From the future into bodily presence · M. Michael Zech
Body as living Zen and its healing power · Ya Chih Chan

A lecture by M. Michael Zech followed by a lecture by Ya Chih Chan, both held at the World Teachers' Conference 2023 at the Goetheanum on the 13th April 2023.

Children, young people and adults need inner strength, health and resilience. They need intellectual, emotional and social skills to understand and accept the earth, themselves and their fellow human beings. What can we renew in our educational practice to develop what is needed to live together?

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Prof. Dr. M. Michael Zech, born 1957 in Munich. Waldorf teacher, since 1992 national and international lecturer in Waldorf education, history, social studies and literature, from 2006 head of the teacher training seminar for Waldorf education in Kassel.
Since 1998 advisory board of the Pedagogical Research Centre in the Association of Independent Waldorf Schools. From 2001 to 2006 active for the International Association for Waldorf Education in Central and Eastern Europe (IAO). Since 2009 member of the Hague Circle - International Conference for Steiner Waldorf Education. 2012 doctorate (history teaching at Waldorf schools) at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen, 2013 assistant professor for history didactics, 2018 professor for cultural studies and their didactics at the Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Bonn / Alfter.

After graduating with an arts diploma from Taiwan, Ya Chih Chan completed a 4-year course in Anthroposophy and the arts at Emerson College in England and became one of the founding teachers in Cixin, the first Waldorf school in Taiwan, in 1999. A few years later, she and her colleagues began a part-time Waldorf Teacher Education course with the help of senior teachers from overseas. After finishing her class cycle and teaching English for a number of years, she completed a eurythmy training and pedagogical eurythmy Master’s course in Stuttgart. Since then, she has been a eurythmy teacher in various schools in Taiwan and is now also leading a pedagogical course for Chinese-speaking eurythmy graduates from China, Malaysia and Taiwan. She is also coordinating a Master’s course in educational eurythmy, supported by Mindao University in Taiwan and Stuttgart Hochschule in Germany.
She is a board member of the Taiwan Waldorf Association and a mentor for several schools. On behalf of Cixin School, she also led a 3-year part-time intensive course for Waldorf teachers and trainees in China.
Since 2018 she has been a part-time principal of Tongxin Waldorf School in Taipei and is guiding it to work together with another city Waldorf school in forming a united high school.