Nr. 14   October 2015Published by European Co-operation in

Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social TherapyHasenöhrlstraße 12, 1100 Vienna, Austria

tel. +31 6 5020 4989; info@ecce.eu; www.ecce.euEditors: B. Heldt, A. Thier, R. Chwatal

Content

Foreword

1. Under the wing of the Archangel

2. Disability Intergroup - meeting September 15th, 2015 at the European Parliament

3. EDF - Annual General Assembly May 30-31, 2015 Warsaw

4. EDF - meeting September 22nd, 2015 Brussels

5. EASPD conference “Let’s develop together”

6. First Congress for people in need of special care in Armenia, October 2015

7. Council meeting October 2015

8. ECCE General Meeting 2016 in Jøssåsen, Norway

9. More news

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Foreword

The relationship between one’s ‘ I’ and the child

Dear members and friends, Interesting things are happening in Europe. In this ECCE Link you will read on what topics persons with a disability, and those who stand for them, are working. The concept of inclusion is permeating society. Inclusion is about society, as underlines Luk Zelderloo, secretary general of EASPD. The president of EASPD, Franz Wolfmayr, brings into our awareness that inclusion starts at birth, in family life, at school! – see the article about inclusive education ‘Let’s develop it together’. The president of the European Disability Forum (EDF), Yannis Vardakastanis, stresses that EDF has to capitalize what has been done up till now. He proposed to the General Assembly of May 2015 to organ- ize and lead European and national campaigns in 2017. EDF is part of society and has many friends in the political field and in civil society to make sure that the UN Convention is being implemented without restrictions. This proposal was voted unanimously by the General Assembly. This means a big, monumental challenge.

The Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament states that the European Commission is determined - 1 -

to boost the European digital economy by making the EU’s single market freedoms ‘go digital’ – see the article of Adrienne Thier. The ‘Digital Single Market (DSM)’ is not meant as a market to find a partner, but it is meant to be an open, inclusive market, where everyone can find what she or he is interested in. Here too inclusion is permeating society in every field.

In the Curative Education movement awareness about the concept of inclusion, avant-la-lettre (before the word inclusion was invented!) is already more than 90 years old. In the beginning of the 1 st lecture of the Curative Education Course, Steiner underlines that one should realize that ‘... in some corner of the life of the soul of every human being lies a quality, or tendency, that would commonly be called abnormal.’ (June 25th 1924). One day later, June 26th 1924, he states that ‘nowadays culture’ (1924) does not make it pos-sible to bring into practice the insights of curative education, so the teachers who ‘have these thoughts have to find the entrance into life as far as it goes, as far as possible.’The meeting of the Council of Curative Education and Social Therapy in Dornach gave interesting modern insights of the way children with learning disabilities (children with special needs) can be supported to participate in society. ‘Efficacy with yourself works on others. Essentially, you are always free and respons-ible for your own actions. Ultimately, it all comes down to the relationship between one’s ‘ I’ and the child ’ as said Rüdiger Grimm, secretary of the Council.

Bernard Heldt, Vice-president ECCE

1. Under the wing of the Archangel

The last board meeting of the ECCE was held on 8 and 9 October, shortly after Saint Michael: an opportu-nity for us to exchange ideas about this feast. From our discussion, I retained some ideas I would like to share with you.First, the name of this archangel is Michael, which means “who is like God”. Celebrate that feast induce me to remember that every human being is created in the image of God - every human being, including disabled ... and me –, to wonder what image of God I give, what is the one I would like to give, what image of God I see in each person around me.Then our discussion addressed the calendar. We celebrate Saint Michael on September 29, about six months after Easter. At Easter, Christ resurrected after defeating death; on Saint-Michael day, I am sym-metrically proposed to reborn in my turn, having not won on death but won a battle, to take the next step after defeating the dragon, which is in me as well as outside. Late September, it is also the end of the harvest, the time to weigh the wheat and separate it from the tares (what the archangel does with his balance) before preparing the land for a new harvest. How to fight? The Archangel is often represented with a balance *) and a spear, vertical as a link between heaven and earth, with which it does not kill the dragon but terrace it. Only Christ has conquered evil, Saint Michel can only keep it in a distance Test of courage so that this feast of Saint Michael, but I can ask the archangel to lend me his spear, to intercedes with the sky for me who leaves on earth, to give me courage for the new battles I shall have to face ... or to take me under his wing to preserve me as long as I regain new forces.It is under the protection of the Archangel that we placed ourselves for this meeting after these fruitful exchanges, hoping that Saint Michael will give to each of us the courage to face what comes.*) Thank you to Ann Naeyaert for explaining the balance: « It is important to see that Michael is standing in the middle of forces that want to draw him (and us of course) out of the middle, out of reality. One of the forces is to become too fundamentalistic – a wrong form of spirituality, willing to earn heaven for oneself, egoistic self-development (Lucifer), and on the other hand the force that wants us to become materialistic out of fear, out of loosing trust in life (Ahriman).

