Events Montessori Centenary Conferences
Events

One of the Centenary initiatives is to write a template for a conference, which will be made available for use countries around the world. The conference talks will be supplied with audio-visual material and can be delivered by any senior Montessorian. It is intended that the finished product will be available by the end of the year. This is an overview of what we have planned for the content of the conference:

During the course of this conference we want to take the audience on a journey. This journey starts in San Lorenzo with the events that led to the discovery of the child and the unfolding of the universal characteristics of the child. The audience then hears that the Montessori approach was developed for human beings from birth through to maturity and that we must respond to the child differently at each plane. Having gained some understanding of the Montessori approach the audience then learn that the discoveries made by Maria Montessori are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago and that Montessori rather than being old fashioned is contemporary and consistent with current scientific research. The scope and diversity of Montessori today is also highlighted. Next the audience is brought to understand how they can use what they have learnt about the child in order to bring about a more harmonious and peaceful world. The only thing preventing change are the obstacles that we put in the child’s path – and these can only be removed if there is a change in the adult. The journey ends with an inspiring and uplifting call to action to remove these obstacles so that we can champion the cause of all children.

The conference topics will unfold within the three-part framework of the Centenary:

Honour the Past

Topic 1: What happened in San Lorenzo that inspired an enduring and world-wide social movement?

Topic 2: The universal characteristics that were discovered in a scientific way, through the largest sampling ever undertaken

Celebrate the Present

Topic 3: The Montessori Continuum – from conception to maturity

Topic 4: Montessori today- global, diverse, extensive, substantive, growing, responsive

Create the Future

Topic 5: Social reform and the child as an agent for change; the increasing awareness of the great potentialities of the human personality in the course of its formation

Topic 6: A Call to action: removing obstacles to the child’s development at all ages; providing pathways, environments, and opportunities to champion the cause of all children