Being Awake Together
The 2026 Coworker’s Gathering was my first opportunity to get to know the global Youth Section and to touch the international anthroposophical community at its very heart — the Goetheanum. I was deeply impressed by the warmth with which our team was welcomed and by the overall atmosphere that accompanied the entire gathering.
This atmosphere was present in every person I had the chance to speak with and was rooted in an openness to genuine encounter — to the unique thought or position that I or anyone else carries. It was precisely this quality that revealed the importance of each individual for the group. And it is in such deep mutual respect that we choose to create something together.
This is very beautiful and at the same time extremely necessary. I feel a strong wish to carry and share this very impulse of interaction — in communities, in projects, and in life itself.
As this was my first encounter that was both so deeply meaningful and so truly international, I was sincerely surprised by how similar we — young people from all over the world — are to one another, and how easily we find a common language when we are open. The differences that exist between us as representatives of different cultures turn out to be far less significant and gradually become almost invisible.
Yes, each of us has our own traditions of celebration (even for New Years, which those who arrived early celebrated together) but beyond traditions we all carry the same longing: to experience the joy of encountering something entirely new that emerges in our collective presence.
The theme and task chosen for our gathering was: “Awakening to Emerging Forms: You and I in Our Age.” During the conference, we touched upon many topics that are highly relevant to our time and heard deeper explanations of social and spiritual processes from respected lecturers — Michaela Glöckler, Nathaniel Williams, and Marco Bindelli. The lectures and daily themes were inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s lecture, “What Does the Angel Do in Our Astral Body.”
Each day gave us the opportunity to reflect on what we had heard in the lectures, to discover new shared questions and answers in small groups, to explore these questions through creative practices, and also to plan and refine our ideas for implementation in various workshops.
As the Ukrainian Youth Section, we feel a great deal of inspiration to continue and expand our activities in Ukraine — on the level of a living, continuously existing community. However, for reasons that are, in essence, quite simple, we are currently not ready to take on additional responsibilities. It is difficult for us to find extra strength and time under the conditions in which we are forced to live.
Autumn and winter brought with them a large number of missile attacks and destruction of infrastructure, which significantly reduced access to electricity, heating, and water in our homes.
In such times, support for young people becomes crucial. It is precisely spaces of openness, acceptance, creativity, and spiritual work that can give new strength even where it seems to be completely exhausted. At the same time, this represents a great responsibility and requires significant resources from the organizers of such initiatives. For now, this question remains open for us.
I would also very much like to share an idea for our common work, which I hope can inspire Youth Section groups around the world.
One of the main insights I took from the lectures — and later from the conference as a whole — was the necessity of remaining conscious and awake to the processes that are unfolding today: in our personal lives, in the society around us, and on a more global, world-wide scale.
Before the conference, in process of reading Rudolf Steiner’s lecture “What Does the Angel Do in Our Astral Body,” I realized that I want to become more attentive to what I do and why I do it, and in to how my life is connected to a broader global context. I felt a strong desire to better understand the world on a scale larger than my country and my personal life, because we are all interconnected, and I want to perceive this connection.
I want to sense the Spirit of Our Time in order to act together with it. Even on a very practical level — through products, objects, or food. How many countries, people, and resources are involved in the chain before something reaches my home!
With these reflections in mind, my idea is to create a network – in the form of a chat and short reports for exchanging information about what is currently happening in each of our countries. What we could discuss remains an open question: Perhaps it would not only concern political or social situations, but also topics that are personally meaningful to you: culture, education, scientific discoveries.
I also believe that this can help us find better answers for understanding the tasks that stand before each of us right now. I know well — and feel personally — the pain and fear for the future that arise when immersing oneself in the news. I often hear the position: “I am outside the information space. I don’t read the news. I don’t want to know what is happening in my country or in the world. I just want to live my life.” For many young people, this truly feels like too much — even in my own country.
The presence of good news is also very important — whether small or large, but real positive changes that often go unnoticed. I look forward to your response regarding the possibility of implementing this form of work, as well as to your ideas, wishes, or questions.
If you are interested in joining and creating a working group where we explore how we are meeting the Spirit of Our Time in the word, contact me at lili2002lili@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Read a report from the Coworker's Gathering