Béatrice Cussac de Verteuil, President ECCE (this article is also in french language available)

2. Disability Intergroup - meeting September 15th, 2015 at the European Parliament

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Subject: The new Digital Single Market -- will it be inclusive?

Dear members, I went to a meeting of this group of the European Parliament in Brussels that is specialized in matters concerning people with disabilities. I wanted to go and voice the problems of people with very complex dependency needs. This group is a forgotten group in the European Union. I think many of you remember the General meeting in Breitenfurt (Austria) so many years ago. It was there that we met a group of bedridden people who need support for all essential activities of life. I was very impressed.There were representatives of the Commission of the European Union, of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and of the AGE-Platform and of course of the Disability Intergroup itself.The AGE-Platform Europe is a European network of organizations of seniors and representing over 40 million older people in Europe. AGE aims to voice and promote the interests of the 190 million citizens aged 50+ in the European Union and to raise awareness of the issues that concern them most.Recommendations for an Inclusive Digital Single Market: The European Commission is determined to boost the European digital economy by making the European Union’s single market freedoms “go digital’. EDF and AGE support the Commission’s commitment to adopt an ambitious Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy as long as it leaves nobody behind. We understand access to the DSM as a fundamental right that everyone should enjoy.FACTS: - Over 35% of the European Union population is at risk of exclusion from the DSM: 80 million Europeans with disabilities and 190 million people aged 50+- When they are available, affordable and accessible, people with disabilities use ITC’s to a greater extent than their peers to overcome some of the barriers they find in the offline world. Accessible technologies can enable access to the labour market, an independent life, and participation in all aspects of society.- As State Party, the European Union must comply with binding obligations set out in the UN Conven- tion on the Rights of people with disabilities (UN CRPD), the first human rights treaty to address access to ICT’s, which explicitly requires accessibility for information and communication technolo- gies and systems in article 9.

HOWEVER: - One in three persons with disabilities has never used internet, which represents 54% of those who have never been online. Furthermore, over 69% of people who lack basic digital skills are aged over 55. - Due to the lack of accessibility, the rapid evolution of ICT and poor digital literacy, many people with disabilities and older people are at great risk of not taking full advantage of the possibilities of the future DSM.

MAIN RECOMMENDATION: mainstream “accessibility” throughout the DSM strategy Accessibility must be understood and addressed as other key characteristics of the digital environment, such as privacy, security or data protection. Therefore, the aim of the DSM should be to ensure that an appropriate level of accessibility is enforced in all legislation linked to the DSM. Requiring interoperability with assistive technologies should also be highlighted in the strategy in order to give access to the ITC’s to people that use technologies such as screen-readers or screen magnification software, hearing aids, etc.SOME OF THE COMMENTS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Every single person is important to this Digital Single Market.The Commission has a huge responsability. The will of the EDF is to include everybody. The AGE representative: No age limits. Only 10 % of people over 70 use PC’s. Parking fees that can only be payed by smartphones are discriminatory. There should be choice. This digital market will have an important influence for all: aged people too. Helga Stevens, Member of the European Parliament, she came to the congress in the BOZAR: insisted that the EDF and AGE send recommendations to the Commission and the European Parliament.

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Adrienne Thier at the European Parliament, Brussels

3. EDF - Annual General Assembly May 30-31, 2015 Warsaw

The Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the European Disability Forum took place this year in Warsaw, Poland, on the 30th and the 31rst of May 2015.

