Impressions of the autumn conference Report of a seminarist from the Bingenheim community, Germany

More than 900 people from over 50 countries attended the event and shared their ideas and suggestions. The 2nd and 3rd Bingenheim seminar course set out to be part of this unique experience and to immerse themselves in the diverse program of the long-awaited conference from October 2nd to 6th. I (Luzie, a first-year seminarist) joined them. We didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of this conference, and we were very exhausted at the end of the first day, but our enthusiasm grew with each new day, so that on Sunday we didn’t want to leave. From the very beginning, we experienced a feeling of deep connection because, all over the world, in the most diverse places, people are working with all their strength and goodwill for the same cause. We are committed to making equality and inclusion unconditionally possible together. This is simply incredible! It is a feeling that I never want to forget and that should help us in times of discouragement.

The range of lectures, working groups and other program items was enormous. Particular highlights for us seminarians were two performances in the impressive Main Hall. The eurythmy program of the Goetheanum Ensemble “To the Earth”, which inspired us with its incredible changes of color and mood and the power of expression. Eurythmy as we had never seen it before. Another performance was the inclusive dance theater “HUMAN,” in which students from the Wetzikon Waldorf School, Hof Wagenburg, and the Intercantonal University of Applied Sciences for Supportive education presented breathtaking choreographies with extremely expressive images. This showed everyone in the room that inclusion is possible everywhere, whether with or without a wheelchair.

The working groups all dealt with supportive education from different perspectives. My working group and I had a touching experience. I had the opportunity to introduce my older brother, who has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum, through my words. We then tried a kind of peer counseling in which the course leaders advised me across disciplines. At the end of the working group, we placed my brother in the middle and thanked him for his individual nature and his work on this earth. I am endlessly grateful for this loving and sincere interest, which was taken in me as a matter of course. I have the feeling that this is exactly what matters. Compassion, a sense of responsibility and empathy are exactly the skills that I find in this supportive education.

Another highlight for me was the exhibition by the artist Greg Tricker about the life of Kaspar Hauser. His works, along with pictures by fourteen artists with special needs, were exhibited at the Goetheanum. The pictures show, among other things, touching and intimate moments of Kaspar with his wooden horse, which was the only creature he knew for the first decade of his life. The pictures show his gentle, pure nature, which Tricker also links to biblical scenes at the end of his series. Tricker shows how relevant Kaspar’s story is today and how much we can learn from it. His exclusively humble attitude, which knew no hatred, despite his severe suffering, makes him a role model not only because of his story, but because of his pure nature.

It seemed to me that his story teaches us how much respect we should have for people with special needs (which did not exist for a long time and still has to be fought for every day in some places), who often seem so much purer, more receptive and kinder to me than people without special needs.

What could be emphasized even more at the next conference?

Some things were still too vague for me personally – I had to actively seek the answers to the questions I had come to the conference with. But then I found them. The confidence in the answers that anthroposophical supportive education has to offer was a bit neglected on the big stage… at least in relation to the countless metaphors, which then still left a great deal of room for interpretation.

My wish for the next conference and for anthroposophy in general would therefore be not to be afraid of making specific statements.

At this conference, I was able to clearly feel how strong we are together, as a movement. And this strong feeling was present in all the participants.

But the strong feeling of connection and the desire to get to know each other could also have been exactly what we needed for this year’s conference.

The following quotes have particularly stuck with me:

What is inclusion?

“Inclusion is when the term is no longer necessary.” – Teacher at Bingenheim.

“We have to give our fellow human beings with special needs the assurance that their gift will be well received, so that it is no longer difficult to dare to come here.” – in the working group.

Even though I didn’t get answers to all my questions, there was so much hope for me too in those days, and so much energy for a future together.

On Saturday evening, I was standing with my friend on the terrace of the Goetheanum. Through the large window of the upper front entrance, we could see the exhibition about Kaspar Hauser, while below on the forecourt almost all 900 participants were dancing a beautiful folk dance. Standing between the painting and the circle dance, I felt as if we were standing between the past and a future-oriented present. Like a point and a circle. A past from which we can learn a lot, which must never be forgotten, and a present that is entirely in our hands. Between these two polarities, my task is to put the awareness of the past and the future into words… and into sign language.

So that we lift those into the center of the circle who cannot do it themselves, and stand up for them, because it is about them.

Foto: Goetheanum/Xue Li