Disconnect to Connect
The Youth Section at the Goetheanum invited young people to an International Students’ Conference from 1 to 5 April 2026 with the theme Disconnect to Connect.
What does it really mean to connect in a world that is constantly ‘online’ yet often feels distant? In the first week of April, nearly 1,000 young people aged 16 to 20 from around the globe gathered in Dornach, Switzerland, to explore this very question. They had come to take part in this year’s International Students Conference, held under the theme “Disconnect to Connect.”
I met Waldorf students and teachers from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Georgia, California, Mexico, Chile, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, the Philippines, Brazil, Canada, Spain, and South Korea. The students were not just participants but active contributors to the conference’s vibrant cultural evening programme. Their meticulously rehearsed performances brought the conference to life. To name just a few: a wild dragon dance from China, a deeply moving musical from Georgia, energetic pop songs performed by a South Korean choir and a beautiful eurythmy performance from California.
The Youth Section at the Goetheanum invited experts from a wide range of fields to offer 28 workshops. Topics ranged from creative storytelling, economics, clowning, youth advocacy, African rhythms, yoga, singing, Brazilian dancing, social threefolding, body painting to Chilean mythologies.
Different ways to feel connected
In small conversation groups, we were encouraged to engage with the ideas presented by the experts, form our own opinions and connect with students from other continents. Our mobile phone gives us the impression of being connected everywhere and at all times. Although we constantly receive pictures and messages, some of us still admitted to feeling alone sometimes. We discovered that there are many different ways to feel connected. Some people volunteer, helping others and receiving a lot in return. Others take up gardening to feel closer to nature. Sharing not only updates with friends but also hobbies like music or sport is a great way to feel a sense of belonging. Shared experiences bring people together, and shared memories create deep friendships.
At the same time, we realized that we can’t, and don’t want to, completely say goodbye to smartphones and modern technology. It’s not about turning away from technology but about developing an awareness of when and why we use our smartphones, and how we can achieve a genuine sense of connection with our environment. After all, smartphones allow us to stay in touch with the new friends we met at the International Students’ Conference across the globe.
Life cycle of water
Since I work as a High School teacher in Berlin, I attended the teachers’ workshop. Here I met the teachers of these impressive students and had inspiring conversations about their educational approaches. Our group prepared the project titled The Song of Water. With rhythm, song, choreography, and a rainbow painted on scraps of fabric, the students embodied the life cycle of water. At the end of the seminar, we spread across the entire Goetheanum campus, singing together and gradually connecting our individual fabric pieces into a vast, web-like structure. It was a powerful and moving image. Over a thousand individuals becoming a single, collective work of art. A visible expression of connection across distance and difference.
The conference also featured thought-provoking lectures from Gerald Häfner (former member of the European Parliament), Frank Stigma (expert for e-waste), Luigi Amato (Waldorf alumnus who travelled through South America for two years as a backpacker while disconnecting from modern technology) and Dr Michaela Glöckler (former head of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum).
During the final round table, students were invited to come on stage to join the experts in an open discussion. The conversation sparked many questions and thoughts in me that will resonate for a long time. I believe many participants will return home not only with new friendships from around the world, but also with a deeper awareness of what it means to truly be connected.
When we visit each other, don’t expect daily online posts from us. Instead of hundreds of photos, we’ll bring stories and memories that will stay with us - and connect us - forever.