Topic: Sisterhood

Place: Poland – Łódź – Patyki

Date: September 28-29th 2024 

Present Grandmothers:

Aldona, Beate, Elisabeth, Erika, Helga, Isabel, Madeleine, Mary Anne, Monika, Irene, Toni, Wenche, Sophia.  

Absent: Grandmother: Mary, Pascal, Swami Nitya

Background to this Council Meeting 

We go east and open in a way a new chapter in Poland for our Council. At our last meeting in Switzerland, we shared the vision to go east and a wish to hold our next Council meeting in Poland.

Through Notburga Fischer – psychotherapist from Switzerland –  this wish came true. The Gestalt therapists Monika Kalinowska-Cisao and Agata Westfal in Poland/ Łódź invited us and the Council Meeting to Poland and Co-Create the 10th Council Meeting there.

In March 2024 Monika and Agata had the first of a series of online meetings with Grandmothers Aldona (Lithuania), Erika (Germany), Wenche (Denmark), Madeleine (Sweden) and Co-created the Conference, program, practical parts and ceremonies together as a team, in a genuine sisterly way. The Council does not have a delegate in Poland so we shaped and prepared this 10th Council meeting in a completely new way with the women from Poland. Monika and Agata took care of the organization at home in Poland: They looked for the venue, spread the information and invitations in Poland and collected proposals of contributions from Polish women and men for the local part of the workshops. They also contacted the authorities of Zelow, the town close to our venue in the woods; Patyki, who took patronage.

Internal Grandmothers Meeting

Friday, 27th September

As part of the Internal Meeting, the Grandmothers were taken on a Tour – Horse Carriage – to See the Sites and Learn the History of Zelow and lunch together.

After lunch in Zelow, the Grandmothers were invited to the Cultural Centre to meet and have a dialogue with Senior women who meet regularly to create beautiful handicrafts and paintings, take part in Drama and provide activities for children and youngsters. We got to know each other, shared wisdom and experiences about how to support a city’s safe development as a community in different ways and at the same time the sisterhood of joy and we had warm and intimate exchanges.

Official Days

Saturday 28th 

Morning meditation and yoga – Breakfast 

Grandmother Erika welcomed everybody to the 10th Council Meeting, with the topic „Sisterhood“. She briefly introduced our history from the beginning in 2015 up to now, and talked about the planning for this special meeting, which started with the invitation from Poland. She thanked the planning team, and presented flowers as a special thank you to Agata Westfal and Monika Kalinowska-Cisao for their great co-creation together with the organizing team of Grandmothers Aldona, Erika,Madeleine and Wenche. 

We opened the Council Meeting with a short Ceremony: The candle was lit, the Grandmothers formed a center and a circle and sang their traditional council song.

A short presentation by each Grandmother in her native tongue and in English followed.

Council Dialogue

Grandmother Madeleine introduced the topic for the Council dialogue and the steps in which it was to be explored.

Then the big group of 80 participants was divided into two groups, one for English speaking and one for Polish speaking participants. Pavel Lasomil and Martha Konfederak from Poland conducted the polish speaking group around a fire in a big tipi. The English speaking group was facilitated by Grandmother Madeleine from Sweden as an outdoor dialogue in the midst of pine trees. Women and some men aged between 15 to 80 shared and reflected openly and trustfully their thoughts and experiences about what makes Sisterhood genuine for them personally and for society in general. 

These 2 groups met 50 minutes later in a big tent for a joint circle dialogue. This exchange had a “Fishbowl“ format: 4+1 chairs for conversation in the middle, surrounded by a big circle of all the other participants on the outside. All participants were invited to take part in the dialogue to Explore what Sisterhood is about.. 

Grandmothers Madeleine and Aldona facilitated the “Fishbowl” dialogueprocess and suggested into the circle the subjects/theme/questions:

Exploration of what Sisterhood are – Questions as dialogue starters 

• How do we amplify and identify a genuine Sisterhood and make it visible?
• What are the qualities of genuin Sisterhood? 
• How do we recognize  Sisterhood?
• When and how did you have experienced sisterhood? 
• Does sisterhood also include men?

