the thread of thought in promoting philosophical practices in a variety of settings.

Jarosław Jendza plays the leading and coordinating role in the project team from Poland. His expertise includes nontraditional forms of early education, Montessori method, innovative early didactics and methodology of educational research. He obtained the doctorate in 2018, and is the author of more than 35 scientific research publications on education (mostly early education). He has been a Montessori school consultant for about two decades, implementing programs for children at the age 3-6 aimed at fostering their independence, self-reliance and creativity. He used to be a head-teacher of a Montessori preschool, and thus joins academic expertise and practical experience. He is an adviser and trainer of pedagogical councils and promotes cooperation between teachers, students and parents. He is an external evaluator of preschool institutions, based on the obtained data, he successfully introduces changes in the way each institution works. Currently he is also a member of the executive board of Montessori Europe, member of the editorial board of the Journal of Montessori Research and Education.

Pawel Turowski is the project manager of the Montessori School based in Gdansk.

Neringa Gaus has been working as a project manager since 2009 and has long experience in coordinating large international projects. Her work focuses on administrative and financial support as well as the technical development and design of projects due to her computer science studies. Overall, she keeps track of the coordination of content and workflow across all current projects.

Klara Junkes has been a project manager since the beginning of 2019 and has vast experience working with and managing large international teams. She coordinates the cultural projects of the EduSkills+ website (Sexual Awareness, Get ready for school and Reflections). She is responsible for both content development and public relations, in addition to coordinating both administrative and financial matters. As a graduate of Communication Sciences (BA) and Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe (MA), she also works with NG on marketing and PR campaigns. She has particular expertise in the fields of online marketing and advertising in social media.

Maja Cimerman holds a degree in Human Ecology from the University of Vienna. She has worked as a project manager at Interkulturo since 2008. She is the main coordinator of the content development in the projects in the field of intercultural skills and social inclusion: Reflections, Story time and Traveler between wor(l)ds, where she is also one of the authors of the content. She worked as the local project coordinator and collaborator in different projects, e.g. as one of the authors of texts for the multilingual e-learning portal deutsch.info and the editor-in-chief of the portal lingvo.info, a multilingual portal for promoting language diversity in Europe. She was also the main content developer of materials for the application kids.deutsch.info. She writes for children and adults. In 2012 her first children's novel "Hiša spominov" was published in Slovenia. She also contributes to the children's magazine "Kekec" and her fairy tales have been published in the radio program "Lahko noč otroci". She contributed articles for several regional newspapers

Matej Sitar holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Ljubljana and studied Photography at Famul Stuart. He has worked as a project manager for Inter-kulturo since 2013. He is the local project coordinator for projects related to media literacy and safety of children on the Internet (DAPPS, IpuS, cyberhelp.eu etc.). He has experience in on-line and offline PR activities and was involved in preparing FB posts for several projects, including deutsch.info with over 188.000 followers. He has experience with working with different groups of learners in the field of media education (children, seniors) as well as teachers. He organizes different events for Interkulturo, such as festivals, public panels and exhibitions.

He was responsible for the production of educational videos for e-learning platforms on several occasions. Matej Sitar also holds workshops and lectures on photography and on photobooks.