INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STEINER WALDORF PARENTS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012 INVITATION

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STEINER WALDORF PARENTS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012 INVITATION OCTOBER 2012 ANNUAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN FLORENCE, ITALY

2 INTRODUCTION Dear Parents of Steiner Waldorf schools, We, parents from the Steiner Waldorf School in Florence, are happy to invite you to the next INSWaP (International Network of Steiner Waldorf parents) conference in Florence, Italy from the 12th to the 14th of October The meeting is entitled: Waldorf s place in the education revolution Monica Picchi, a parent from the Florence Waldorf School, during a holiday in Iceland last year, came across INSWaP and returned later in the year in October, to attend the annual meeting which was held in Iceland. She had the opportunity to meet some focal members of INSWaP and found the content of the conferences extremely rewarding. It was with great delight that last year s hosts asked Monica to help ISNWaP to organize the event this year in Florence. The meeting this year continues and expands on the theme from last year s conference: Steiner Waldorf - past (a little), present and (mostly) future It is becoming more evident that there is revolutionary change occurring in the primary schools worldwide, which has to a large extend been instigated by parents wanting to provide something better for their children. We believe that the Waldorf Pedagogy has some valuable criteria to offer in terms of information, practices and disciplines, which can contribute to this revolution. This year, we offer exactly this as our topic for the INSWaP conference: How is it that Steiner Waldorf Parents can contribute? O U R S C H O O L The Steiner Waldorf school of Florence, which has been running since 1997, is situated in the outskirts of Florence. This year is a particularly important year for our school as we are at the beginning of our third seven-year-cycle. Holding this conference this year represents for us a very unique step in our history. T H E R E N A I S S A N C E M O V E M E N T In Florence, in the 14 th century, began an active cultural renewal and rebirth, that was later called the Renaissance movement. Man started to realise that he was at the centre of reality and he was created to mould and dominate it with his genius. From Florence, (where even today, there is still ample evidence and remains of the renaissance art and culture) this movement was spread across Italy and the rest of Europe and was the beginning of the modern culture. We have made you a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer. It will be in your power to descend to the lower, brutish forms of life; you will be able, through your own decision, to rise again to the superior orders whose life is divine.'' Oration on the Dignity of Man, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

3 Florence and the renaissance movement has a special connection with Rudolf Steiner. We are happy to offer you the opportunity to explore this connection further, through some of the features of this year s conference. Rudolf Steiner was passionate about the Renaissance movement, and whilst developing the art of Eurythmy, was inspired by the great teachers of the Italian Renaissance. For example in Raffaello s harmonious painting of the Madonna, we can see the representation of the letter B. In the Last Supper (Cenacolo) of Leonardo de Vinci, there are visible a variety of letters of the alphabet. In the famous sculptures of Michelangelo, that you can view in the Medici Chapels in Florence, the vowel E can be seen as well as the gesture of the soul. EURYTHMY AND RENAISSANCE Raffaello s Madonna: in this harmonious painting of the Madonna, it s possible to see the representation of the letter B The Renaissance Movement is also studied in the 12 th grade of Waldorf schools worldwide. You will have the opportunity to see the roof tops of Florence, during the weekend. T H E C O N F E R E N C E The conference will be held where the majority of the guests will be lodging, in the Gould centre. There is a beautiful frescoed conference room, and on each floor of the guest house there are areas where you can work privately or also in small groups. To register for the conference, and further information, contact Monica, monica.picchi@unifi.it cell or Gitte, gitte@positivepowerliving.com

4 T E N T A T I V E P R O G R A M M E W A L D O R F S P L A C E I N T H E E D U C A T I O N R E V O L U T I O N Friday, October Presentation of participants Tour of the Palazzo Vecchio (arrival by foot) followed by dinner at Gould Christopher Clouder: Waldorf s place in the education revolution Trip to view the rooftops of Florence Saturday, October Report from group work conducted at INSWaP INSWaP structure - follow up from INSWaP Break ECSWE update, as well as updates from national parents associations Lunch European movements on alternative primary schools Renaissance and anthroposophy Break Importance of parents in education/pisa Eurythmy and Renaissance The renaissance dinner at the Villa La Sfacciata. Sunday, October Structure of focused action Group work what does INSWaP wish to accomplish? Summary and conclusion of INSWaP Lunch

5 C O S T The cost for the weekend is 250 (subject to availability of rooms). If bookings exceed availability of rooms at the Gould guesthouse, we can arrange alternative accommodation but cannot guarantee the standard weekend fee, additional fees will apply. For accommodation, contact Elisa, isentieridelgusto@libero.it, Payment must be made as follows: Please specify: Participation of the INSWaP conference October 2012 Payment to the following bank account: ASSOCIAZIONE SCUOLA WALDORF FIRENZE IBAN : IT 40 E CC Swift code: BLUCIT31XXX Banco di Lucca e del Tirreno ag. 2 Firenze A C C O M M O D A T I O N Two nights at Foresterie Valdesi, Gould, Via De Serragli, 49, Firenze ( The building is situated 5 minutes from the centre of Florence by foot (no car hire will be required). The Guest House is located in a palazzo constructed in the mid 1600 s as a residence for the noble Florentine family Del Rosso. T H E R E N A I S S A N C E D I N N ER Included in the programme for Saturday evening 13 th of October is The Renaissance dinner. This will take place in the Villa La Sfacciata. It is a beautiful villa, located in the hillside surrounding Florence built in 1427, more pictures can be seen on Wikipedia - The villa is owned by the parents of one of the children at our school, and has been kindly offered as the venue for the 13th of October. The dinner will be prepared by one of the mothers from our school who specializes in organic vegetarian cooking. We will arrange transportation for the group. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city. Monica Picchi