Dear Friends of ELIANT,

UNESCO is a specialised agency of the United Nations whose mission is to promote world peace and security through international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication. One of its priority areas is the future of education and peace education. UNESCO’s current educational priorities include digital learning and AI in education, as well as education for sustainable development and peace education – issues which our Alliance partner, ECSWE, also regards as pressing challenges for schools. In view of these areas of common ground, UNESCO expressed an interest in organising a structured meeting and engaging in dialogue with representatives of Steiner-Waldorf education, and invited our alliance partner, ECSWE, and its national representatives of Steiner-Waldorf education to visit UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 29 May 2026.

The current education policy of Waldorf schools and UNESCO
The pressing economic, geopolitical, environmental and health challenges of our time make it difficult for children and young people to feel enthusiastic about their own development and to look to the future with hope. Education systems play an important role in empowering children and young people to live and learn by providing them with a safe environment in which to develop. The importance of teachers and their crucial role in the educational success of children and young people was highlighted in the keynote presentations by Margareta Van Raemdonck (ECSWE), Cecilia Barbieri (UNESCO) and Matthew Thomas (UNESCO).

The ECSWE team, national representatives of Steiner-Waldorf education from 19 countries, and UNESCO representatives took part in this important event. The meeting provided an opportunity to deepen and further expand the successful cooperation that has taken place so far.

New genetic engineering without labelling – the consequences for the public
In recent months, we have kept you informed about the vote in the European Parliament that was to take place. On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament decided that varieties and products modified using genetic engineering could be placed on the market without a risk assessment, without labelling and without traceability. With conventional products, citizens will no longer be told whether or not their food contains genetic engineering. This decision by the European Parliament represents a departure from the European precautionary principle, one of the most important cornerstones of European legislation. This means that a red line has most definitely been crossed, and as a result of this decision, citizens are losing a freedom of choice that is important for their lives.

What there will still be is the labelling of seed. This is important for both farmers and breeders, as seeds form the basis of a sovereign food system.

Demeter and the organic sector will remain free of genetic engineering
The sectors free of genetic engineering, such as Demeter and organic farming, are maintaining their position: new genetic engineering remains banned. The various stakeholders are already making preparations to ensure they can continue to operate without the use of genetic engineering and to offer food that is free from genetic engineering. In doing so, they rely on the labelling of the seed as well as on nature’s own capabilities, on diverse crop rotations, robust varieties and breeding innovation, rather than on technical interventions in the genome. In this way, they are laying the foundations for a resilient food sector that will also make the food system strong for the future.

We would like to thank the organic sector and Demeter sincerely for their great efforts to keep their products free of any genetic engineering.

With warm greetings, also from the whole ELIANT team
Yours Michaela Glöckler

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