The online Whitsun Festival organized by The Anthroposophical Society in America and the World Social Initiative Forum (WSIF) took place on Whit Monday. One of the initiatives on the program was Argentina’s Perito Moreno Educational Institute.
Feeling connected to others is a central need of humans, and as such, connectedness within the anthroposophical community was also celebrated at this year’s Whitsun Festival. The motto, ”Bridging the Temple Between”, served to draw an arc to the New Testament in which Jesus’s disciples received the Holy Spirit in the form of flames. For a short moment this enabled the disciples to communicate in all the languages of the world and to overcome all cultural differences. Symbolically, fire stands for Pentecost. Therefore, the online event, which was attended by about a hundred people from all over the world, was initiated with the lighting of a candle.
Strengthening the light of interpersonal connection is also the basic idea behind Perito Moreno. The foundation of the Buenos Aires-based institute is the Luz del Sol (Light of the Sun) Waldorf Initiative which was founded in 1987 by a group of mothers. Not only did the women want better education for their children, but they also set themselves the goal of interpreting Waldorf education in Argentinean terms. Perito Moreno has since established itself as a center for Waldorf education in the country, awarding generous scholarships and offering Waldorf teacher training. Furthermore, the institute organizes programs for intercultural exchange and bridge building between people of different nationalities. Its teachers are not only active in Waldorf schools but also initiate various social projects in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires where financially disadvantaged families live.
The leaders of the Perito Moreno Institute see the most important aspect of their work as interpersonal. Following the idea that each person has something valuable to give to the community, they stress the importance of learning to listen attentively to others and seeing the light in them.
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Translation Eliza Rozeboom
Photo Perito Moreno Institute
