Official Public Statement regarding ATM-Only (Pilot) Trainings in the ETC/ETAB Region
26th January 2024
Dear ETC member Guilds,
Dear ETC educational community,
Dear Training-Organisers in the ETC region,
Dear fellow Feldenkrais Practitioners,
This public statement clarifies and defines the process required if Training organisers or other stakeholders in the ETC/ETAB region are showing interest or plan to offer ATM-Only (Pilot) Trainings. For the moment, the ETC decided that ATM-Only (Pilot) Training programs will only be accredited and new training accreditation guidelines (TAGs) will be developed by ETC/ETAB together with the relevant parties involved, if the Feldenkrais practitioners of the relevant guild/country voted in favour of allowing ATM-Only (Pilot) Trainings and thus voted in favour to create a new official status and identity of a Feldenkrais ATM-only teacher at the general assembly in their guild.
The logic behind this is the following:
It is the community of Feldenkrais practitioners that owns the right to use the identity of the Feldenkrais Method. It is all of us, who graduated from a Feldenkrais training program, who identify ourselves as Feldenkrais practitioners and are members of the official Feldenkrais community, meaning the guilds. Legally, the right to use the service marks (®), meaning terms such as “Feldenkrais”/ “Feldenkrais Method”/” Functional Integration”/ ”Awareness through movement” etc., in the respective language, are normally owned by the national guilds, meaning by their members. The Feldenkrais community is thus organised as a federal, democratic community and all decisions that would substantially change the identity and profile of a Feldenkrais practitioner, not only regarding ATM-only (Pilot) Trainings, must be discussed and voted on by the general assembly of a national guild.
Additionally, the relevant Training organisers and guilds must, together with ETC/ETAB, have put into place a regulatory framework regarding continuous education possibilities for students of such ATM-Only (Pilot) Trainings. Clear rules must be put into place to answer the following questions:
1.) If and how students of ATM-only (Pilot) Trainings could join other Training programs.
2.) Whether and under what conditions these students are allowed into advanced Training workshops.
3.) How ATM-Only students could continue to become full Feldenkrais practitioners and to ensure this possibility exists.
4.) What their official status and rights in their guilds are.
5.) Whether students of such Trainings are allowed to work and become guild members in other countries.
This is necessary to protect students of such (Pilot) Training programs and to establish a clear and official framework before such a (Pilot) Training can be accredited and organised.
With this statement, the ETC establishes a clear process to follow and the regulatory necessary conditions to be met, for ATM-Only (Pilot) Trainings and other substantially new training formats to be accredited by ETAB.
If there are questions regarding the content of this letter, please ask for clarification.
The ETC hopes that this information finds you well,
Board of Directors ETC,
Beth-Karin Danielsen, Chair
Nicola Zollinger, Policy and Strategy
Andrea Thiem, Vice Chair & Secretary
Mamie Wisker, Treasurer
Public Statement to download here.