October News from the Youth Section at the Goetheanum

Dear friends of the Youth Section Worldwide,

Greetings from our dear Goetheanum! We hope this newsletter —the first of the new academic year here in Dornach— finds you well and full of initiative.

We are thrilled about all the new beginnings taking place these weeks here at the Youth Section. A couple of weekends ago, our Research School welcomed 28 young researchers working in different disciplines across 14 world locations. Together we will be working on individual research questions and exploring spiritual science’s contributions to the world.

Another new project is coming up: “Frage! Begegne! Spiele!” (11-17 October) for young people with a migration background living in Switzerland and alumni of the Friends of Waldorf Education programmes. We will create a performance from scratch in just 5 days based on questions of identity and journeying.

We were also delighted to welcome the students of the Anthroposophical Studies at the Goetheanum who have started their studies this week. In late October, the students of the Minor in Anthroposophy of Leiden University of Applied Sciences will visit us too, after our brief visit to The Hague in early September (you can read about our encounter in The Netherlands below).

And so, October marks the beginning of new activities and endeavours that aim to foster the spiritual striving of young people wherever they are in the world and in their own inner path. Whether online, in person at the Goetheanum or across 25 locations through the local Youth Section's Worldwide, Anthroposophy works through and with young people today.

We wish you all the best in your own endeavours and look forward to hearing from you if you want to share with us your new (or ongoing) initiatives!

With our warm wishes,

Andrea de la Cruz, Gaia Termopoli, Ioana Viscrianu
and Johannes Kronenberg with Constanza Kaliks

The Youth Section at the Goetheanum Team

The Youth Section was asked to participate in the course’s opening week to support the students to begin building their social fabric, getting to know each other through those questions that can act as guiding stars during the year. Inspired by our (Re)Search methodology, we went through a process of dialogue, imagination and questioning. Through this, we identified questions and gifts we would like to give to the world for the future. Questions about how to help others, bring love to encounters, heal, take initiative or find the balance between work and the social made themselves visible. The gifts that the young students wanted to give to the world materialized as if they were tools to help them sustain themselves in living with those same questions: trust, compassion, understanding, companionship, creativity, letting go. (...)

We are looking for young people to help us co-host our 2021 colloquium in their local community. Get in touch to co-organise with us a local event in your area!

As unique spiritual beings, each of us shares the experience of belonging to certain human conditions that, restricting as they may seem, ultimately support us in how we shape our individual destinies on Earth. How we relate to our physical – racial, sexual, gender – attributes, as well as our cultural, national backgrounds inform us in our path of self-knowledge and becoming.

This colloquium attempts to give an open space for young people to articulate their own questions about aspects of the human identity and to observe what happens between us when we think these questions through.

"About two years ago I immersed myself in the world of two artists who have accompanied me during this time, Hilma af Klint and Emma Kunz. Researchers, visionaries and great artists. From this research, I became part of the independent research group Visionary Women Research Group. We investigate the life and work of women born at the end of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century, who have contact with the spiritual world and portray it through drawing, embroidery, writing, painting... all the women I have met so far seem incredible to me.

Now we are going to hold an International Seminar on Visionary Women's Art. The seminar will be in person, free and open. It will take place in a University in Barcelona on the 14th and 15th of October 2021."

Ester Mecías

Join Ester and her colleagues at this wonderful event. All details about the prorgam and how to join are in the buttons below.

One can never know what to expect from the unfolding of a year. But, we can choose to engage ourselves in communities that support our positive becoming. Last year over 200 individuals participated in the first Applied Anthroposophy course held by the Anthroposophical Society in America.

In the words of Anne-Marie, who joined the course from Atlanta, Georgia,

Sometimes one just needs to trust the timing of their life - the transformative experience of being a part of this group and the richness and depth of the knowledge I have gained could not have come at a better time. This last year has been difficult for all of us but I don’t think I could have made it through without a new spiritual lens through which to view the world and all that is happening in it.

This second year of the online course begins in October and includes inspiring presenters such as Brian Gray, Julia Polter, Megan Durney, Orland Bishop, Lisa Romero, Bastiaan Baan, Laura Summer, Seth Jordan, & Alex Tuchman. Register for just these “Seed Series” weekly presentations or enroll in the Full Program, which also offers a variety of ways to engage in ongoing smaller groups. There are tiered tuition options and financial assistance is available.

Join us as we ask how we can meet the contemporary world with a sense of practical wonder. . . like a butterfly emerging into the light, strengthened by all that was learned in the depths of the chrysalis.

In 1924 Rudolf Steiner made a call to the youth of his time with the words ‘stick together with an iron will’. This was in order to overcome the great differences in perspectives and because, in Steiner’s words, “Sticking together is what is most necessary if we hope to accomplish anything today with regards to life’s great issues. […] Eventually, you may realise that the greatest of your youth was knowing how to stay together’. (R. Steiner, 1924, GA217a)

In this spirit we would like to make an appeal to our members and friends of the Anthroposophical Society to support young people to come together despite these difficult times we live in. All donations will go towards scholarships and basic infrastructure to initiate projects by and for young people who are seeking to meet one another and share their spiritual striving.

We thank all our donors and supporters, and specially all the Members of the Anthroposophical Society who make our work possible today and always.