The AGA of the European Disability Forum (EDF) is not just a formality, said the EDF president Mr. Yannis Vardakastanis at the opening of the meeting. It is a gathering of the whole disability movement in Europe. Partnerships are established, information is exchanged. EDF has a quality, many initiatives are realized through the work of EDF. Now in 2015 a new period of hope starts, EDF has to capitalize what has been done up till now. 2017 will be a critical year as it will be 20 years since the establishment of EDF and 10 years since the UN Convention opened for ratification. He proposed to the General Assembly to organise and lead EU and national campaigns in 2017. The very strong statement of the president is that EDF goes out into the world and lead EU and national campaigns in 2017. EDF is part of society. EDF has many friends in the European Union, in the European Parliament, in the trade unions and in civil society to make sure that the UN Convention is being imple-mented without any limitations. His proposal was voted unanimously from the General Assembly. This means a big challenge and the task is monumental, said president Yannis Vardakastanis. The secretariat will work out a plan.

An important matter on the agenda of the EDF: the list of issues for the review of the European Union on the Convention on the rights of disabled people in Geneva. Quite a few member states wrote their “Shadow report” on the implementation of the Convention in their country. The Commission of the Euro-pean Union has to do the same. That is called the ‘review process’. The EDF is involved in this process with a key issue the freedom of movement. Disability is no longer the competence of the Directorate General (DG) of Justice but again of the DG So-cial Affairs with Commissioner Mrs. Marianne Thyssen (BE). The Disability Unit of this DG is responsible for answering questions and reporting about the “review process”. The Disability Intergroup of the Euro-pean Parliament (of which Adrienne Thier is a member) is involved too. EDF will raise awareness about the most important issues:

1. - Good and bad practice experiences2. - Legal capacity, right to vote in European Union elections3. - Access to public transport4. - Consequences of international and economic crises5. - Discrimination in general.

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My question to the General Assembly was how to reach people with special needs and a high level of support? President Yannis Vardakastanis answered: through parent associations. A French delegate put the question about the financial side of this process. The president answered: through the Structural Funds; I will come back on this point. He stated: ‘Capacity building’ is a political movement as a part of civil society. Society has to support the disability movement. The disability movement does not have products like electricity in its hands to sell and cannot organize strikes. However EDF did start seminars on “Capacity building” to be held during the months of September to December 2015.

The Structural Funds for disabled people 2014 – 2020.It is a long way to get access to the money and bring it to the beneficiaries. Responsible is Simona Giar -ratano (simona.giarratano@edf-feph.org), social policy officer EDF. EDF paved the way, now it is up to the members to go to the national or federal organizations. The money is in their hands.

I became a member of the e-mail group on the needs of people with disabilities who need a high level of support and people with psycho-social disabilities, chairing by Donata Vivanti, vice-president of the EDF board. It was decided in this group and accepted by the EDF board that this group will become an advi -sory group. I mentioned that, 20 years ago, there was a standing working group on people with complex dependency needs of which I was a member that published a folder and a booklet about the needs of this group of people. But unfortunately this group has been discontinued. I sincerely hope this advisory group will succeed in making this group of people with severe disabilities visible.

I put the question of the “exportability of allowances” to Simona Giarratano. It is a complex matter, she said. I hear this for years!! The national governments hold the opinion that allowances are a national matter.

Adrienne Thier, Warsaw, May 2015

4. EDF - meeting in Brussels September 22nd, 2015

September the 22nd, there was a meeting organized by the European Disability Forum. The aim of the meeting was to bring the different members of EDF together and to listen to their main objectives for the coming year. For ECCE, our objectives cover always the main points of our policy: to give a voice to the people with complex needs, who never will be able to participate into society without personal assistance, for whom the efforts for accessibility of buildings/public transport/ICT will never be enough, who always will need people who assist them and surround them. And to give free choice to people with complex needs about where to live and to work. I felt very strongly that it is important to repeat these objectives again and again. EDF promised to take this matter into account for the coming European Days for People with disabilities on 7 and 8th of December and to work on making these people with complex needs more visible.

Ann Naeyaert

5. EASPD conference Inclusive teaching programmes: ‘Let’s develop it together’

October 22nd and 23rd in Salzburg, Austria an interesting EASPD conference took place about Inclusive Education, a way of teaching for all children and youngsters without and with a disability. A real impress -ive theme which is one of the foundations of inclusion, as meant in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. About 160 participants of almost all European countries attended the conference.

In his opening speech EASPD president Franz Wolfmayr underlined that the concept of inclusion is rather often abused for cutting budgets, with apparently the idea ‘let them find their own way in society’. How -ever, inclusion starts at birth, in family life and later on at school. Unfortunately inclusion in schools is often considered as, for instance, help by lavatory visits. When the assistant is ill, the child is sent home. Or schools don’t admit children because there is no assistance.

