Home: Freunde Waldorf

Oceania

Oceania is the name for the cultural and economic pooling of the Pacific islands to a continent. Oceania is by this definition the smallest continent in land mass and the second smallest in terms of population. More than 7,500 islands comprise a land area of ​​nearly 1.3 million square kilometres that spread over an ocean area of about 70 million square kilometres. About 2,100 of the islands are inhabited. 14.9 million people live on them.

The first Australian Waldorf School opened its doors in 1957, as a result of the effort of a group of committed anthroposophists that aimed at making Waldorf education available to Australian children. Democracy is deeply rooted in Australia. The society is rather tolerant, even though there are also some social issues. In the past 50 years, Australia has become one of the most multicultural countries in the world with a wide variety of individual perspectives. One of the main tasks of the Australian Waldorf movement is to integrate Aboriginal culture into the classes.

Already during the second decade of the 20th century, Anthroposophy came to New Zealand. In 1917, the small St. George School in Havelock North opened, where boys and girls were educated together, which at that time was quite spectacular. Although this initiative was not a proper Waldorf school yet, the founder’s knowledge of Waldorf education influenced her in the management of the school.

In 2010, the first Waldorf kindergarten opened on the Fiji Islands. The children of the first group are between three and six years old and are supervised by three experienced educators. As a result of perseverance and patience the kindergarten is well established today.

Empower & donate now
Empower & donate now