12 Youth Section projects to celebrate 2021 and the Holy Nights

Dear friends of the Youth Section Worldwide,

Another unique year is drawing to an end, and we would not want to let it pass without sending you all a message of gratitude for all the trust and support that you give us during these exceptional times. To show you what we mean, we share with you 12 projects (one for each Holy Night) that we have accomplished this year thanks to the support of our friends, partners, and founders in this newsletter.

If we have learned anything during the past two years, is that deepening our roots in Anthroposophy help us find our way amongst uncertainty and chaos. In these times, we have found strength and clarity by re-visiting the essential works of Rudolf Steiner [1] – an initiative that takes place every Saturday in the Youth Section House – and his addresses to the youth of his time [2]. All of these works remind us that there will be hope wherever we come together in the spirit of devotion to truth and knowledge; in respect and love for the individual's freedom, and out of genuine interest for each other. We hope that you can find strength and clarity in these moments of transition and sometimes darkness to make your projects and initiatives thrive no matter where you are in the world.

We look forward to being in touch again in 2022 with news about what is to come and details about how the leadership transition will run. Until then, we wish you a peaceful, heartwarming Christmas and Holidays!

With warm greetings from the Goetheanum,

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

The Youth Section at the Goetheanum Team

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[1] The Youth Section at the Goetheanum's team is working with the four basic works of Anthroposophy, namely The Philosophy of Freedom (1984), Theosophy (1902), How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds (1904) and Occult Science (1910).
[2] "Youth and the Etheric Heart" Rudolf Steiner Speaks to the Younger Generation. Addresses, Essays, Discussions, and Reports. 1920–1924.

During the first weekend of December, around 60 people gathered online and at local hubs in 7 world locations to research “Questions of Belonging”. The event was co-created with Bert ten Brinke (Casa Santa Isabel) and Menna Saed (Theatre for Transformation) in response to some young people’s request to know what Anthroposophy has to say today about identity aspects like gender and sexuality. Quickly on during the planning process, the organisers realized that the questions were much deeper and wider, including all sorts of notions connected to our human identity, our physical bodies and social realities. This is why the concept “belonging” arose, as a space in which to explore all the elements that constitute and bound us in our incarnation, but that also enable us to transcend the given and create ourselves anew.

Following contributions by Constanza Kaliks on “Belonging”, Menna Saed on “Theatre for Co-Resilience”, Ronja Eis and Till Hoeffner on “Identity Between the Individual and Structures” and Mariano Kasanetz on “Destiny and the Shaping of Identity”, participants worked and conversed with each other to try to arrive at new thoughts and reflections. In plenum sessions, we put our ideas in common and try to understand each others’ perspectives. A report will be compiled early next year including reflections of the participants.

If you see each person as their own humanity, as their own higher individuality, the concepts that we use to divide people on identity, fall apart. Seeing the beauty of culture and of belonging of the physical things that we are given fully frees you to perceive each individual in their full individuality, in their full identity. […] The cultural traumas that we inherit, but also the gifts that we inherit, we can choose whether or not we work with them. And one of these cultural traumas we inherit is politics based upon identity. Jim Crow, Apartheid, are things that are based on concepts of race and gender that are no longer appropriate. In order to move beyond that, we have to transform in ourselves the way we see people, rather than fall back into identity politics. Strengthening the I-forces in ourselves to be able to perceive others in their highest humanity in their highest I. And once you have that capacity, our old concepts of race, gender, and all these things that are real realities but are distorted in the modern world, they fall away.” YIP Participants, Sweden

Frage! Begegne! Spiele! was a program hosted by the Youth Section together with the Initiativforum für Geflüchtete and funded by Movetia Switzerland and the Swiss Anthroposophical Society with the aim to foster encounter, inclusion and creativity amongst young people from different backgrounds through art. 21 young people from 14 countries gathered at the Goetheanum to work for six days on an original theatre piece. Some were young people who had to flee their countries because of war, violence or conflict and live as refugees in Switzerland, others were Swiss or German residents. They developed the script, acting, music, set and costume design from scratch with the help of the facilitators in biography sessions and rehearsals.

The play was performed outdoors to welcome anyone interested in attending without a COVID certificate, gathering around 100 people at the Felsli. The participants described the experience as "an unforgettable week". "I am taking a lot of experiences and answers to questions I never realized I had, and realizing that I was even more privileged than I thought it was", said a participant.

The Goetheanum's community was touched by the play and the spontaneous cultural atmosphere in the gardens, a much-needed experience in pandemic times. An audience member said that it was "a fabulous statement of the human being's resilience and strength. I was so moved I could not clap at the end; the tears came instead. Thank you for restoring faith in humanity". In December, some participants gathered again to celebrate Christmas at the Youth Section House and wave goodbye to this special year in which new friendships have been established.

A new initiative by Gaia Termopoli began at the Youth Section House last October. Every Saturday morning for one hour and a half, a group of approximately 10 people (always open to newcomers) meets to study the four basic works of R. Steiner: The Philosophy of Freedom, Theosophy, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Occult Science. Every Saturday the group changes book and participants read together and deepen their questions in conversation. The aim is to offer a space of study and reflection on the fundamental works of Rudolf Steiner for young people and students. The study will resume again in January.

In 2020 the Youth Section’s research team got invited to present working methods and results from our social study about youth at the social therapy community Altenschlirf in Germany. As a result, we were commissioned to design and conduct a research process in three living and working communities in Germany (Arbeits- und Lebensgemeinschaften für Menschen mit Hilfebedarf). The communities Münzinghof, Altenschlirf and Sassen-Richthof house about 1000 people with and without special needs who want to integrate into living and working communities.

The three communities wish to articulate and describe for themselves the work they are doing from a social and Goethean-scientific perspective through the research methods designed by the Youth Section. A second element regarding their development potential is also at the heart of this research. These two aspects are contemplated in the first phase of the process. The second phase is concerned with integrating the work of these communities within the broader discussion about inclusion, participation and self-determination in the context of social and disability care and rights.

The research methodologies include one-on-one interviews, focus groups, participatory observation and action research which actively involves the people who live in the communities. The whole research design is crafted in co-creation with the three communities. A significant outreach step for the Youth Section team in widening our research experience and skills.

The Youth Section helped this talented group of young people to fundraise towards their initiative, which is to build an educational space in one of Georgia’s villages. This will be the source of anthroposophical education for local children and provide support for them to better express their abilities.

The group received funding that was originally intended to support the youth conference "You and I in our Age: what can we transform together?", which sadly had to be cancelled because of the start of the pandemic.

Support their initiative here!

When we began (Re)Search in 2017, we did not imagine that four years later we would have a 200+ page manuscript ready to publish on the wonderful testimonies and experiences of young people from all over the world. This year, we were able to close our first research project by developing our final book report, which is both in English and German and we hope to translate it into Spanish next year. In 2022, we will begin working to get it published and available to all of you. Additionally, we were asked to collaborate as authors in an upcoming textbook for Waldorf teachers, writing an article on how research processes can support young adults with their learning.

11. THE YOUTH SECTION WORLDWIDE

Welcome friends from Colombia and Mexico, and welcome back Ecuador

In 2021 we expanded the Youth Section's network to 25 locations on 4 different continents and held monthly meetings to keep each other connected despite the difficulties of meeting in person. New groups formed in Mexico and Colombia, and the initiative Nuestros Lazos grew in Latin America. Together, the hispano-portuguese speaking sections are organising a series of gathering for 2022 and 2023! More on this next year...

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.