Reshaping the world movement

Impulses from the Goetheanum World Conference 2023 Perspectives for the next seven years

I. Invitation to participate – Goetheanum World Conference

From 27 September to 1 October 2023, 1000 people from 50 countries came to the Goetheanum to take part in the Goetheanum World Conference. The coming together was designed in such a way that anyone who wanted to respond to the call to "reshape a world movement" could participate. All contributions were translated into six languages, and many more languages were spoken during this festive gathering.

The conference began with an opening in which the sounds of trumpets activated the hearing. Then the 8 metre long artwork "Guernica de la Ecologia" by Claudy Jongstra on the main stage stimulated the vision, whereupon 60 people from the audience unexpectedly stood up and walked onto the stage to watch this work as a window into the world. This invocation to people and the Earth was like a new creation of connection. This was followed by short contributions from all over the world; the world spoke and listened simultaneously. The Michael Imagination in eurythmic performance rounded off the opening, and the World Conference had begun.

From here, the programme continued in a total of 12 thematic forums, which were created from the central world topics of the open call made in advance and by the sections of the School of Spiritual Science (Summaries of these topics are compiled at the end of this report). After the lunch break, during which participants were able to take part in a wide range of artistic and dialogue activities, the panel contributions and discussions were held again in the main hall. Here, reports were given on initiatives from agriculture, education and youth welfare, social initiatives and economic endeavours. This was followed by a panel discussion on the keynote speeches on the conference theme "reshaping a world movement".

In the last session before the artistic evening programme, more than 35 working groups moderated by the country representatives met to work on further questions concerning the world movement and its effectiveness in the world. The conference was largely fuelled by the encounters, re-encounters, discussions, exchanges and joint consciousness building. All of these gave rise to new impulses, changed perspectives, suggestions, contacts and support for the participants' own actions. 

II. Current situation - Effectiveness and life in a threatened world

The following questions moved us in preparation for the meeting:

The global society has reached turning point . All previous points of reference seem to be disappearing more and more. In many areas of life around the world, increasingly also in the Western industrialised nations, there are states of crisis, massive emergencies and wars. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals and society to understand the world, to find orientation and being able to act in it.

Taking these conditions into account, how can the Earth, which humankind has massively damaged, nevertheless be reshaped in a way that corresponds to its own being? How can human dignity still be affirmed even though it is structurally being violated in many places around the world? How can life be experienced as meaningful even though cynicism prevails? Is there not in the depths of every human being a yes to "wanting to live on this Earth"? Could it not be that the signs of the Earth's decay that are visible everywhere, the violation of human dignity and the senselessness experienced form a counterpart that articulates the yes to life - even if many people are no longer able to express this yes? We believe that it is precisely from this that a new will to create can be developed and that a common will for transformation can be formed from our diverse life situations.

With the call for "reshaping a world movement", we are asking for new development steps and future perspectives after more than 100 years of anthroposophical work and at the beginning of the second century of its existence. In this essay, we would like to encourage you to take up this new beginning and call on you to help co-create it. The conference work continues; it is a question of culture and attitude that demands further steps.

Effectiveness of the anthroposophical world movement

Anthroposophy has developed in the threatened world we live in, it is a part of it and at the same time speaks to it. The anthroposophical movement and its institutions, organisations, schools, farms, cultural sites and all the human beings involved are facing up to the difficult living conditions and challenges of our time. Whether biodynamic preparations are being made for the compost of thousands of farmers in India, young people who have lost their way in England are finding a new path in life, the desert in Egypt is being made fertile with biodynamic agriculture or children in the Brazilian favelas are receiving food and education, in every place in the world anthroposophy is being used to try to contribute to a worthwhile and meaningful reality. All initiatives are united by this common quest.

