On the 20th May 2005, at the British Council offices in Brussels, the Steiner Waldorf Comenius Project will stage a European Seminar. The event will be an opportunity to share the work, the achievements and challenges of this EU-funded Comenius Project to research and design a school-based, Masters Programme for practising teachers and staff in the European Waldorf schools movement.
Officials from the British Council will host the event. A choir of students from the Dutch partner - Helicon Hogeschool -will open and complete the proceedings. There will be an exhibition of children's work from a Belgian Waldorf school.
There are some 50 people attending from over a dozen European countries. Among the attending guests are Sean Feerick, a senior official in the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture, Dr. Cloud Bai-Yun, the Director of UK NARIC and Professor Hans Fred Rathenow of the Technische Universitaet, Berlin. At the seminar, Feerick will give a presentation outlining developments and challenges in the Bologna Process. In addition, Dr. David Parker (University of Plymouth) will speak about the importance of developing a culture of enquiry within schools and the role of the teacher as a reflective practitioner. Urs Hauenstein (Initiative fuer Praxis Forschung) will make a short presentation from Solothurn, where a 'sister' Masters pilot has begun, while Andy Phipps, the Head Teacher from Cotswold Chine Special School (UK), will report on the work and progress of a pilot cohort of our emerging programme - the European Masters Programme for Steiner Waldorf Educators. Christopher Clouder, the Chief Executive Officer of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education will conclude the proceedings by reflecting on the opportunities this project presents the European Waldorf community to reflect on our work, celebrate good practice, explore questions and examine principles, while participating in the social and cultural debate concerning the education and care of children in the 21st century.
Trevor Mepham
(Project Coordinator)
