I can’t claim to be a fan of the Eurovision song contest. Yet two things about it caught my attention this year. One was the fact that it was held in my home city of Liverpool and the other was the impact of countries around the world spending time with each other.
I fear that Eurovision is never going to win awards for great artistic merit and if I am honest there wasn’t a single song during the evening that fitted in with my musical tastes (other than the rendition during the interval of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’). However, the event had an impact that went well beyond the music that was heard because it highlighted the power of different parts of the world sharing their culture and experiences with one another.
I can promise those coming to our Council Plus and Emerging Leaders Forum in Rovaniemi, Finland in September an experience that is very different from Eurovision. However, in just the same way, our time in Rovaniemi offers the chance to share and learn from one another across national boundaries. When I read the feedback from our last Council in Singapore the big thing that jumped out at me was how valuable delegates found it to be able to learn from one another. In a very real sense we grow as leaders by hearing what others around the world are doing and their experiences of what does and does not work.
I have already been struck by the growing sense of excitement about our time in Finland. I am delighted that our friend Anna Pons from the OECD is able once again to join us and to give a sense of some of the global trends in education and leadership that we all need to respond to. I think it is also very important that we will begin with our Forum for Emerging Leaders and Newly Appointed Principals. The event will provide an opportunity for the worldwide sharing and support that has always characterised ICP to enrich the next generation of leaders.
Whatever your taste in music, please consider joining us in Rovaniemi for Emerging Leaders Forum (20-21 September ) and Council Plus (22-24 September).
