Annual Conference 2021
Seeds for Social Renewal
Overview
Facilitators
Jan Christopher Goeschel, Ph.D.
Jan is a trained Waldorf teacher and curative educator. He is a member of the community at The Camphill School, where he lives, while serving the North American region as President of the Camphill Academy and the worldwide movement of Camphill and related organizations as Managing Director and Member of the Leadership Team of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development. In that capacity, he is also a member of the International Training Council for Curative Education and Social Therapy and has taught and served as a consultant internationally.
His past roles include houseparent, high school teacher and Director of Programs for The Camphill School’s K-12 program. Jan holds an MA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, an MA in Educational Leadership with Pennsylvania teacher certification in special education, and a PhD in Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Cologne.
Francis Aradhya
Francis Aradhya van Rijckevorsel was born in Holland in 1962. She studied at Emerson College, where she completed the Foundation Year and a year of Social Development. During her ten years work in a Camphill community in Holland she completed a four years training in Curative Education. Today she is a qualified Curative Educator and Social therapist.
She and her Indian husband Anantha Aradhya started ‘Friends of Camphill India” 22 years ago. Francis is the mother of three adult children.
Francis organizes Foundation courses in Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy.She is a member of the Anthroposophical Society in Holland and in India. A member of the Christian Community and a member of the Camphill Community.
Dr. Christina Spitta, GP
Christina is a General Practitioner from Germany, having her own Anthroposophic/Allopathic Clinic together with two colleagues near Stuttgart, South Germany, where she treats children and adults from all ages and with all kinds of challenges, combining Medicine and Spacial Dynamics.
She is also trained as a Spacial Dynamics Movement Therapist and Trainer (www.spacialdynamics.com), as a Bothmer Trainer, and is on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Anthroposophic Body Therapies (www.iaabt-medsektion.net) as a founding member since 2009.
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For 12 years she co-directs training (Level I and II) in Spacial Dynamics in Italy, Hungary and also Romania, where they started training for 25 Physiotherapists in 2019. Since eight years she is also a member of the “Teach the Teacher in Anthroposophic Medicine” team of instructors in Dornach, Switzerland and internationally gives workshops and lectures.
Dr. Veera Panch
Dr. Veera Panch graduated from Manipal Medical College, Manipal. She has worked in the UK and Brunei for close to two decades then returned to India and worked with Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore in their Community Health & Development department (CHAD) which outreaches 83 villages. Later she joined the Department of Neurology in Chennai in the two centre's- public Health Centre (West Mambalam) and at Voluntary Health Services (VHS), Taramani, helped set up the Neuro Rehabilitation unit (in VHS) incorporating Anthroposophical insights successfully. She is a qualified community physician from the UK and has been working with various organizations in India. Her experiences extend from the jungles of Brunei to the villages of Vellore.
Her Anthroposophic work started in 2005 in India. Qualified as an Anthroposophic physician and holds a Rhythmic Massage Therapist Diploma from the UK. She belongs to the first cycle of three years Camphill Foundation Course from Bengaluru for Curative Education and Social Therapy. She is the recipient of a scholarship to the English Anthroposophic Studies in Dornach.
She opened India's first Anthroposophic clinic in 2013 in Chennai. She was invited to be Mentor and Consultant to start Nandavanam Center for Healing Education in 2014 through Anthroposophic Insights where intuitively she has been helping the children unfold through continuing staff education in Anthroposophy.
She continues to be a student of Rudolf Steiner and her life is guided by her passion for Anthroposophy which has been strengthened by her working Biographical journey of vast and varied experience working in several countries and would very much like to see a Camphill Community develop in Chennai in the future.
She holds and is a part of various study groups in Anthroposophy for people to be touched by this understanding to become world citizens, to rediscover Humanity in themselves, through Soul-Spiritual Self-Knowledge. She calls this journey "Practical Vedanta" which is in line with our cultural practices of "Karma Yoga".
Sangeetha Chakrapani
Sangeetha Chakrapani is a parent to four teenagers, two of whom experience autism. In her journey as a parent, Sangeetha co-founded Together Foundation along with her husband to help young people with autism to prepare for independent living. Together Foundation runs a sheltered workshop in Mumbai that offers 'earn and learn' opportunities in baking, paper plate manufacturing, job work, managing a shop and data entry for financial institutions. Sangeetha believes that like anyone else, people with autism also need to work towards a life of happiness as they grow older. Sangeeta Chakrapani is a TEDx speaker and enjoys writing about her experiences with people of all abilities.