Over twenty-five workshops will be offered. They are organized here by these categories: Early Childhood Education, Primary School, Teens and High School, Higher Education, and Teacher Self Development. A few more will be added soon. Presenters bios and photos will also be added soon.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
How to start schools
Love, Courage and Wisdom that is needed to start a school
Didi Ananda Rama
The aim of this workshop is for each participant to come up with a plan to design a school in a chosen area /country which they would like to start. After a brief introduction we will discuss collectively “the essential ingredients” for such a project. Afterwards, each participant will design their own creative plan and present it on a poster.
Developing Moral Courage in Teachers and Children
Yolande Koning
Morality is the base of human existence. On this we can build our spiritual life and move to our full human potential. By instilling moral principles in our children, we help them to increase their happiness and feeling of positivity. It makes their mind strong and balanced and allows them to spread happiness to others. This morality learned at a young age will awaken idealism in puberty. Moral principles are having an influence on our attitude, language, behavior and relationships. Transforming ourselves and becoming an example of our ideals are an integral part of transforming our planet. A widespread desire for ethical standards in social life, and a need for moral leadership is presently required. Moral courage has to be an integral aspect of children development to enhance leadership skills that are essential in these turbulent times on the planet.
Experiential and Interactive Workshop on Educational Projects:
Enhance Your Impact with Insights and Practical Tools
Usha YC Chang and Kalyanii KL Chew
This workshop provides an exploration into the dynamics of successful educational projects. Through interactive discussions, participants will examine the relationships among various project components so as to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of their own project. Workshop presenters Usha and Kalyanii bring over a decade of experience in running AMURT’s educational projects in Indonesia. Their work with diverse stakeholders, including teachers, parents, community leaders, and government officials, has endowed them with unique insights and practical examples that will enrich the learning experience. Designed for educators, project managers, and individuals involved in the planning and execution of educational and other projects, this workshop aims to provide tools and perspectives to enhance current projects or develop new initiatives with a greater impact. Participants will gain valuable insights from both successes and setbacks, reflecting on their own experiences in critical self-analysis that can empower them with the knowledge and skills to achieve improved results in ongoing or future projects.
Nature-Based Early Childhood Education
Ruai Rekha Gregory and Dalila do Carmo Lucas
We will explore what it takes to create a nature-based classroom and look at successful nature-based NHE programs, including Pequena Ilha Verde in Portugal, and New Day School and Harmony Home Nature Camp in Oregon, USA. What are the best ways to set up the environment and plan outdoor based curriculum? Develop plans for implementing such programs in participants’ locations.
The child’s own wisdom in guidance and development activities; how to guide the development of intuition and self-awareness in young children (0-6 year olds)?
Ellen van Tuijl
In this session we will discuss the development of the layers of the mind (body, senses, intellect, creativity, intuition and spirituality) in young children, with an emphasis on how to appeal to intuition and self- awareness in guidance and development activities. How do you address the child’s self-awareness, so that the child continues to experience its own strength and wisdom? Guiding children in the areas of intuition and self-awareness will ensure that they act naturally based on moral values and that they develop resilience. We will discuss what children need for their development (0-2 years, 2-4 years and 4-6 years) and which guidance and development activities are appropriate. We will share experiences with each other and experiences from the Rainbow program of Zonnelicht, the Netherlands, will be included.
Choosing Books for the Neohumanist Classroom
Valentyna Hrinenko
This interactive workshop explores how educators can critically evaluate and select books that foster holistic development, enhance critical thinking, and support ethical values in the Neohumanist classroom. Participants will gain practical tools to assess books for their educational, social, and emotional impact on students. Through group discussions and collaborative activities, participants will analyze selected book examples using provided criteria. Each group will present their findings, facilitating a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives. Aligned with the strand “Cultivating Spiritual Wisdom and Personal Well-Being,” this session highlights the importance of thoughtful book selection in constructing meaning and fostering resilience in young learners. By the end, participants will have actionable insights and resources to confidently select books that inspire creativity, empathy, and a love for learning.
NHE in Pregnancy, Birth and Infancy
Didi Ananda Uttama
The perinatal period of pregnancy, birth and infancy can be one of the most expansive, life-changing times for parents, the incarnating soul and the whole family. The mutual exchange of deep, innate love between the infant/child and the parents, when circumstances allow it to flourish, carries within it an enormous potential for transformation. Through interactive discussions, we will explore how principles of NHE are reflected in this time and how parenting as a spiritual path begins at conception.
