Košice, the country's second largest city, is located in the east of the Slovak Republic. It can look back on a long history, but only grew to its present size with intensive industrialisation after the Second World War. This is why, in addition to an old city centre with the typical flair of Central Eastern European Habsburg culture, there are large districts with the typical apartment blocks that can be found in all cities in Soviet-influenced regions. The Waldorf School in Košice is located in one of these post-war neighbourhoods in the middle of these blocks of flats, and is housed in a state school amongst the apartment blocks. However, the Waldorf School is also very lucky, as it is located on the banks of the Torysa, in a comparatively green environment, and has direct access to the riverside walking paths.

Slavomir Lichvar, one of the teachers at the Košice Waldorf School, invited participants to the conference, organised by the International Association for Waldorf Education in Central and Eastern Europe (IAO), and ensured that colleagues, parents and pupils were enthusiastic enough to organise the gathering for around 250 guests. The IAO, which was founded in 1994, celebrated its 30th anniversary, thus consolidating the long-standing co-operation between teachers at Waldorf schools from Prague to St. Petersburg, and from Tallinn to Bucharest.
 
The Waldorf movement in the former socialist countries of Central Eastern Europe is currently at a turning point, as the generation of founders is on its way out of the schools and young teachers have to take up responsibility for the schools and school associations. In some places, this is relatively easy, in others it is challenging, as leading personalities are few and far between. In addition, in the course of integrating into the European Union, and in the wake of considerable bureaucratisation and the growing forest of regulations in the education system, these schools are constantly facing new challenges that must first be mastered. In this respect, the aim of this conference was to reflect on the foundations of Waldorf educational work and, in some cases, to acquire these anew and to strengthen enthusiasm for the task. As everywhere else, there is a shortage of teachers in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This is caused, among other things, by the poor salaries paid to teachers in these countries. It is very difficult for colleagues to manage life, especially family life on such low salaries. So, anyone who decides to become a teacher (even and especially in state schools!), must have a partner who is capable of suffering, or be willing to make certain sacrifices for their own profession. So, something is needed on the other side of the scales. And that can carry a lot of weight: enthusiasm for the job and a sense of purpose in supporting children's development. And both can be rekindled again and again.

Fortunately, the principal of the state school made the gym available, as the Waldorf School has neither a large room nor a gym. The somewhat run-down charm of this hall was masked by colourful cloths and a podium placed in the middle, so that full attention could be focused on the speaker. And Christof Wiechert, Head of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum from 2001 to 2010, introduced the humanistic foundations of pedagogical work every morning, five times in a row, in a profound, experience-saturated, and sometimes funny way. He created an atmosphere in which the joy of personal observation, the joy of questioning and better understanding of children and young people, and respect for the freedom of others - whether colleagues, pupils or parents - were increasingly awakened. We all hope that his lectures will be published as a small booklet as an introduction to the tasks of Waldorf teachers, and as a deepening of the understanding of human nature and the practical organisation of lessons.

The day was so packed with lectures and courses that most people were certainly happy about the open evening programme. But there was one exception. Right at the beginning of the conference, upper school students from the Prague Waldorf Lyceum, mainly twelfth graders, gave a eurythmy performance of the musical works they had prepared. The standard was exceptional. Everyone watching understood the quality to which good eurythmy lessons can lead. The pupils were deeply impressive. Their contribution was followed by a eurythmy performance by the ensemble of the Budapest Eurythmy School, again at a high level. The Budapest Eurythmy School is known for its excellent eurythmy and lived up to its reputation throughout the performance. A huge enrichment for all spectators.

Nana Göbel