Comings and Goings in Dornach
An important event this year in our Section is playing itself out on the team at the Goetheanum, where transitions are unfolding. We always have young people moving through who are guests, learning about the work of the section and helping for shorter and longer periods of time. A couple recent examples include Tamara Mbuguni from Tanzania and Simon Dijkstra from the Netherlands. Then there are young people who come for longer stints to help with essential tasks and larger projects. Over the last year, Keivan Azimi and Katrina Hoven have joined for such longer stints, while Gabriele Nys is turning toward a new chapter in her life and will be leaving the Goetheanum in July.
When I arrived at the Goetheanum in 2023, Gabriele was one of two young colleagues who welcomed me, both of whom were relatively new themselves. Gabriele had recently joined to take care of the Youth Section House at the foot of the Goetheanum, with a hope that she could be part of the ISC team for the 2024 conference. Working in this small team of three turned out to be a wonderful way to get to know Gabriele—something that might have been more difficult in a larger group. This was good fortune because it was easier to see her capacities and give them a proper field of play for everyone’s benefit, which I might not have noticed as quickly in a larger group. Gabriele herself has a nose for noticing things that could be overlooked because they is not loud, certified, male, famous, or spectacular. She has a good sense for keeping things grounded and in context. I can think of several situations where Gabriele suggested presenters, young colleagues, and students for tasks out of this quiet, alert judgement. She has a certain sense for the margins and gradations of life. I have also witnessed a keen sensitivity to loss and pain working with Gabriele. Of all the arts I have noticed that music comes closest to her - she is also a core organizer of an annual student orchestra project. In some way these qualities are related to music; a feeling for the whole, for harmony, the interplay of sound and silence, for rhythm, for contrast, or the lack of crescendo in the absence of piano.
Gabriele has a capacity to get enthusiastic about challenges, some that would not fascinate others. She is not only intrigued by working to pull off a giant student conference, but also in balancing our books down to the cent each month and making sure that the rooms we have for young guests are being used as much as possible. Her being intrigued by all these challenges has helped to imbue our practical tasks with levity. This can be difficult at an independent college/cultural center without sufficient resources. It is easy to ask too much of our 200 colleagues at the Goetheanum out of enthusiasm for our own dreams. Gabriele’s sober and understanding efforts to work harmoniously with the logistics team, reception, the stage and technological departments I know was appreciated thoroughly in this regard.
As one of the core organizers of the ISC in 2024, Gabriele focused all of her powers, together with Noël Norbron, on being able to imagine and carry this giant event in its smallest details. There were significant challenges here as we had a difficult time finding lodging for the 750 people! Looking back, I can see how important it was that she brought light and order into the imagination of the event, the careful documentation and bookkeeping, and all the communications. The lurking shadows of stress and disorder that necessarily threaten such undertakings were illumined, not only with order, but an order that was infused with a subtle pleasure. Ha! Well done.
Given the fact that she joined the team almost directly after school, I feel fortunate that we have been able to work together for over two and a half years, while also being excited that she is looking for the next challenge to grow and serve. We will look forward to continuing collaborating on different section committees, especially the Youth Section Global Access and Project Fund.
This spring, we welcomed Katrina Hoven to our team. Katrina was part of one of the early YIP cohorts, studied at a liberal arts college in the USA, and went on to complete a Master’s in Waldorf Education in Germany. Besides having experience in the classroom, she also worked for the Anthroposophical Society in the USA. Last year, I was discussing who might join our team as Jacinta Gorchs was leaving, and there was a knock on our office door. It was Katrina who happened to be in town and was stopping by to say hello. We kicked around the Goetheanum a couple times as I heard what she was up to. I had to smile when she mentioned she was starting to look for a new task, and I mentioned that there might be one on the team. It was as if we were in a living thought. Us sitting around the table in our office was a question, and her knocking on the door was an idea. Having been able to work with Katrina for a couple months, this picture seems representative of a capacity of discerning with more than the head, to think in context, in a setting, recognizing what is immediately possible and alive. Her love of travel, connection, the many faces of the natural world and culture, are a great foundation for the central tasks of networking and communication. This year I am also particularly appreciative of the many developed capacities she brings as a more mature co-worker.
This last year we have also welcomed Keivan Azimi to the team. He finished school in Germany in 2024. In recent years he was very active organizing an association of student representatives from Waldorf Schools throughout Germany, a project that reveals his enthusiasm for working with his peers and exploring issues that are important for young people, especially around education. He joined the team to develop a youth led project to foster grassroots, peer led conversation about experience, and aspirations around schooling. In December, the idea started to come into focus and gradually a team from around the world formed to help shepherd the idea. In July, an important gathering will be hosted at the Goetheanum as a next step. The project is called “Structures for Freedom” and I am sure many in our network will be involved in some way. Keivan has a great capacity for enthusiasm and a desire for life and action, and it is absolutely clear that this project represents a natural next step for him, after being so active in the student movement in Germany.
Nathaniel Williams