Lynne Lawrence opened the day with a quote from Nelson Mandela that was suggested by one of the participants of the Fourth EsF Assembly in Thailand. Lynne reported that she had met with representatives from the District Office that looked after 3000 schools. After two days of talks she was able to announce a pilot project for 25 schools would be undertaken. Anne Kelly gave the morning presentation, entitled ‘Changing Lives: Moving from Aged Care Nursing to Aged Care Montessori’. Anne’s delivery was powerful and emotive, challenging us to imagine life from the perspective of the aged. She showed videos from a variety of aged care centres to illustrate the effectiveness of Montessori approaches, particularly in dementia settings. Anne’s key point was that support was all about finding a person’s strengths. The more we do for the elderly, the more we rob them of their independence. Anne provided different examples of the detail within prepared environments where meaningful roles and activities had been created.
In the afternoon, Christine Harrison gave a presentation on volunteering, as an activity that involved preparation, participation and post-participation work (debriefing). Christine drew from her experience of working in Thailand to give examples of how to expect the unexpected. She also told the stories of the challenges and successes of two Montessori volunteers: Cathy Swan, who went to a remote Indigenous Australian school for two weeks and Eileen who served in Timor-Leste. Christine invited five audience members to join in part of the presentation to demonstrate the impact of trauma. Lynne joined Christine in a role play to show how not to offer help.
In the Open Space session, Solanye Cabrera offered a presentation on her work in a bilingual environment in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. Bai Ling spoke on the Montessori Volunteers Association in China and her outreach work with children. At the end of the day, Nagarjun Karnatkam demonstrated his skill as a magician and mentalist. Pre-dinner drinks were held at the invitation of the Indian EsF hosts and after dinner the fun continued with dancing.