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Wolfgan Plaute, vice-rector of the Pädagogische Hochschule Salzburg, stated: ‘inclusion is about enabling individual learning styles in society’. Nowadays in 2015 there are fewer possibilities for artistic and handi-craft courses. The emphasis is on cognitive skills. The inspection often looks solely to academic scores and checklists.‘We need a change in attitude’, so stressed Dimitrios Nikolsky, chair of the Committee of Experts on the Rights of People with Disabilities of the Council of Europe, ‘social behaviour can be strengthened through inclusive education and training. We need co-operation between all European states on this issue!’

But ‘people have resistance to change’, said Peder Haug, professor of Education at Volda University, Nor-way. ‘Inclusive education is a multidimensional matter; there is no unidimensional solution. The possibilit -ies depend on the ideology of society. Mainstream education is the best, if done by good teachers, who are able to co-operate and to use multiple strategies, adapted to thís one child.’

Also Michael Fembek, head of the Zero Project, Austria underlined: ‘There is no standard model for inclus -ive education, as there is no universal right, no universal democracy or universal freedom.’ The Zero Project, an initiative of the Essl Foundation, focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities globally. It provides a platform where the most innovative and effective solutions to problems that persons with disabilities face, are shared. Its sole objective is to assist in creating a world without barriers.

The presentations showed that different projects are running for inclusive education, like: UDL – Universal Design for Learning – Scheppersinstituut, Belgium; TIDE – Towards Inclusive Development Education – Learning Disability Wales, 8 European project partners; INVESTT - Inclusive Vocational Education and Specialized Tailor-made Training – coordinated by EASPD, 13 partners.

Inclusion is a about society, about the quality of education, more than about persons with a disability, so underlined Luk Zelderloo, secretary general of EASPD in the policy panel at the end of the meeting. Soci -ety has to open itself for all participants! We have to change the system! When the panel was asked what barriers they see in the development to an inclusive society, the answers were:

Lack of political will; Lack of planning the transition, take for instance 5-years steps; Cultural barriers – ‘you see it, or not’; Inertia

The European Day of Disabled Persons, which will take place on the 7 th and 8th of December, will have the same theme ‘inclusive education’!

Note: I was pleasantly surprised to recognize certain Waldorfschool elements in the project descriptions. It reminded me of a small private Waldorfschool in the Netherlands (De Werfklas in Culemborg) with among the 50 pupils, 4 children with a disability. Education is made up of practical experience. The chil-dren take care of the kitchen garden for instance , harvest and sell the products ; the experience of the children is used in the classes of math, language, geography, biology, and so on. The same happens with handicraft classes. Beautiful cultural and mythological stories complete the education.In De Werfklas children who failed in other schools because of their disability found connection with non-disabled children and continued positively their further education.

Bernard Heldt

≥ workshop 'In someone else's shoes'

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6. First Congress for people in need of special care in Armenia, October 2015

From October 1 to 3 Yerevan hosted the first Congress for people with disabilities in Armenia. "Mayri" NGO, an art center for the integration of children and adolescents with disabilities, together with repre-sentatives of the five most active non-governmental organizations of the country which are involved in solving the problems of people with disabilities, the Congress was attended by young people from nine non-governmental organizations as well as different individuals.

The Congress was held in the framework of the European Congresses "Living in the Encounter", which have been conducted in different parts of the world. The event attracted the attention of the public thanks to the originality of its idea and participating countries list. It did not only cover neighboring Geor-gia, but also the Russian Ural, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and France. There were about 120 par -ticipants of the congress instead of the expected 100. It was great to see the attention of State to the Congress. The representatives of ministries of social protection and education attended the opening cere-mony of the Congress. They opened the Congress, expressing their interest towards what people with disabilities think.On preparation stage of the Congress many of the organizers confessed that the idea of such a Congress itself was very unusual. Armenia where after the earthquake of 1988 there was a huge number of disabled people, has long been fighting for the rights of people with physical disabilities and many of non-govern -mental organizations were created to treat such problems, and they achieved a lot in this direction. How-ever, with regard to the issues of people with mental problems, the struggle for their rights is still only in its initial stage, and if the first steps in integrative education already exist, the problems of young people with mental problems are still far from being solved.As it turned out, even people with physical disabilities have psychological barriers of communication with people with mental problems. But we are happy that the Congress took away all of such barriers, and we all were convinced in the absolute necessity of emotional potential that people with mental disabilities carry for our society.Many encounters, workshops and excursions to the most interesting Armenian monasteries were offered as well as cultural contributions. Now we have confidence that these events will be beginning for the future collaboration between different Armenian organizations involved in the social therapy. A solid solution to provide opportunities for people from different organizations for communication and working together.Zara Manoukyan, YerevanMoreover we are in full progress to organize the first World Congress which will welcome participants from all over the world in Yekaterinburg (Russia) in September 2017. We will keep you informed via ECCE Link about details as soon as possible.