And yet current work with anthroposophy is caught in a field of tension between ossification, a clinging to and persistence in old forms from one side, and dilution on the other, in which the substance of anthroposophy increasingly threatens to disappear. Pioneering projects and communities in which anthroposophy has developed over decades show that clinging to old modes of action and ways of life can lead to disintegration - the inner strength diminishes, human beings burn out, there are no new generations to take over the work, or the external structures come into conflict with the environment or state requirements. On the other hand, in many anthroposophical organisations such as schools, banks, care homes, companies etc., we are experiencing processes of dilution and a loss of substance. In some organisations, anthroposophy is almost being pushed out or even deliberately removed. Against this backdrop, the question arises: What is our common understanding of anthroposophy, and what are its current tasks in the present and future? This concerns both the further development of anthroposophy as a spiritual science as well as its fruitful realisation and cultivation in the fields of work.

A twofold question is linked to this: How can we live and convey anthroposophy in such a way that the different currents and approaches can become fruitful in a complementary way without conflicting with each other? And how can we make substantial contributions to the challenges and needs of our time? This requires overarching consciousness building and cooperation beyond our own organisations and initiatives. With regard to the environment, the question of whether we want to enter into alliances and cooperation with people and organisations that have related goals also arises.

III. Three formative impulses

Reshaping a world movement - a dialogue between the professional working fields, the School of Spiritual Science and the Anthroposophical Society
Keynotes in the morning, panels and discussion groups in the afternoon

The keynotes and panels were based on the following questions: How can the work with anthroposophy be renewed and strengthened in a rapidly changing world? What are the paths into a new century after more than 100 years of its existence? How can we guide the experiences, challenges and achievements of the anthroposophical movement and Society and the School of Spiritual Science into the future?

What does reshaping mean in this context? Three possibilities became visible - firstly, a shaping from within, from inner intentions; secondly, a shaping of the connection between internal and external, from the field of tension between inner intention and the integration of external requirements; and thirdly, a shaping from the surrounding and co-world, a moulding of the outer contour through the surrounding space.

A) A new inner disposition

Three themes from the foundation stone meditation were addressed in the morning keynotes: Our connection to the forces of origin, our involvement in the community of humankind and our ability to understand the world by thinking. These three motifs are sources of inspiration for the great challenges that our time presents us with. How can everyone tap into the source of their will of destiny in such a way that they can become an active contributor to the world? How can we open up a heart-space between us so that we can withstand the risks of group formation and demarcation? How can the individual human being, while thinking independently, connect with the world of ideas in such a way that they know they are at home in a safe reality? In this way, these contributions have made the inspirational power of anthroposophy accessible and tangible for the challenges of the present.

Three qualities from the contribution by Christine Gruwez and Constanza Kaliks can be summarised as inner dispositions:

• Courage to be vulnerable, whereby the power of active humility towards the other and the world, as well as the willingness to admit and articulate one's own injuries provide the basis for assuming responsibility in a social context.
• Courage for fragments, which refers to the willingness to see what we have achieved in a larger context instead of being subjugated to a perfect idea. If we can see our work in context, it becomes clear that it points beyond itself and can be seen as a stage in the becoming of a greater whole. A sense of ‘not being complete', ‘not being finished’ and self-development are part of this.
• The courage to continually reawaken and to stay awake enables us to seek and recognise the essence behind the façade of the purely material and utilitarian. Awakening means striving time and again to see through the materiality of the world, to orientate ourselves towards the Thou, towards our essential counterpart, and to judge and act from this vantage point.

B) Connecting inside and outside as a wholeness

An attitude that looks in the eye of the threats posed to many anthroposophical institutions that have grown in recent decades and accepts the challenge of revive them anew from within and shaping and managing the outside in a thoughtful way that is willing to face reality.

The search for a relationship between anthroposophically inspired institutions and the public, which on the one hand does justice to an internal disposition and tasks, but which in this sense, on the other hand, is also prepared to accept and face up to the challenges approaching it from outside.

C) World movement as a continuous process

The search for a shaping of the world movement that brings to life not a static, but a continuously pulsating world context and a cosmopolitan inspirational force.

