Episode #54: Andrea de la Cruz, Nathaniel Williams - The Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland

MICROCOLLEGE: The Thoreau College Podcast

Today's guests are Andrea de la Cruz and Nathaniel Williams, leaders in the area of educational courses and the youth movement at the Goetheanum, located in Dornach, Switzerland. The Goetheanum is a remarkable building, a masterpiece of modern architecture nestled in the green foothills near Basel. It is also an organization that lies at the heart of anthroposophy, the spiritual and cultural movement flowing from the life and work of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf schools. As such, the Goetheanum is home to a variety of artistic, scholarly, and social activities, as well as educational programs for youth and adults of all ages. In this episode, Andrea and Nathaniel share their own stories and describe the remarkable international community that gathers in Dornach for these programs, as well as how the anthroposophical youth movement manifests elsewhere in Europe and around the world.

Andrea de la Cruz -

Born in 1989 in Madrid, Spain, Andrea has been working with young people and in adult education in international settings since 2011. She coordinates the Studies & Further Education Department of the General Anthroposophical Section at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, where she develops educational activities on basic Anthroposophy together with the faculty team. In 2015 she took part in the Goetheanum’s Anthroposophical Studies as a student, which marked a turning point in her life as she encountered the works of Rudolf Steiner. She then joined the Youth Section and worked as a youth researcher and facilitator of informal/experiential learning programmes from 2017-2022. Andrea holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Community Theatre, and Drama and Theatre Arts from Edinburgh and London, has a Waldorf Teacher Certification and is currently completing her MA in Pedagogical Innovation.

Nathaniel WIlliams -

Originally from the state of Alabama, Nathaniel has served as the leader of the Youth Section of the Goethenum since 2023. Prior to this role, he was the co-founder of Free Columbia with Laura Summer in upstate New York, which included a microcollege initiative known as the MC Richards Program. He studied visual art and marionette theatre in Basel, Switzerland, graduating with a certificate in visual art from the neueKUNSTschule in 2002. He also received a PhD in Political Theory from the University of Albany.

Links:

The Youth Section of the Goetheanum: https://youthsection.org/en

Goetheanum Studium: https://studium.goetheanum.ch/en

Thoreau College: https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

The Microcollege Network: https://www.hylo.com/groups/microcollege-network