The excitement was palpable from staff and students alike: our lecture series was back, providing the opportunity once again to hear from a range of high-profile and engaging speakers.
This year, though, the talks are online, delivered remotely to students and staff in their isolation bubbles.
It may not be the same as sitting in our beautiful Mihai Eminescu library and welcoming speakers in person.
But thanks to technology we can still bring in guests from all walks of life to hear their stories, generate dialogue and debate and create moments that resonate with learners for years to come.
Real-world insights
The Founders’ Lectures at Heritage International School started in 2019 and quickly became a key part of our work to provide opportunities for deeper learning and challenge by bringing in guests from the real world from all walks of life: business, politics, diplomacy, charities and beyond.
For example, this year we kicked off with the UK ambassador to Moldova, Steve Fisher, who spoke to students about how he became a diplomat, the role of an ambassador, the diverse countries he has worked in and topics such as Brexit.
From here we will hear from a humanitarian aid responder who has been working in Lebanon; an author whose book on life behind the Iron Curtain and correspondence with a British family became a bestseller; and the head of the UN in Moldova, looking at the UN as it turns 75.
This range of speakers and topics - and the opportunity for questions - helps students to see the link between their education in the classroom and the real world, and that education can open up many paths for your future.
Diversity matters
Indeed, the variety of speakers is key to see this.
We want students to see that education can take you on a journey to many destinations and career paths, rather than being too reliant on diplomats or other political roles.
To ensure we achieve this variety, I regularly speak to colleagues and students about the types of speakers they would like to hear from, and we have found that by grouping these into six areas it has given our lecture programme a good focus.
- Parents and carers
- International organisations
- Local and international schools
- Charities and social responsibility
- The wider business community
- The diplomatic community
Students have also asked for more speakers from the fields of media and finance for this year, so that is something we are investigating.
Memorable moments
Working in this way means we can ensure that speakers offer a diversity of opinion, ideas and insights that students really benefit from.
For example, two of the most powerful speakers we had last year to hear were young Moldovans who were already making their mark in the world on prestigious academic scholarships like the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Chevening scholarships or working in global cities for leading Fortune 500 companies.
This helped the students, especially those from Moldova itself, see the purpose of skills such as learning English and being internationally minded in these real-world examples of success.
Another great speaker we had was human rights lawyer Veronica Lupu, whose incredible work in saving children and women from trafficking was humbling and had a hugely powerful impact on our pupils in a way lesson or textbook chapter could never have achieved.
How to find great speakers
Of course, the biggest challenge in doing something like this is actually finding, approaching and securing the time of such speakers.
However, international schools in particular should not see this as daunting as they should already have good networks in their community that can help them start to uncover speakers with powerful, inspiring, engaging stories to tell.
And now is perhaps the perfect time to start reaching out: after all, we have seen clearly in the Covid-19 crisis this year the power of international schools and their communities, collaborating globally and sharing ideas and solutions.
Furthermore, I have always found people willing to come into school to give something back to young people by sharing their stories and it has often been some of the most powerful learning moments that really can set off a “ripple of influence”, to paraphrase Henry Adams.
Overall, the key challenge for international school leaders and their communities is to stop thinking that they are an island in their national country.
Instead, they must develop a wider outward-facing strategy of utilising connections that takes full advantage of being a global school in a local community.
Rob Ford is director of Heritage International School, Chisinau, Moldova