A search for a shaping of the world movement that sees it as its inner goal to realise a lively, pulsating relationship with the world and to gain from this a power that inspires its own work.

IV. Seven perspectives of the anthroposophical world movement for the next seven years

The inspiring cooperation during the World Conference confirmed the vital existence of an activity supported by anthroposophy, which is effective in the most diverse areas of life such as education, medicine, agriculture, art, literary arts and humanities, curative pedagogy, natural science, youth work, economics and general cultural creation. We were moved by the question of how work with anthroposophy can be renewed and strengthened in a rapidly changing world. What steps need to be taken after more than 100 years of its existence? How can we develop the experiences, challenges and achievements of the anthroposophical movement, the Anthroposophical Society and the School of Spiritual Science even more consciously from the demands of the present and lead them into the future?

The anthroposophical world movement is mobile, multifaceted and diverse. Its forms of life and work are not fixed, clearly defined or uniformly shaped. It is organised on a decentralised basis, so that each facility and institution largely takes responsibility for its own activities; albeit there are specialist contexts in which institutions come together to form associations. Ultimately, work and life are coloured by the most diverse cultures and realities of life, and all these institutions together form a diverse and colourful civil society movement. From this perspective, we will now look at possible development steps. It is a matter of observing phenomena without pinning them down. Anthroposophically inspired organisations and institutions are as diverse as humankind itself. The anthroposophical movement in this sense is an open movement that includes many forms of life.

The following perspectives describe attitudes and qualities that are fundamentally vital for a reorganisation and the coming years:

1. Promoting and cultivating togetherness - Appealing to the cosmopolitan in every human being

The social order of the world is losing its cohesion ever more rapidly. Extremism and marginalisation towards anything that is different from the familiar, and is therefore not accepted, are constantly on the rise. Single individuals, groups and countries as well as the ever-intensifying West-East conflict and the continuing North-South inequality are an expression of this. Promoting and cultivating a overarching sense of humanity based on freely chosen solidarity and cosmopolitanism in the midst of these disruptive forces is a key perspective of the anthroposophical movement as a world movement. Where the Earth and human beings themselves are the subject of the work, it endeavours to see and work on them as embedded in the reality of cosmic contexts. This offers a space for development in order to overcome the "against each other" and to open our eyes to the common hardships and needs. A sense of humanity is characterised by openness, relating to the commonality of being human; it includes, enquires and invites cooperation and mutual help. At the same time, cosmopolitanism awakens world consciousness.

2. Promoting and nurturing the individual, the unique in every human being - Emphasising the importance of the regional and local

The development and unfolding of every human being, every biography, shapes the world, moulds the culture and living conditions of others. The uniqueness of each individual's path needs to be witnessed and shared by others. A cosmopolitan gesture to the outside world requires a foundation and a sense of home within one's inner self. How can this dual movement be made possible, encouraged and nurtured in a demanding everyday life? What does it mean for a school, a farm, a cultural institution or an enterprise? How do we daily renew the perspective in which the world flows into the vanishing point of the respective individual 'I' and is simultaneously perceived from this most personal and innermost point?

3. The ever-renewing will for a world society

At the intersection of open, cosmopolitan contemporaneity and the individual, deeply fathomed anchoring in one's own substance of destiny, the source of the will for the Anthroposophical Society can be experienced as a world society. It is not given as such, but it can emerge time and again from the individually researched and experienced humanness and from the particular, which expands into the humanness of the Thou of the other individuality. The anthroposophical world movement necessitates the Anthroposophical Society, but the Anthroposophical Society also necessitates a world movement.

4. Applied research and further education: development of a decentralised World School for Spiritual Science

The future of work with anthroposophy lies in research and further development, whereby research is meant here in the broadest sense. It is adapted to the organisation and the people working there, who are involved in research and development issues. The experience of the organisations is that a research attitude through anthroposophy is inspiringly refreshing. It brings something new into the institution, expands and changes the living conditions of the work and promotes the initiative of the collaborators. It is an effective means of preventing ossification and of constantly confronting the substance anew. It then flows directly into the work and can be carried forward.