Sharing and statements about genuine Sisterhood 

– Grandmother Wenche was inspired to make a piece of art in order to express her understanding of sisterhood: Two women arm in arm swinging on a branch.

– Grandmother Monika from Iceland compared the quality of sisterhood to the interbeing of trees in a forest: Sisterhood as a support and signaling system that communicates beyond words as Mycelium does under the trees. There is an interconnected network of roots and fungal threads, where stronger trees send nutrients to
weaker trees. Mycelium is part of Mycorrhiza which is a vast web, an invisible network of support and communication that gives the forest high resilience in case of hazards or damage. Reference was also made to the invisible spiritual web which connects all life on an energy level.Therefore „Mycelium“ and „Mycorrhiza“ became became metaphors for sisterhood, through our days together.

– An issue which popped up several times was that Sisterhood creates a safe environment where friends, children, colleagues can grow and be themselves. You know it when you feel it. 

– It is not about gender, it is a way of living life and caring, being careful with all living species

– For many women being a sister means speaking the same “language“, women share a common story (her story) of living thousands of years in masculine dominated (his story) societies and the common experience of taking care of children and support for families and communities. This creates a genuine language.

– Sisterhood doesn´t judge, but backs another friend/sister in her/his development. She knows that growing takes time. Sometimes slow growing is the fastest path forward and supports the living system for several and seven generations.

– Sisterhood is care and concern for all living beings, all the time, everywhere.

– By exploring and living sisterly values we are able to serve as role models for others.

– Martha and Pawel from Poland told about the “sister/brother  groups” they hold in Łódź once a month that make it possible to support a sisterhood in both genders.

Parallel workshops

After lunch there was an opportunity to participate in Parallel workshops hosted by women from Poland

• Crocheting and handcrafting, led by Monika Kostrzewska; Poland
• Supporting medicine for women’s health, led by; Marzena Uchman; Poland
• Slovenian exercise for women, led by Joanna Bak, Poland
• Nurturing our roots, led by; Katarzyna Madej, Poland
  

Inspirational good practices – Europe

Following a Coffee break there was a short sharing of good practice and inspiring initiatives currently happening in Europe

– Grandmother Elisabeth, Switzerland, gave a report about the Klimaseniorinnen (Women +67 years) in Switzerland and the success the had in The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled on Tuesday, April 9 2024: “The states have a responsibility to protect their citizens against climate change”. This historic ruling means that 2,000 women in the climate group KlimaSeniorinnen have won their case against the Swiss state.The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland had violated certain human rights by not doing enough to meet its emission targets. The court ruled that EU member states are obliged to protect their citizens from the consequences of climate change. A milestone in the protection of individual human rights. For those who wish to know
more please READ MORE

– Grandmother Madeleine, Sweden, spoke about the Aurora initiative where some 600 Young people in Sweden are in “a group lawsuit” suing the state for not do enough to protect their citizens from the consequences of climate change, and not treating the climate crisis as a crisis.Because of the success of the Klimaseniorinnen in Switzerland,
they feel more hopeful that Sweden can follow that judgement.
READ MORE

– Grandmother Madeleine, Sweden, reported about Ecocide Law that is an important legal protection for Mother Earth. A major step towards a yes to an international protection/law has been taken on the 9th of September, 2024: 3 states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court consider the new proposal from three Pacific Island States Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa – to make mass destruction of nature #ecocide an international crime. A fifth crime alongside a) genocide b) crimes against humanity c) war crimes d) crimes of aggression. More and more countries have now taken decisions to have an ecocide law on at national level. The next step is to create a common law for all United Nation countries. It is now considered that the time is ripe for the ICC to finally assess that there are possibilities for the law to break through. The initiative taken by these three countries is a major breakthrough in bringing about one of several important legal protections for Mother Earth that govern the actions and economic flows of businesses and states. READ MORE . In Europa/EU has also agreed to create new offence that aims to punish the most serious crimes against the environment for the EU Counties. New law aimed at preventing and punishing “cases comparable to ecocide”. READ MORE

– Helga shared another example of sisterhood, which she views as so important in these times of war: She is involved in an international support group (WWP) of Isrealian „Women Peace Wage“ and Palestinian „Women of the Sun“. They bring Israelis and Palestinians together to spread a call of peace and a strong message of hope. The movement unifies women from different communities and backgrounds, empowers them and promotes a non- violent resolution of the conflict.

