Welcome to the Montessori Inspiration Weekend 2024: Children as Citizens of the World

Join us in the historic Dutch city of Delft on 24 & 25 May 2024 where we will enjoy lectures offered by AMI Montessori Trainers!

Note: Registration now is open!

What is the goal of this weekend?

The International Montessori Institute wishes to inspire all local Montessorians with rich content and additional support. Deepen your knowledge of the Montessori Method as we look at 'Children as Citizens of the World'.

"Preventing conflicts is the work of politics;
establishing peace is the work of education"
Montessori, 1992.

What is the weekend about?

Our children are growing up in a dynamic world. We face many ‘heavy’ problems, such as climate change, which we don’t want to burden our children with. At the same time we are aware that they are the new generation and they can make a difference and contribute to a better future. Montessori describes an educational approach in which we first introduce the children to the wonders of nature. By giving them the opportunity to see, explore and discover nature, we see a growing interest and appreciation in the children. Appreciation is the basis for awareness, making different choices and changing behavior. During this inspiration weekend presentations about nature will be part of the program.

We humans have certain fundamental human needs and the special ability to adapt to the situation in which we find ourselves. When we look back in history we see how human beings (the Inuit) adapted to a life in the frigid zone, other human beings (the Touareg) adapted to a life in the hot desert and still other human beings adapted to a life in the tropical rainforest. We humans, from all over the world, have this ability to adapt in common. We are one species. Montessori’s approach to history places great emphasis on humanity as a whole and helps the children to feel connected to other people as global citizens. During this inspiration weekend we wil also go into this in more detail.

What will the weekend be like?

When registering, you will choose to attend the lectures from one of our trainers and age groups of your interest (3-6 or 6-12) on the 25th of May. During this day the trainers will inspire and amaze you on the topic 'Children as Citizens of the World'.

On Friday the 24th of May 2024 we offer an optional additional program:

- There will be a possibility to visit the two locations of Casa school (a Bilingual Montessori School in Pijnacker). These locations include the Toddler communities (15 months - 3 years old), the Children's House (3 - 6 years old), the Lower Elementary (6 - 9 years old), and the Upper Elementary (9 - 12 years old).

- Further, there is a possibility to join a talk by Fay Hendriksen at the International Montessori Institute about the global reach of Montessori and how the principles are universally applicable with examples from different parts of the world. Fay Hendriksen is head of outreach at the AMI head-office. Her talk will be at IMI in Delft!

On Saturday the 25th of May 2024 after check-in we will have a Children's house lecture series (3 - 6 years old) and an Elementary lecture series (6 - 12 years old).

These two lecture series will take place simultaneously. You can choose a lecture series of your interest.

The detailed program can be found on our Program page.

How much does it cost?

Registration and fees for this weekend are:

EARLY BIRD (until the 31st of March) - €165

LATE BIRD (in April) - €175

LAST MINUTE BIRD (1st till 10th of May) - €185

Payment can be arranged here on this website after registration, and you can pay by iDeal, Credit Card, or Paypal. Our preferred payment option is iDeal.

The fee covers the full program of the Montessori Inspiration Weekend.

Although the visit of Casaschool (Pijnacker) as well as the talk by Fay Hendriksen (Delft) are optional, they are included in the ticket fee. Some people prefer to come to the lectures only since they have been to Casa and/or AMI before, this is totally fine! However, no reduction of the event fee will be provided in this case.

Travel to and from Casa & IMI will have to be arranged by each participant individually. Look for public transport options here.

Coffee & tea, sweet treats, a lovely lunch and drinks with bites are included! We recommend/ ask you to stay after the last lecture for the drinks so we can meet, share, connect and inspire each other!

Bringing your full school team?! Ask for the group discount code at event@imi-global.nl for a discount according to the group size!

Who are our trainers?

Elina Rautasalo (AMI 3-6 trainer)

Elina Rautasalo is an AMI 3-6 Trainer with over 30 years of experience in the field of education, working with both children and adults in her native Finland and abroad.

Her Montessori journey began in London at the Maria Montessori Training Organisation, (now the Maria Montessori Institute), in the early 1990s. Elina was a member of the MMI’s training team for over 20 years.

In addition to London, Elina has directed AMI’s 3-6 courses in South-East Asia as well as in the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Elina is an AMI examiner and lectures internationally. She has given seminars and workshops in various countries in Europe, as well as in Asia, North and South America.

In her spare time, she enjoys books, music and playing the violin.

Bo Mynett (AMI 6-12)

Bo Mynett is an AMI 6-12 Trainer with 13 years of experience in the field of education, working with both children and adults. She has been working as an Elementary Montessori guide in the United States (San Mateo) as well as in the Netherlands at Casa Bilingual Montessori School, where she returned as a guide in the Elementary after two years of Training for Trainers in Bergamo, Italy, under the guidance of Baiba Krumins Grazzini.

Last year Bo was the trainer of the first AMI 6-12 Diploma course ever held in the Netherlands.

In her spare time she rides her horse and she makes materials for her classroom.