Free Online Masterclass
Rites of Passage for Modern Times
With Paula Conroy, The Frequency, and Dr Arne Rubinstein OAM, Rites of Passage Institute
There are moments in history when we are called to remember something ancient, not because we are trying to go backwards, but because we are trying to move forwards with more wisdom.
This is one of those moments.
Across families, schools, communities and organisations, so many of us can feel that something essential has been lost. Young people are growing up in a world of increasing pressure, distraction, disconnection and uncertainty. Parents are doing their best to guide their children through enormous transitions, often without the village, wisdom or clear frameworks that previous generations once relied upon. Educators, mentors, coaches, leaders and facilitators are being asked to hold spaces of growth and transformation, while also navigating the complexity of modern life.
And yet, for thousands of years, cultures around the world understood something profound: human beings do not mature by accident.
We need meaningful thresholds that we are deeply aware of, so s to grow through abnd with the experience. We need the inevitable challenges of life to be held well. We need elders, mentors and guides. We need spaces where our stories can be heard, reflected and honoured. We need community to witness who we are becoming.
This is the heart of Rites of Passage work.
A healthy Rite of Passage is not simply a ceremony, a camp, or a symbolic event. It is a carefully held process that supports a person to move from one stage of life into another with greater awareness, resilience, responsibility and belonging. It helps us make meaning of change, meet challenge with courage, and step more consciously into the next expression of who we are being called to become.
You are invited to join us for a free online masterclass
This July, Paula Conroy from The Frequency and Dr Arne Rubinstein OAM from the Rites of Passage Institute will be hosting a free online masterclass exploring why Rites of Passage matter so deeply in our modern world, and how this ancient framework can be restored in ways that are grounded, practical and profoundly relevant for the times we are living in.
Dr Arne Rubinstein has spent over 30 years working with Rites of Passage, supporting hundreds of thousands of young people, parents, schools and communities across Australia and internationally. His work has helped bring this ancient framework into modern families, schools and communities in a way that is accessible, powerful and deeply needed.
Together, Paula and Arne will open a conversation about what has been lost, what is now being called for, and how we can begin to bring healthy Rites of Passage back into our families, schools, organisations and communities.
This masterclass is for you if…
You are a parent who can feel that your child is moving through important transitions, and you want to support them with more wisdom, steadiness and awareness.
You are an educator, school leader or youth worker who knows that young people need more than information alone. They need belonging, meaning, challenge, guidance and spaces where they can be truly seen.
You are a leader, manager, founder or organisational guide who understands that true leadership requires more than strategy alone. It asks us to become steady, conscious and well-initiated adults who can hold complexity, guide others through change, and respond to what is needed with integrity.
You are a coach, facilitator, psychologist, social worker, mentor or community leader who feels called to hold transformational spaces with more depth, integrity and skill.
You are someone who can sense that our modern world is asking for a different kind of leadership: one that is more grounded, more initiated, more relational, and more deeply connected to what is truly needed.
Or perhaps you are simply someone who has always felt the importance of thresholds, initiations, story, community and transformation, and you are curious to understand how this work can be brought into modern life in a way that is real, relevant and practical.
In this free masterclass, we will explore:
What a Rite of Passage really is, beyond the myths, assumptions and old cultural images we may have inherited.
Why Rites of Passage have existed across cultures for thousands of years, and why they are still so deeply relevant today.
What happens when young people and adults move through major life transitions without proper guidance, challenge, witnessing and integration.
How healthy Rites of Passage support resilience, responsibility, belonging, maturity and conscious leadership.
Why this work is not only for young people, but for parents, educators, leaders, facilitators and communities.
How the Rites of Passage framework can be applied in modern families, schools, organisations and community spaces.
We will also share more about the Rites of Passage Leadership Training coming to South Africa in 2027, and how this training offers a rare opportunity to personally experience and learn the foundations of this work in an embodied, practical and deeply transformative way.
Why this conversation matters now
We are living in a time of extraordinary change.
Old systems are being questioned. Families are under pressure. Schools are stretched. Young people are navigating unprecedented levels of distraction, anxiety and disconnection. Many adults are carrying the weight of leadership, parenting or service without having been properly initiated into the deeper responsibility of these roles.
This is not a time for more information alone. It is a time for wisdom. It is a time for remembering how human beings grow, transform and mature. It is a time for restoring the kinds of spaces where people can come into deeper relationship with themselves, with each other, and with the communities they are here to serve.
Rites of Passage offer us a map for this.
They help us understand that transition is not something to rush through or avoid. It is something to honour, to hold, and to guide with care.
Event Details
Free Online Masterclass
Rites of Passage for Modern Times
With Paula Conroy and Dr Arne Rubinstein OAM
Date: 15th July 2026
Time: 19:30 - 20:30 South African time
Location: Online via Zoom
Zoom details: Included in confirmation email
Register for the free masterclass
If something in you recognises the importance of this conversation, we would love to invite you to join us.
Whether you are a parent, educator, facilitator, mentor, coach, leader or community builder, this masterclass will offer a powerful introduction to the Rites of Passage framework and why it is so needed in our world today.
Spaces are free, but registration is required so that we can send you the Zoom details before the event.
About Paula Conroy
Paula Conroy is the founder of The Frequency, an ecosystem for transformation devoted to helping individuals, families and communities move through life’s transitions with greater consciousness, connection and integrity.
Through her work with Rites of Passage, transformational facilitation, circles, storytelling and deep inner development, Paula supports people to listen more closely to the question: what is needed of me?
Her work brings together ancient wisdom and modern transformation, in a way that is grounded in modern language and present day experience that ordinary people can understand and apply to their lives.
About Dr Arne Rubinstein OAM
Dr Arne Rubinstein is the founder of the Rites of Passage Institute and one of the world’s leading voices in bringing Rites of Passage back into modern culture.
A medical doctor, counsellor, author, speaker and internationally recognised expert in adolescent development and Rites of Passage, Arne has spent more than 30 years working with young people, parents, schools and communities. His programs and frameworks have supported hundreds of thousands of people across Australia and around the world.
His work helps families, schools and communities understand how to guide young people through the transitions of life with greater meaning, responsibility, resilience and belonging.
Join us
This is an invitation into a conversation that feels both ancient and urgently needed.
It is a conversation about our young people.
It is a conversation about our families.
It is a conversation about the kind of adults, leaders and communities we are being called to become.
We would be honoured to have you with us.