Supporting Independence and Self-reliance in Young Children
Anoeska Gerritsa
If you are authentic, you are close to yourself. You are true to your own personality. It gives a happy and liberating feeling to be completely yourself. By encouraging young children to stand for this, they learn to discover their own ‘I’ (Citta, Aham & Mahat). The moral values: ‘Yama and Niyama’ play a major role in this. The young children learn to be loving towards each other, to help each other, to share everything with each other, to be content inside, etc. As a wise neohumanist teacher, it is important for us to guide the children in this. How do you ensure this? What is needed to create a peaceful classroom. I would like to inspire you by sharing my years of experience with you!
PRIMARY and MIDDLE SCHOOL
Curriculum Inspired by Philosophy
Eric Jacobson
We will explore how to allow major objectives of Neohumanism such as service and social justice to create curriculum. The choice of method for instruction will also be explored. Principles of applying philosophy to curriculum will be shared in the areas of math, social studies, science, and language arts.
Embodied Learning: Integrating Creative Movement Across the Neohumanist Curriculum
Kathleen Kesson & Marie Koschorke
Research has shown a link between brain development and knowledge retention to movement and kinesthetic learning, but conventional schooling rarely transcends the dualism of physical education vs. academic learning. Creative movement in Neohumanist education honors the intelligence of the body and its capacity to explore, to experiment, to express, to create, and to facilitate deep learning and self-awareness. In this workshop, participants will learn and practice how to amplify everyday movement (action words in place, action words that move, stillness words), practice creating “movement sentences,” and “movement stories,” and to vary these by incorporating elements of Space, Level, Direction, Energy, and Time. We will experience ways to augment learning in literacy, science, and math through creative movement, and demonstrate a comprehensive curricular approach for incorporating embodied learning that awakens the connections between body, mind, and spirit.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Power and the possibility of transformation: the Sarkar game in action
Professor Sohail Inayatullah
Invented by Joe Voros and Peter Hayward, the Sarkar game explores power and change. The intent of the game is to create a successful organization or civilization. The four archetypes – worker, warrior, intellectual, and capitalist – are role played with the intent to negotiate successful outcomes. The game has been played hundreds of times in over 40 countries with different results. After the game, participants explore insights they gained. The game also helps players scrutinize the leadership characteristics for themselves and for their organization or institution. The game is based on a model of social change from Indian philosopher and macrohistorian Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. Sarkar developed a cyclical theory of social change with a belief that understanding history boosted the stimulation and creation of alternative
Educational Administration in the Digital Age and Techno Ethics
Jareeporn Naksamrit
Education in the present era has changed rapidly from a formal schooling system based on schedules and regular attendance, to learning from subject content, and practicing practical skills to enable learners to achieve quality learning outcomes and self-development. In the past, educational leaders had to closely supervise and control educational management systematically with teachers, parents and community. Currently, educational administration has changed to a planning format that requires digital technology, face-to-face and online, and planning. The adjustment of educational administration formats has led to a reduction in face-to-face meetings, which may be seen as not promoting human skills and the recognition of true thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors in a tangible way, and may not be able to create true value, which is the relationship that humans must build by meeting and talking. How should neo-humanist educational leaders manage education to achieve human development, which is leading change? How do leaders bring morality to digital learning to create value in humans? What type of AI should be used in management, such as ChatGPT, Gamma, Gemini, Botnoi, etc.? And what is important when leaders use the neohumanist concept to manage education to overcome the tide of change and maintain the neo-humanist educational culture in the digital age? And when using technology systems, how do we integrate morality and ethics in neohumanist education?
How Neohumanism is a perfect answer for a balanced use and development of technology coupled with the spiritual elevation of Human Society
Avt Ananda Rasa’mrta’
Through answering relevant questions in group discussions, I would like to further develop the meaning of being truly human, and the use of technology within that perspective of profound inner development of the human mind and spirit. The session will include participants in helping them to explore the values they are projecting in their lives, and how to further enrich, develop and share those values in education and in society, at large. Full awareness in harnessing the spiritual potential of Human mind/ full awareness in the correct application and use of modern technology.