– Eliot Livingston read a letter about sisterhood from his mother, Isabel Livingston, who had travelled from the US to attend several previous grandmother gatherings, but was nota able to participate this time: Two women in the family tree, one black, one white, without knowing each other, were both engaged in fighting against slavery and racism.

Water Ceremony

This was followed by a Water ceremony at the riverside led by Grandmother Sophia. We saw a rainbow while walking to the beach. During the ceremony fishes jumped out of the water and birds added
their sound. Sophia walked into the water and sang a holy watersong. We felt how the water brought us closer.- we felt the spirit of sisterhood. 

Peace Fire

After Dinner, there was a Peace Fire, led by Grandmothers Monika, Helga, Irene and Sophia. It was a special night made even more magical by the sounds of Monica playing her harp.

Official day 

Sunday 29th

Morning meditation and yoga  – Breakfast 

Sisterhood Human Mandela – 7th generations

Notburga Fischer, Gestalt therapist from Switzerland, led a 3 stage process for a Human system mandala
We started by moving with music. Then we chose a partner to gently dance with taking each other’s movements, mirroring and continuing them. Then in Groups of three, each individual allowed their spirit to express freely in a sheltered space supported by the other two following the movements. This powerfull and gentle exercise became for many an experienced (second) metaphor of sisterhood. This was followed by a silent meditation in the beautiful pine forest, after which we went inside and made a big human mandala, working with the seven generations of ancestors.The grandmothers were aked to form an outer circle. Their presence provided an additional layer of trust and protection to the process as each person gave back a burden and received a resource from the
generation line. After Lunch  there was a Lecture “Sisterhood with the Earth and all her beings” by Grandmother Isabel who offered ideas on How we can we make the best choices to support Mother Earth LINK

Sisterhood with the Earth and all her beings

Lecture by Grandmother Isabel, Spain: How can we make the best choices, for the good of Mother Earth.

“We women are the guardians of life and that implies that we have to do everything possible so
that Mother Earth and all the beings that live on her and from her, begin to have a relationship
of sisterhood.”

Earth Ritual – Closing Ceremony

The Closing Ceremony was an Earth Ritual in the forest led by Grandmother Monika. And here som children and families participated. It was followed by rooted the genuin sisterhood qualities during planting of 20 young trees on the Patyki parklands, while Grandmother Monika was playing the harp.

End of the Official Council program

Thank You

Thank you to Agata Szlęk, who was the Polish-English voice and helped us understand each other.

Thank you to Marta Konfederak and Pavel Lasomil Przybylski for holding the circle with such great care and professionalism.

Thank you to Notburga Fischer, for a beautiful workshop – Human Sisterhood Mandela.

Thank You Pyszny Zakatek Restaurant in Zelow, for all the good food and inspiration for all the guests from other European countries to genuine Polish food traditionin, in the event at Patyki.

Thank You Rita Paulina Klysik for documenting the entire event and special moments ( Ceremonies are not dokumented. (Ceremonies are conducted with the focused presence of all participants including the photographer, hence are conducted without photography during the event.)

We would like to thank Ola Stankiewicz for her sociological study on Sisterhood, you can read her article below :Password – Sisterhood – reflections from a short sociological study.…

We thank Natalia Zuk- Michalowska, who finalized our efforts to get the word Sisterhood into the Polish dictionary of neologisms. And we thank Mrs. Prof. Katarzyna Klosinska for putting it right there.

Thank you to Marika and Karina, the stick sisters and head of the Patyki resort center, who took care of the space, enabled us to plant and root sisterhood qualities, by replanting trees on their land and supported us throughout the process 

Summary and report: Grandmother Wenche, Madeleine, Erika and Maryanne

Photo Gallery: Fotographer: Rita Paulina Klysik, and Ariane Elshof

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE CONFERENCE (down below on the page) Photo:

Polish page for the Council Meeting in Zelow, Poland

View the program details (English)

View the program details (Polish)