Research leads to teaching and further training as two central aspects of a lively and future-oriented movement and organisation, as well as for the concerns of the individual. The details are different for each context and require individual approaches. A new stream of the further education landscape can be built from the consciousness of a world movement.

Since its foundation, the Goetheanum has been a world school in the broadest sense - a school in the stream of human development. It has one location and one legal body, but like the movement, it is decentralised and has a worldwide student body in over 78 countries. The school's activity is research and teaching. The social stream of will from this source can in turn want to carry a task: The School of Spiritual Science with its sections and the common Michael School. So that the individual can represent the whole: in front of themselves, the community and the world.

5. Partnership in a world movement

Research and teaching give rise to initiatives, innovations and entrepreneurship. At the same time, the results of the work in the fields of life flow back into the sections, where they are taken up and further developed. Initiatives, organisations, institutions and companies form networks and partnerships in the context of the sections. This initially takes place in one's own respective specialised field, in one's own country and cultural area. However, the Goetheanum encourages and promotes more far-reaching partnerships through its global activities. This led, for example, to the creation of the World Goetheanum Association in 2016 as the unifying body of the world movement. New partners are welcome in this growing field of work.

6. Working in alliances

Many requests and work goals in the anthroposophical fields of work cannot be realised alone. In order to achieve the broadest possible impact, targeted work in alliances with other civil society organisations is required. In this way, social freedoms can be shaped together, e.g. for free choice of therapy and medicines, for GMO-free seeds, for averting the compulsion for digitalisation in early childhood, etc. Thus, working in alliances with non-anthroposophical stakeholders should be learnt and increasingly practised.

7. Collaboration on the challenges and problems of the time

In the final step, the horizon towards working on solutions for the needs of the world is broadened. Anthroposophy serves as a ground and methodological basis here. This is where we are part of all cultural and civilising efforts. Let us demand that we work selflessly in the world and support each other in this commitment.

V. Twelve fields of action

World themes from the thematic forums

In 2022, in preparation for the World Conference, the Goetheanum issued an open call asking what is important for the continuation of the work with anthroposophy. Hundreds of responses were received. One result was the formulation of twelve subject areas, some of which were thematically congruent with the sections' research projects. We intend to continue working on them in the coming years.

The topics themselves can already be considered result and time specific and thus provide a valuable basis and orientation for all those who are effective in the world movement. In the following we will summarise the topics. Extended and updated descriptions of the forum will be taken up further by the respective forum groups.

No. 1

On Earth we want to live! What are our contributions to the future of the Earth?

We want to develop perspectives from the spiritual-soul dimension of anthroposophy in order to help shape the future of the Earth out of responsibility in a co-creative attitude and activity.

No. 2

Health for human beings and the Earth! How are the health of the human being and the health of the Earth connected and how can they be promoted?

What do we mean by human health and how can we promote it? Human health cannot be separated from the health of the Earth-organisms. Both form a coherent whole. What constitutes the health and resilience of soils, plants and animals? How do we create a deeper, practicable and transdisciplinary understanding of health in a comprehensive sense on the basis of anthroposophy?

No. 3

Living with technology! What perspectives on transhumanism arise from anthroposophy?

How can we learn to deal with technical achievements in such a way that we do not lose ourselves in the process of dealing with them? What bodily, soul and spiritual skills do we need to develop, so that we are able to give technology its rightful and necessary place?

No. 4

Meditation! How do I move from meditative self-discovery to cooperation with the sensual, social and spiritual world?

Nowadays, meditation requires a healthy incarnation as a foundation in order to become effective. How do I find inner peace and at the same time the strength for new beginnings and transformation? Experiencing the spirit today means becoming aware of being touched by the spirit, allowing oneself to be addressed and creating a resonance space in order to be able to feel at home in the world of the spirit on a soul level and with the 'I'.

