Together on the road to Wisdom, the annual report 2021

We have published our annual report for 2021. Our chairman Thomas Hontelez wrote the following introduction – just before his farewell.

We have had two corona years. While many sectors were struggling as a result, the number of pilgrims on the Walk of Wisdom seemed to be growing. More people discovered hiking and were forced to go on holiday in their own country. There was also more time for reflection. We saw an increase in the number of pilgrims by more than half to 3,225 registrations for the whole of 2021. In August, the 10,000th pilgrim officially signed up. It is nice to see that we can meet a growing need.

In this annual report, we look back on an eventful year in which we deepened existing traditions and looked for new opportunities to better propagate our core values and anchor them in the ritual of the pilgrimage. We did this both through new activities on the route and around the conference table. In this report you can read how the coordinators have been developing, discovering and deepening over the past year. How the many volunteers have worked to prepare and send the thousands of starter kits, to maintain the website, to organize departure ceremonies and much more. With every year that the number of pilgrims grows, the work for our foundation increases and the financial possibilities to achieve our ambitious goals grow. You can read about the considerations that have been made.

We cannot do everything at once. Within governance and coordination, we spent a lot of time in 2021 looking for a balance between boldly pioneering and perpetuating our organization. Just as a tree cannot do without a solid root system, the Walk of Wisdom cannot do without a solid organizational foundation. It is this solid foundation laid and maintained by so many volunteers that enables us to grow the seed of the Walk of Wisdom into a full-fledged tree. On the road to wisdom – it’s the core of our project and recently our new subtitle.

We like to walk that path ourselves.

Thomas Hontelez,
Walk of Wisdom Foundation (until April 2022).

PS: Do you want to read on? Download the full report via the link below.
Read the farewell interview with Thomas: link.
Read the introduction to our new chairman Monica Boschman: link.

We germinated in the earth

Awakened by the light

To go our own way

(Proverb at the departure ceremony)