Dear Friends of ELIANT,

All of us struggle every day with how to cope with the news about the terrible events of war and humanitarian disasters in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere in such a way that they do not overwhelm us or cause us to shut them out too quickly. People are capable of anything – and that affects us all! If evil has a message for us, then it is this: that we should truly wake up to the sources of goodness in human beings and reveal them – in small ways and in large – despite all opposition. The French philosopher Corine Pelluchon describes this difficult task in her book L’espérance, ou la traversée de l’impossible (“Hope, or crossing the impossible”. Also available in German translation as Die Durchquerung des Unmöglichen) as follows: one must have experienced despair in order to be able to speak of hope. It can only be attained by a path that leads through truth, and following this path requires great effort and patience.

And it takes patience and a love of truth in every respect if we are not to lose hope. We are therefore particularly pleased that, after eight years of patient perseverance, a new step in a positive direction has become possible. Our Alliance member, the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), has worked with partners to develop a range of materials for teachers and parents of children aged 0 to 18, which has been published as part of the HERMMES curriculum. It is intended as a framework to support schools and teachers across Europe in developing their own practices, curricula and approaches to digital media education. The important innovation for us in this curriculum is the integration of analogue and digital tools and learning experiences so that they are tailored to the age and developmental stage of the learners. It starts with analogue tools, and digital ones are gradually introduced in a way which is age-appropriate to a much greater extent than was the case in previous plans.

We are accordingly also giving this topic a key slot at our ELIANT conference in Brussels on 20 May. Representatives of Steiner Waldorf education will present the new framework curriculum for development-oriented media education in Europe on their panel and discuss it with those present. Anyone wishing to find out more about this topic can visit the HERMMES website. The Hermmes curriculum is available in English, with other languages in preparation.

Our conference ‘Healthy Innovations for Europe’ will take place in Brussels in four weeks. You can still register here to attend free of charge locally in Brussels and online . We are pleased to be able to hold this event in the languages English, French, Spanish and German in commemoration of the centenary of Rudolf Steiner’s death and in gratitude for his cultural initiatives, which are now bearing fruit on all continents.

Warm regards on behalf of the entire ELIANT team, and looking forward to seeing some of you in Brussels
Yours
Michaela Glöckler

We would like to express our warmest thanks for your donation to support the anniversary event in Brussels on 20 May 2025!