Conference: Individuation as an Educational Process
Impulses for a Pedagogy of the Future

Conference: Individuation as an Educational Process – Impulses for a Pedagogy of the Future

How can education support people in developing their individual potential? What impulses does Rudolf Steiner’s understanding of individuation offer for schools and pedagogy in the 21st century? These questions are the focus of the conference “Individuation as an Educational Process” at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter near Bonn. The occasion is the publication of the edited volume “Individuation as an Educational Process. Perspectives on Rudolf Steiner’s Understanding of the Self” (info3-Verlag, June 2026). The editors M. Michael Zech, Constanza Kaliks, and Jost Schieren, together with the authors, invite participants to discuss current perspectives on Rudolf Steiner’s understanding of the self and its significance for education and upbringing.

The conference is aimed at students and teachers in the field of Waldorf education, as well as anyone engaged with questions of future-oriented education and individual development.

Conference Program:

Thursday, 19.11.2026
18:00    Opening by M. Michael Zech
18:30    Lecture: Global (not universal) perspectives on the concept of the self (Constanza Kaliks)
19:30    Dinner

Friday, 20.11.2026
09:00   Working Groups I*
10:30    Break
11:00    Lecture: The Religious Dimension of the Self (Carlo Willmann)
12:30    Lunch
14:30    Working Groups II*
16:00    Break
16:30    Plenary discussion on the topic A School of the Future
18:30    Dinner
20:00   Performance: Spoken word program “Germany. A Winter’s Tale.” (Heinrich Heine)

Saturday, 21.11.2026
09:00   Working Groups III*
10:30    Break
11:00    Closing plenary with concluding remarks by Jost Schieren
12:30    End of the event

*Working Groups “Perspectives of the Self”
– in Pedagogy (Jan Göschel, Philipp Reubke, Jost Schieren, Axel Ziemke)
– in Culture (Constanza Kaliks, Philipp Kleinfercher, Rita Schumacher, M. Michael Zech)
– in Philosophy (Ulrich Kaiser, Salvatore Lavecchia, Hartmut Traub, Marcelo da Veiga)
– in Society (André Bleicher, Tatjana Pavlov-West, Martyn Rawson, Albert Schmelzer)

The working groups take place three times in parallel. Duration: 90 minutes.

When:
Thursday, 19 November to
Saturday, 21 November 2026

Location:
Campus II – Villestraße
Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences
Villestraße 3, 53347 Alfter/Bonn

Participation fee:
External participants: participation 25 euros // including catering: 45 euros
Students: participation free // catering: 20 euros
Alanus staff: participation free // catering: 20 euros

Please register using the following link: Registration form | Alanus University

Please send questions by email to Lisa Gauß: lisa.gauss@alanus.edu

Organization & Participation:
Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences
Goetheanum – Pedagogical Section