Press release -
The courage to change yourself and society. Students' conference ‘Courage’
Goetheanum, Dornach, 23rd March 2019
The courage to change yourself and society
Student conference ‘Courage’
For Ronja Eis (21) and Till Höffner (20) courage is needed especially in adolescence: courage to stand up for oneself, but also courage to meet others. They invite students aged between 15 and 19 to courageously engage themselves in our globalized world.
“Fear often holds us back” is what Ronja Eis and Till Höffner have often observed. But it does not have to be like that according to the two project leaders of the international high school students’ conference entitled ‘Courage’, which will take place at the Goetheanum from 23rd to 27th April. “Fears are a global, intergenerational, human phenomenon.” Fears can protect us in dangerous situations. At the societal level or in encounters of different cultures, the effects of fear become more complicated – or even dangerous – whenever fear turns into hatred and hatred into violence.
Ronja Eis and Till Höffner have often heard from high school students that they need courage to find their own way, especially if that way is different from what their environment expects of them. But it also takes courage to make a decision in a life situation with unlimited possibilities.
A first step is to deal with our own fears, to accept ourselves and to be willing to change. But courage also means meeting people who live values that we don’t know or share. Courage is not recklessness. Ronja Eis says, “Being reckless makes us lose ourselves and we lose sight of things; fear discourages us from entering into ourselves. We need to start addressing both of them.” For Till Höffner, courage is also a force “that allows us to critically question current events as well as our own actions and to stand up for our convictions.” The next step is to ask ourselves what we want to achieve in the world. Ronja Eis thinks that “Knowing that there are others who live with the same questions as you do can be a help.”
(1860 characters/SJ; translation by Youth Section)
International Students‘ Conference (in English with interpretation into German and Spanish) ‘Courage’, 23rd to 27th April 2019, Youth Section at the Goetheanum
Web isc19.com
Contact persons
Ronja Eis und Till Höffner, mail@isc19.com
