Dear colleagues, dear friends,  

Have you also felt the change of season where you live and work ? Whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, the promise of light is born again with the fresh and tender green of spring, nature in the North radiates its full potential with glowing red and gold as a memory of the summer that has passed. As light is being born in the East and setting in the West each day, we can become conscious of the wonderfully diverse world we are living in, and in our work together we are given the gift of making life into a holistic experience.

This weaving and working together also shows itself in a beautiful way in the IASWECE partnerships that are developing between different countries. We are sure you will become motivated to explore what you can do in your own setting when you read about the partnership that has started between a small training in North England and the one we support in Vietnam.

This month we also celebrate our collaboration with several Alliance for Childhood partners who have worked with us intensively in the past year towards a truly inspiring conference. 'The Unfolding Conference,' to be held from 23-26 October in Brussels, will bring different professions together to explore how we can join forces in nurturing a culture that will allow each and every child to unfold his or her unique potential and to engage in society. If you can't participate in the conference, please send us your inspiration and good thoughts which, as you all know, are very real too!

We hope you will enjoy reading our e-newsletter and that it brings you hope and inspiration in this season of unfolding potential.

With warm greetings,

Clara Aerts, Susan Howard, Philipp Reubke

IASWECE Coordinating Group

Imagine a culture where every child can unfold her or his unique potential...

Imagine a society where every young person has a voice that is listened to and taken into consideration...

Imagine a government that puts with every decision it makes the needs of the child/family as a central focus...

Imagine a world that gives every human being the possibility to reconnect to himself, his environment, nature, destiny and spirituality.... 

A story of wonder....

As a child I never understood the story of the 2 loaves of bread and the fishes - how was it possible that they could feed so many people? Taking up a partnership for one of our projects as the North England Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood (NESWEC) Training Course has done for the Vietnam project reminds me of this story; I believe that in these kinds of gestures of giving selflessly, we can experience something of the miracle that is meant with it. What makes this partnership especially warm and valuable is the fact that it is taken on in a country that is tackling its own financial difficulties. It reminds me of large family tables set where there was nevertheless always space for a few more.

The simple but creative ways in which the North England students have fundraised for their colleagues in Vietnam is heart-warming and it can encourage us in our own trainings or local settings to think of ways to take up such a partnership for one of the IASWECE projects.