No. 5

Equal and different! How can the search for the ‘I’ be taken into account in the debates on interculturality, gender, karma and reincarnation?

Public debate is increasingly focussing on the need to recognise and value the fact that human beings belong to certain cultural, sexual or religious groups. One of the important aims of educational and therapeutic counselling is to strengthen individuality. Thus, the educational and social therapeutic relationship is about working towards ensuring that the human being "has no obstacle to the development of individual freedom in their body". ( R. Steiner, 22.1.1922)

No. 6

Follow the science!? How can the primacy of science be transformed through artistic and social approaches?

Based on anthroposophy, we seek to humanise science, both in its basic ideas and in its life-practical application. Science should be expanded through artistic methods. Further, artistic-social processes should be deepened through scientific approaches. Goethean approaches offer a particular opportunity in this respect. They are met by moral imaginations, or 'moral fantasies', that have been grasped through spiritual initiative. The free humanity of Goetheanism is not a luxury good of an otherwise already secure society, but it will have to make a significant contribution to our future.

No. 7

Anthroposophy and the public! How do we communicate properly?

Anthroposophy has long led a niche existence, even though it belongs to the world. But how does anthroposophy enter the world? What does a growing public demand of us? Do we find comprehensible images, convincing forms and a contemporary language? How do we react to attacks, defamation and falsification? And: Do we want to learn to have a say in public affairs?

No. 8

How do we establish peace? Peaceful resistance, coalitions and associations for the future

It will become increasingly important to think in terms of processes in order to overcome the dynamics of conflict and violence and find ways to create a constructive, non-violent and sustainable peace together. This requires an interactive and integrative dialogue on contemporary conflicts and peace consolidation. The concept of peace touches on different layers and meanings. Peace refers to our ecological crisis, ethnic conflicts, economic justice, interpersonal issues, organisational structures, democracy and many other aspects of our social life.

No. 9

Biosphere-based economy! Associative work as a cultural technique for more resilience in life?

If we succeed in shaping economic processes in such a way that they are healthy for people and nature, we will not only master the climate challenges, but also achieve decisive successes in the major social tasks. In doing so, it is crucial to look at both the causes and human habits, but also at the human-made instruments, such as money.

No. 10

The presence of anthroposophy: How can anthroposophy and the work of Rudolf Steiner be strengthened, supported and promoted both in the public sphere and in anthroposophical institutions? Shaping perspectives for the shared responsibility of educators and publishers.

Following the forum, a meeting of publishers, booksellers and librarians will take place at the Goetheanum in June 2024. Among other things, an overview of the publication of Rudolf Steiner's works worldwide will be compiled and made available online to mark the 100th anniversary of his death in 2025. Furthermore, we will continue to pursue the forum initiative of offering modules on the foundations of anthroposophy and the biography of Rudolf Steiner's work to the international training seminars from the leadership of the General Anthroposophical Section.

No. 11

Transformation through art! What can art contribute to the current social challenges?

Artistic activity is no longer something that is reserved exclusively for visual and performing artists. Rather, our current living conditions make it necessary for art to be practised ideally by every human being. Being artistically active is indispensable in order to survive as a human being in a technologised world and to remain a free being. To this end, it will be critical in the coming years to find ways in which we can make artistic practice and shaping accessible to all human beings and thus bring about a transformation of the current crisis.

No. 12

Transform! How to create leadership and new perspectives in today's world, using the tools of anthroposophy as a transformative path?

Where are the obstacles in organisations and businesses in today's world that anthroposophy can address in a unique way? Where is anthroposophy flourishing and transforming challenges into opportunities, and why? It will be necessary to examine this step by step over the coming years and work on it together.

This document was compiled after several rounds of feedback and writing. It will not be able to capture everything that was initiated at the World Conference, but rather attempts to take a first step towards a conscious further development and cultivation of the joint global work.

On behalf of the preparation group,
Ueli Hurter and Johannes Kronenberg

Dornach, May 2024.