Thomas Kraus (initiator of worldwide congresses), Berlin

Congress participants visiting Geghard Monastery in Armenia (Foto: Thomas Kraus)

7. Council meeting October 2015- 7 -

From Friday October 9th till Monday October 12th the meeting of the Council for Curative Education and Social Therapy in Dornach took place in 3 separate sessions after the other.

1. A symposium about the 3rd lecture of Rudolf Steiner’s Course on Education for Special Needs;2. An open school for Spiritual Science conference for colleagues working in Curative Education and Social Therapy;3. The Closed Council Meeting for delegates.

Ad 1) In the very interesting lecture of Annette Pichler about ‘The human I organization’ became clear which forces influence attachment behaviour and why children with attachment problems behave as they do, and how they can be guided to overcome their problems.An essential issue in the 3rd lecture is ‘Rudolf Steiner’s understanding of epilepsy’ by Dr. Nick Blitz. Having 9 years of experience in an Epilepsy centre, I could appreciate the insights and professional directions for guiding children and adults with specific forms of epilepsy. I have noticed there is a lot of professional knowledge, theoretical and practical, about this theme in curative education and social therapy. You can find at the website www.khsdornach.org under ‘Tagungen’ both PowerPoint presentations of Annette Pichler and Nick Blitz, in English and German.

Ad 2) The theme of the open school for Spiritual Science conference: ‘… to feel like a part of the whole of life’ was opened by Michael Dackweiler. Joan Sleigh connected three prerequisites to interact with others with Rudolf Steiner’s Foundation Stone Meditation: selflessness - spirit remembrance soul balance - spirit contemplation awareness alertness - spirit-seeing

The session was closed by Rüdiger Grimm: ‘The efficacy of yourself is working on others. We work with children who constantly get the efficacy of others over them; but in essence you are free and responsible for your own actions. Anthroposophy in society ultimately comes down to the relationship between 'I' and the child.’

Ad 3) The theme of the Closed Council meeting for delegates was the interaction and mutual engagement between Curative Education and Social Therapy, the anthroposophical movement and society. Ethical, professional and social aspectsMoving practical examples illustrated the essence of working from anthroposophy. The discussion about the essence of the anthroposophical approach was really interesting. Authenticity and the unconditional inner cosmic-religious attitude were mentioned as well as awareness of the spiritual being of the person with special needs and the open attitude for the phenomena as possibility of observation.

Successor of Rüdiger Grimm

In the end of 2016, Rüdiger Grimm will relinquish his responsibility and hand over his work to Dr. Jan Göschel, at this moment responsible for the Camphill movement of North America. During the International Conference for Curative Education and Social Therapy, October 2016 and the subsequent Council Meeting, Rüdiger will officially take farewell. Details will be published later.

Bernard Heldt

8. Next General Meeting 2016 in Jøssåsen Landsby, Trøndelag, Norway, May 2016

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The next General Meeting of ECCE will be held in Camphill village Jøssåsen Landsby, Trøndelag, May 19th - 22nd 2016. Trøndelag is a small city near Trondheim, at the west coast in de middle of Norway, surrounded by beautiful nature. It is not too far from the airport Trondheim. Those who attended our General Meeting in Brussels this year, have met Dorine van der Linden and Astrid Åkra from that Camphill place. They will be our host.

The theme of the General Meeting will be: Building bridges. We will pay attention as well to 50 years Camphill in Norway. In the next ECCE Link, January 2016 we will tell you more about this GM and the theme. Below please find some impressions from Jøssåsen

view from the lake

A cow gave birth to a calf in the middle of the village!

9. More news- 9 -

In 2013 the ECCE Committee has decided that people with a social/unemployed/disabled/ old age allowance can be a supporting member of ECCE for the price of € 2,-- per month. The Committee kindly asks you to remind your members of this possibility.

ECCE would like to inform you about a very interesting publication of Volker Frielingsdorf, Rüdiger Grimm, Brigitte Kaldenberg, as below-mentioned (in german language).

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