Colloquia on the Constitution
As announced at the 2019 Annual General Meeting of the General Anthroposophical Society, Gerald Häfner, Justus Wittich and Michael Schmock have initiated an open process for working through and clarifying the documents and events surrounding the foundation of the Anthroposophical Society.
With a view to the centenary of the Founding of the General Anthroposophical Society in 2023/2024 the question arises as to what a future impulse for this society could look like. In addition to future perspectives, it seems also essential to look at the development of the General Anthroposophical Society up to this point in preparation for consciously tackling any obstacles that may be arising from its history and to work through these obstacles wherever that is possible. An important beginning to this process has already been made with the rehabilitation of Ita Wegman and Elisabeth Vreede at the 2018 AGM.
Openness and clarification
In addition we realize that work also needs doing regarding the controversy about the Constitution that keeps being newly ignited. Although there has been in-depth research and many attempts at clarifying the ‹facts› surrounding the entry of the General Anthroposophical Society into the trade register and the question of a ‹really existing› society have not been processed ‹officially› and presented in public together with the membership. In the interest of a strong future General Anthroposophical Society we see the necessity to deal with the historical foundations too in an open and enlightening way.
Since this topic requires particular expertise we envisage that interested members who have such expertise and have worked on this matter for a longer period of time will be personally and publicly invited to attend two colloquia, one in 2019 and one in 2020. Around ten to fifteen people who we know are active in this field will be written to in person. These plans will also be published in the membership publications – Anthroposophy Worldwide in particular – so that people we are not aware of can register their wish to attend. We would expect a group of around 20 to 25 people.
Because of the documents in question, the work will initially be done in German. The results and relevant papers (documents) will then be collated and made accessible to interested members.
Results at the 2020 AGM
The project will start in the autumn of 2019, and the results will be presented at the 2020 AGM. During that period of time we plan to hold two public colloquia:
• on 7 December 2019, 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., at the Rudolf Steiner Haus in Stuttgart (DE): clarification of the topic, chronological presentation of documents
• 22 February 2020, 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Goetheanum: further chronological presentations of the documents and summary of results.
Members who are interested in taking part in the colloquia, please contact
• Michael Schmock, michaelschmock@gmail.com or Justus Wittich, vorstandssekretariat@goetheanum.ch
You will then receive an invitation to the colloquia by the end of September 2019 together with information required for the work.
Gerald Häfner, Michael Schmock and Justus Wittich will take responsibility for the project. Gerald Häfner is head of the Social Sciences Section at the Goetheanum, Michael Schmock a board member and general secretary of the General Anthroposophical Society in Germany, Justus Wittich a member of the Executive Council at the Goetheanum. Michael Schmock will coordinate the steering process.