Trip by the leadership team to England from 20–23.05.2024

Sonja and Jan were invited to make their first visit to Ruskin Mill Trust and the Field Center, Ruskin Mill’s research and education center. It was a long-awaited visit to get to know the main people responsible on-site in greater depth. During a mindful walk through the entire valley accompanied by Simon, we got to know the genius loci intensively. It is inspiring to see how the dialogical gestures with nature, culture, history and buildings are perceptible at every point in the encounter with the young people.

Some employees are currently working on doctorates on various original topics related to Ruskin Mill’s method. Presentations were given by seven doctoral students.

After a festive buffet, Jan Göschel gave a contribution in the evening on the history and development of the new Section for Inclusive Social Development of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum, which will be founded in October. In the subsequent conversation with Sonja and Jan, the future prospects were discussed constructively. We concluded with a warm invitation to all Ruskin Mill Trust colleagues to become actively involved in the new section.

The journey continued to Emerson College on an invitation from the English association ACESTA to attend its annual conference. There was a discussion framework here, which was filled with contributions from Bart Vanmechelen, Sonja Zausch and Jan Göschel and rounded off with suggestions from the participants. Here, too, the focus was on the upcoming founding of the new section.

There was also an initial meeting with the British section representatives. The prospects of the new section were presented and participants were also encouraged to find a person from the new section’s field of work to join the circle. Such a circle of section representatives, working together as a collective of the School of Spiritual Science in one country and reflecting all the sections of the Goetheanum, can also be found in the USA and Holland. Similar processes take place here.

All in all, it was a week with lots of good discussions, as interest in the field of work remains very high in the UK, even though the challenges are huge. We look forward to further collaboration and the creative potential we have experienced here!

Anyone interested in the work at Ruskin Mill Trust will find an exciting new book on the approach developed there here (open access for free download, or as a print edition to order).