From driverless cars to chatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) is suddenly everywhere in society. For over 60 years researchers and computer scientists have worked to build machines capable of mimicking human intelligence, but in recent years developments have accelerated at an extraordinary pace. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll explore the core ideas behind today’s modern AI. The morning lecture will explore the technologies driving the past half century of development and clearly explain the biggest breakthrough in modern AI development; known as machine learning. The session will explore some of the more well known use cases, such as driverless cars, computer vision, and other autonomous systems. Finally it will offer an interactive workshop component to work directly with some of the latest generative AI tools. Participants will walk away with a clear understanding of how systems like chatGPT works, what it can do, and how to use it themselves.
Using Neohumanist Principles to Build Community
Alberta Pedroja
This presentation offers attendees a roadmap to turn our Neohumanist principles into action to create unity, love, and solidarity among its supporters thereby strengthening its community. The Neohumanist College of Asheville used this approach and created an engaged Board, additional volunteers, and an increase in the number and size of its donor base tapping into the desire people have to be part of something larger than themselves, the mission of Neohumanism. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop a strategic plan for the development of their community.
Convergences between Neohumanist Education and Paulo Freire’s Thought: neohumanist educational experiences in Brazil
Patrícia Correia de Paula Marcoccia
The aim of this workshop is to present the convergences between Neohumanist Education and the thought of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, as well as to explore the experiences and impacts of Neohumanist Education in public schools in Ponta Grossa, Paraná, and educational projects in nurseries and extracurricular activities coordinated by Didi Jaya in São Paulo, linked to AMURT. The presentation is based on bibliographical and field research, through semi-structured interviews with educators, coordinators and pedagogues, as well as document analysis. The results highlight various convergences between Paulo Freire’s thinking and Neohumanist Education, especially with regard to the construction of a full and liberating education, centred on the integral development of the individual and society. As for the educational experiences, the results show the significant potential of Neohumanist Education practices, especially in the socio-affective, cognitive and attitudinal dimensions. During the session, participants will be encouraged to interact, share their perceptions, and reflect on the implementation of these approaches in their own educational contexts. The session will feature practical examples, interviews with educators and specialists, as well as a space for dialogue.
University Without Walls
Dada Shambhushivananda and Sid Jordan
The Neohumanist College of Asheville (NHCA) is joining with Turbomandala of Italy, Ananda Marga International Academy of Singapore (AMIA), Juei-Ai center of Taichung, Taiwan, Center of Neohumanist Studies of Sweden (CNS), Lotus Center of Den-Bosch, the Netherlands, proposed Global PROUT College in Copenhagen. Ananda Marga Gurukula Women’s College at Umanivas, India, and Ananda Marga Gurukula Campus (AMGK) of Anandanagar, India to create a “University Without Walls”. These various institutions have been developed as centers of Neohumanist studies and are in the exploratory stages of how they can support each other as an integral set of Institutions to forward the Neohumanist Education mission of Ananda Marga Gurukula.
This workshop is designed to simulate a University Without Walls as if they were sharing their existing platforms, faculties and student bodies. This imagines a future design test how their individual functioning is expanded by creating a coordinated cooperative platform, faculty and student body that reach beyond the limitations of their individual operations. These institutions can begin to imagine how they could be linked as a “integrated hybrid online university without walls” with recent means of easily accessible translations of languages. Perhaps a single shared course curriculum of the NHE Teacher Preparation course that is offered through NHCA or the Prama Analysis course of AMIA could be grown into multiple members of these cooperating institutions. Let’s leave the workshop up to the ingenuity and appreciative inquiry of those who show up in person or online. Anyone interested in participating in the development of a University Without Walls is invited.
TEACHER SELF DEVELOPMENT
Conflict Transformation Futures
Dr Ivana Milojević
In this workshop, Dr Ivana Milojević uses the future to help you resolve inner and outer conflicts in your personal and professional life. Conflict is everywhere. Even in the most loving of families, and in the most supportive of communities, there is conflict. People often avoid conflict because they are scared of it, and or do not have appropriate skills to address it. But conflict can be a wonderful opportunity to get to the next level of our relationships, to create positive social change, to improve our communities and societies, and that is all possible if we know how to deal with conflict constructively. Too often, we deal with conflict destructively, which means that instead of transforming it to create something new; a different and better future, we actually go towards the root of violence.
