When the participants of the 15th Congreso Iberoamericano Waldorf arrived at the Colegio Rudolf Steiner in Santiago's Peñalolen neighbourhood, they saw the snow-capped Cordilleras sparkling in the evening sun as a horizon towering over everything. Later, the moon rose over the Cordilleras and mesmerised everyone with its utter tranquillity. The wintry nature could not have given the participants a more beautiful welcome. For the first time since these congresses began, the Latin American Waldorf teachers travelled to Chile. They came to the Colegio Rudolf Steiner, the second oldest Waldorf school in Chile, and a place that continues to characterise Waldorf education in Chile today.

As there is no Waldorf association in Chile, hardly anyone knows how many Waldorf educational institutions there are. A brief online search reveals more than 40 Waldorf schools in Chile, presumably of varying quality (as was also shown during visits). Since the 2010s, for example, there has been a wave of start-ups that is still on the rise. Before this time, small Waldorf schools began to be founded outside the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile. Before that, the San Francisco de Limache Waldorf School, was founded with a broad cultural and social vision, by architecture lecturer Jorge Gomez and Waldorf teacher Angelica Vallespir in Limache. It was the only Waldorf school located outside the metropolitan region. Today, Waldorf institutions – schools and kindergartens – can be found from the northernmost school in the arid desert climate of Arica, to the southern kindergartens and schools of Patagonia and the island of Chiloé.

Chile's geographical location does not make cooperation between the schools any easier. Even though Chile has around 20 million inhabitants, roughly the same number as Romania, working together in Romania is much easier because the cities can be reached within a reasonable period of time. This is much more difficult in Chile, with its 4,200 kilometres stretch of narrow land. If you were to travel non-stop by car from Arica in the north to the Patagonian capital Punta Arenas, you would be travelling for two days and nights and another twelve hours. This is not intended as an excuse, but simply to show how much effort and expense it would involve for our colleagues in this country to work together. This was also reflected in the attendance at the congress, as many Chilean teachers could not afford to travel to Santiago and attend the congress. As a result, it was mainly colleagues from the metropolitan region who attended.

For many years, the core content of the Latin American Waldorf Congresses has been Rudolf Steiner's lectures on the ‘Study of Man’. These are fourteen lectures that Rudolf Steiner gave before the opening of the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart in 1919 for the prospective, academically educated teachers. The lectures were given as a basis for an understanding of the developing child. At each conference, one of the lectures from the course stands at the centre of the work. And at each congress, those schools that would like to present the corresponding lecture at the next congress get in touch. The contributions are very different. While some perform dances and explain the individual ideas or elements of the lecture with musical and movement gestures, others show the paintings, drawings and sketches they have created in preparation. There is never just one stylistic element that is used; it is always varied and lively. There is very little talking. And when there is, it is always in short segments between the individual presentations.

Constanza Kaliks and Claus-Peter Röh, current director and former head of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum, gave the morning lectures, Louisa Lameiraõ from Brazil gave a daily evening lecture on questions of the inner training of teachers. She sensitively and poetically described the many psychological obstacles that arise in the relationship with oneself and in the relationship with children, young people and parents, and how these can be overcome. Constanza Kaliks, who grew up in Brazil, spoke mostly in Spanish, sometimes also in Brazilian, and quickly won the hearts of the audience with her clear, authoritative and upright manner.

This inner warmth of the contributors was urgently needed because it was cold. Even if the winter in this part of the world didn't have sub-zero temperatures, the four or five degrees in the morning and evening, both in the food tents and in the meeting tent, were not so easy to bear. However, wrapped up in winter coats, woollen scarves and thick boots, everyone held out. Yes, not only did they persevere, but with each passing day they enjoyed the interaction between colleagues and with the speakers more and more.

Nana Göbel