The SEKEM initiative in Egypt has posted continued economic growth in its 2016 sustainability report. Work is ongoing on social and environmental issues. Separately, it mourned the death of founder Ibrahim Abouleish in June.

A successful apiculture project on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands keeps bees in a manner that accords with their innate behaviour. This brings great benefits both for the bees and for people.

The Swiss globalisation critic Jean Ziegler has criticised the way the G20 summit operates and has called for problems to be solved in a UN context. But he praised the refugee policy of German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Interaction with robots in our everyday lives can have a positive influence, says the philosopher Prof. Birger Priddat, in that it forces us to communicate rationally. Machines could in this way contribute to shaping our culture.

More than 900 people attended the recent Asian Waldorf Teachers’ Conference in China. Among other things, the conference discussed issues facing Waldorf establishments, including their legal status and cultural adaptation.

The first Sensory Experience Field has opened in China. It aims to encourage people to reconnect with the world through new gateways to the senses and to close the increasing divide between people and their sensory environment.

The International Festival of Childhood, planned for later this year, aims to examine the issues affecting modern childhood. The evidence suggests that there is a massive toll on child health and wellbeing, say the organisers.

More refugees than ever before drowned in the Mediterranean in 2016. Aid organisations direct harsh criticism towards EU refugee policy, which is turning the seeking of asylum in Europe into a much more dangerous endevour.

This year, the International Peace Light is once again on its way to countries in different parts of the world. In this spirit, we at NNA would like to wish our readers a light-filled festive period and every success in 2017.

The doctors Dr. Michaela Glöckler and Prof. Manfred Spitzer warn against the use of digital media at too early an age. Both support a petition calling for investment in constructive education.