Hague Circle - International Council for Steiner Waldorf Education

Preamble

The Waldorf school and kindergarten movement has grown continuously since 1919 and is today a worldwide education movement. Since 1971, representatives of national school movements have been in communication with one another in the "Hague Circle" (HC) about the inner motifs of Waldorf education, about developments in the education work and to take cognizance of the worldwide school movement. The International Council is an organ of the international Waldorf education movement and works closely together with the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum. The members of the International Council together with the national associations, IASWECE  (International Association for Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education) and further organisations wish to contribute to carrying responsibility for Waldorf education worldwide. The autonomy of the individual Waldorf kindergartens and schools, as of the national associations, is respected. The common objectives are to strengthen and deepen the identity of Waldorf education with its inner foundations and to find the requisite forms for that purpose.

1. Name and registered office

"Hague Circle – International Council for Steiner Waldorf Education" is the name of a charitable association within the meaning of Section 60ff of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB).

The registered office of the Association is located in Dornach / SO.

2. Objects

a) The Association wishes to take cognizance of, accompany, promote and support worldwide the development of establishments and initiatives of early childhood and school education, as well as teacher training courses, working on the basis of Rudolf Steiner’s system of education. It wishes to strengthen and coordinate their collaboration worldwide and create appropriate structures for that purpose.

b) The Association shall carry out or commission appropriate national and, above all, international events, educational studies and academic work, publish writings and collaborate with other entities.

c) To this end the Association shall procure the required resources and create a suitable infrastructure.

d) The Association shall not pursue a profit-making purpose and shall serve a charitable purpose.

e) The Association shall be neutral in terms of party politics and religious denomination.

3. Membership

a) Members of the Association shall be natural persons

• who accept and support the objectives of the Association,

• who can and wish to take action for these objectives.

The head(s) at any given time of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum shall simultaneously be ex officio member(s) of the General Forum.

It is desired that the members of the HC shall also be members of the General Anthroposophical Society and the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum.

b) Admission is by the General Forum on proposal of the Board and, in so far as they exist, in agreement with the respective national Waldorf education associations or the internationally active organisations to which the proposed members belong.

c) Membership expires through resignation, loss of capacity to act or expulsion.

4. Organisation

The organs of the Association are the General Forum (assembly of the International Forum) and the Board.

4.1 General Forum (Association Assembly):

a) The highest organ is the General Forum (Association Assembly). It convenes, as a rule, twice a year and must be called in writing with a notice period of at least one month (electronic form is permitted). An extraordinary General Forum (Association Assembly) may be called by the Board as well as a majority of one fifth of the membership and must be called in writing with a notice period of at least one month (electronic form is permitted).

b) The General Forum adopts its resolutions unanimously, i.e. a motion shall be deemed to have been adopted if there are no votes against. If unanimity cannot be achieved in adopting a resolution, the General Forum may adopt the motion (also in modified form) at its next meeting with a majority of three quarters of members present.

The General Forum determines the admission and expulsion of members.

• It elects the Board and forms mandate groups to achieve its objectives.

• It determines the budget and adopts the annual accounts.

• It determines the level of membership fees as proposed by the Board.

4.2 Board

a) The Board members are legal representatives within the meaning of Section 69 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). The Board may transfer the sole right of representation within the meaning of Section 69 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) to one of its members.

b) The Board shall consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of seven members. The head(s) of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum shall attend meetings of the Board like a Board member. The Board is an organ of initiative. It takes care of the affairs of the Association and represents the Association to the outside. This includes in particular:

• managing the ongoing business of the Association,

• representing the Association judicially and extrajudicially,

• financial reporting for the previous financial year,

• preparation of an annual report,

• calling and holding the general meeting of members and implementing its decisions,

• managing the Association’s assets.

c) The Board shall constitute itself. Two Board members collectively are respectively authorised to act as signatories.

d) The Board may entrust one of its members with the management of business and grant an appropriate remuneration for that purpose.

e) The Board may, with the approval of the General Forum (Association Assembly), also co-opt or employ third parties (chief executive/special representative) and grant them authority to act as signatories. The chief executive shall attend Board meetings.

f) The Board’s period of office is four years. It is eligible for re-election.

g) The annual accounts shall be audited by an auditor who shall be chosen by the General Forum every three years.

5. Resources

The financial resources of the Association come primarily from personal membership fees, voluntary contributions, grants from state funds and business enterprises, income from Association assets, legacies and bequests.

a) Membership fees shall be proposed by the Board and determined by the General Forum.

b) The Association’s assets shall be liable alone for the Association’s obligations. Neither the members nor the organs have a personal claim of any kind to the Association’s assets.

c) The annual accounts shall be delivered per calendar year and shall be prepared with an asset and liability statement and be presented to the Association Assembly for approval.

6. Amendment of the statutes and dissolution of the Association

a) A resolution to amend the statutes or dissolve the Association requires the approval of at least three quarters (3/4) of the Association’s members present. Section 74 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) shall remain reserved. Similarly the statutory grounds for dissolution shall remain reserved.

b) Assets of the Association remaining after any liquidation shall be used by the General Anthroposophical Society/Pedagogical Section in the spirit as set out in the Association’s objects.

For the legal framework see https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19070042/201407010000/210.pdf

• Robert Lionel Thomas, Schweiz
• Henning Kullak-Ublick, Deutschland
• Lourdes Tormes Granados, Spanien