Glenmoore, Pennsylvania. Six decades of Camphill training in North America.
The Camphill training programs for inclusive social development in North America are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Their roots lie in Europe: in the dark years after World War II, around 1946, Austrian pediatrician and curative educator Karl König founded the first Camphill seminar for curative education in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was intended to support his colleagues at the Camphill Waldorf schools in their educational work. There has always been a special focus on the value of community as a context for personal development. “Community as a path of learning” remains the guiding principle of the Camphill movement to this day.
From Scotland, the network spread to England, Ireland, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, and South Africa. In the US, the first Camphill village was founded in Copake, New York, in 1961. This was followed in 1965 by the first one-year continuing education program in curative education for the staff of the young Camphill communities. The one-year program was later expanded to a two-year training course and eventually developed into a three-year diploma course. Over the years, the natural growth of these training programs gave rise to the Camphill Academy. It was officially inaugurated in 2012 and has since fulfilled its role as the supraregional organization and coordinator of Camphill training courses in North America.
To celebrate its 60th anniversary, the academy is currently building a story archive. This archive is a living, ever-growing collection of stories, memories, and reflections from members of the North American Camphill network. It honors the many years of work of those who have helped to establish and expand this network; it also offers a wealth of material to inspire the next generation of teachers and students.
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Translation Charles Cross
Image Dana Ward
