verena gruner

[motueka, new zealand]

Verena is one of idec 2013’s coffee talkers:

Verena is a founding member of Mountain Valley School, a small private parent-cooperative primary democratic school, and has been involved in democratic education for more than 30 years. 

What do you want to share at IDEC?

* What’s happening in New Zealand – Invitation to IDEC 2015
* Living in community – challenges and benefits of living in an intentional community
* Cooperative living as a way of the future  

Verena has an ongoing commitment to the development of holistic education, nationally and internationally, and is part of Ako-a-Rongo.

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article from 2012 – about Verena’s work:

The growing movement began from a community meeting in Takaka in September 2010, at which democratic educator Verena Gruner, one of the co-founders of Motueka’s former Mountain Valley School, gave a presentation about what she’d learned from the International Democratic Education Conference in Tel Aviv.

What children need is mentors – whether teachers, friends or parents – who don’t ‘know’, but who acknowledge that children are capable, creative and dynamic given the right environment and validation to explore their potentiality. Many of the kids who are growing up now need radically new ways which we are currently mostly not giving them.”