In this workshop, we will utilize the future as a resource to transform conflict in the present moment. We will learn how to minimize conflicts already occurring, how to prevent it from happening in the future, and how to repair relationships after it has taken place. Conflict can be an opportunity to create something novel, something different, and in that sense, we are going to look at where we want to go rather than where we have been. When we look at the past, we get one approach. But when we go into the future which is much more open, we are in a much better position to deal with the conflict in the present moment.
To become more aware of one’s voice, and to nurture and enhance one’s presence and skills
Didi Ananda Tapomaya
Get ready for a moderate workout, followed by steps of discovering more of your own voice and posture. We will explore how the elements and inanimate objects ‘talk’, and how breathing comes before any communication. Bring your curiosity and courage, take away new horizons for your interactions with others.
Beautiful Questions for a Bright Future
Sid Jordan and Linda Baker
This interactive workshop will offer an introduction to how to use Appreciative Inquiry and Breakthrough Questions in educational settings in order to catalyze movement in a positive direction for organizations, schools and classrooms. Appreciative Inquiry is a dialogue approach to personal and organizational progress based on strength rather than weakness and explores positive futures. It involves open-ended questions that make an individual or group effort stronger in being able to understand how to maximize their potential. Through creating a container, small and large group discussions and interactive exercises we will explore the process of Appreciative Inquiry. The questions we explore will focus on our use of resources that impact kinship and love leading to social equality and ecological citizenship. We will end by exploring and developing Breakthrough Questions in pairs that put some of our insights from our Appreciative Inquiry into action. A Breakthrough Question leads us into the unknown, generates excitement, enthusiasm and momentum, and is often closely aligned to our deeper purpose.
Education on the Edge
Marilyn Mehlmann
Community, Service and Social Justice build upon the capacity and competence of citizens, whether old or young, to cope with unexpected and potentially overwhelming experiences and insights, whether physical, mental, relational or spiritual. In this session I will:
-Present a concept linking transformative learning with the emerging field of ‘trauma-informed pedagogy’, the common factor being edge emotions.
– Invite discussion of how an educator can work with edge emotions both reactively and proactively, to promote transformative learning and/or post-traumatic growth (PTG).
– Offer one or more ‘taster’ exercises.
Leela game for adults and children
Natalia Zakharova
Leela is an ancient game having its roots in India. It provides spiritual and transformational experience to the participants, allowing them to deeply connect to their inner selves, to focus on their own self-development path in life. The immersion in Leela is like talking to your own soul, feeling unconditionally accepted and loved as well as seeing the possibilities for further spiritual growth. Leela not only provides answers to the questions, which are of utmost importance now, but also immerses participants in different inner states. Through self-reflection and deeper understanding of your own feelings and emotions, with the help of the facilitator and in the safe space of Leela, you will be able to come to the new level of honesty with yourself and take one more step towards your personal wellbeing by building deeper connection with your inner self. You will also learn how Leela for kids works and how it may be used in schools to help children to be better connected with themselves and not to be distracted by anything from their own path.
The personal journey of a social entrepreneur for sustainability
Teia Ciulacu
My personal and professional life is a combination of strong personal choices and unexpected things that crossed my path from this amazing and interconnected life. From volunteering in different countries, to sustainability in large and small organizations, or the challenges of being a social entrepreneur. I’ll open up my experiences to you, in an interactive presentation, discussion and play, to offer:
– Inspiration for self-discovery and developing commitment to stay true to your aspirations
– Inspiration from my personal failures and successes on this road, provide some tips and tricks from what I have learned on the way
– Inspiration from Future Plus projects on sustainability (afforestation on degraded land in Romania, circular and social initiatives, education about environment for teachers and pupils etc)
Observing, understanding, creating meaning in the edgy world
Livia Aninosanu
In a far from quiet world, this 90-minute space is an invitation to take a look at ourselves, and try to better understand what is happening to us, to the ones around us, to the surroundings. This would require to observe, inside and out, before making use of the most available means of ”transportation”: false beliefs, raw reactions, rigidity in judging good and bad, defense against empathy and against alterity, fear, anger, and a desire for retribution. How to achieve a profound understanding of the current situation of the world and to be able to support the reaching of meaning in ourselves and in our students, in order to achieve personal balance and well-being. The participants will be invited to share their experiences and opinions.