At this year's International Students Conference more than 600 students from 30 countries gathered at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, and celebrated the 100th anniversary of Waldorf Schools. In addition to interesting lectures, there was a colorful program of workshops and working groups. WOW-Day was also present with a workshop and change maker talk.   In addition, WOW-Day coordinator Jana-Nita Raker and eurythmy student Miguel Faria developed a photo campaign and photographed over 70 students to accompany the statement: This makes me courageous!   Click here to view the pics

Worldwide solidarity with Waldorf educational institutions – this is the idea behind Waldorf-One-World-Day, WOW-Day for short. On the designated date, people take action by collecting donations in many different ways and give the money to Waldorf institutions in need. In 2018, the Waldorf School in Příbram, Czech Republic, participated in WOW-Day for the fifth time. A student from class 12, Maria, tells us how the day went: “This year, we decided to support Hekima Waldorf School in Tanzania and as usual WOW-Day was traditionally held by 12th class. Theme was nature and its protection. Preparations began two weeks before the event and the event itself started on 6th October 2018. The day began with a sunny morning and it stayed like this hole the day. Around eight o'clock in the morning, the first sellers and organizers arrived and the 12th grade had prepared for them a pleasant background. There were a lot of sellers and with varied goods. You could choose almost everything from…

On 5 May the second Waldorf 100 meeting began in Bangkok. The first successful conference, for Waldorf Kindergarten teachers, was held in April 2019 in Dornach. The conference in Bangkok was for class teachers, and the third conference, for high school teachers, will take place in July. The students of the Panyotai Waldorf School in Bangkok opened the conference with a long, fully memorized concert with traditional instruments. The 250 participants from Holland to Brazil, from Irkutsk in Siberian Russia to Malaysia and Indonesia worked together for 6 days on the General Education Course Study of Man, prepared in the mornings through the thorough, lifelike contributions of Christof Wiechert. The enthusiasm for Waldorf education and for cooperation across so many national borders grew day by day.

Over the past 40 years, the Friends of Waldorf Education were able to support more than 600 Waldorf Schools, nursery schools and day-care facilities, as well as curative education schools. In addition, we are very much committed to the training of teachers. It is only thanks to the active support of many people, which impresses us time and again, that this becomes possible. On WOW-Day, at fairs, summer festivals, and other fundraising events, teachers as well as students and parents get involved. It is with great pleasure that we forward 100 percent of the collected donations to projects all over the world. There are many stories behind this kind of commitment. We would like to tell you some of these stories in our latest issue of "Waldorf Worldwide".

In the economically weak north of Spain, just outside of Santander, Villanueva de Villaescusa is one of the youngest Waldorf schools in Spain. The first children started attending the Waldorf Kindergarten in 2013 and the first school classes in 2015.

In the course of the 100th anniversary of Waldorf in 2019, many different activities will take place under the motto "Waldorf 100". One of these is a national relay race for Waldorf schools, which aims to draw attention to Waldorf projects all over the world. The race began on 10 June 2018 in Flensburg and is crossing Germany like a wave on three routes, which connect all Waldorf Schools with each other. In cooperation with the Friends of Waldorf Education, this sports project is turned into a supra-regional charity run, in which the athletes collect small and large donations for each section of the route covered; donations which will benefit Waldorf projects around the globe. For more information please click here

In summer 2017, the small school Hebet El-Nil opened with a first kindergarten group, from which, already in the following year, a small elementary school with one first grade developed. The school is primarily aimed at children of the farm workers who work in the surrounding area. Many of them are dissatisfied with the educational system in Egypt, where up to 70 children attend a class and learn by shouting in unison whatever the teacher says. The need for an alternative is great, and the school will continue to grow. Now a first school building was completed. A further construction phase is to begin in summer.

Is it courage that guides you, or is it fear that shapes your actions? How can we manage to let courage guide us through our lives? What is it that makes this so difficult? The International Students Conference, which will take place in Dornach, Switzerland, from 23 to 27 April 2019, will focus on these questions. Students from all over the world meet at the Goetheanum to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Waldorf Schools. In addition to interesting lectures and working groups, there will be a colorful program with workshops and cultural events. WOW-Day will also be present with a workshop and changemaker talk! Find more information on isc19.com