One of the things that fascinates me in my role as ICP President is working out what issues are specific to a particular country or region and which ones have a global resonance. As the Irish playwright Brian Friel points out in his wonderful play Translations, the greatest challenge we all face is how to fully understand one another, regardless of the culture or context that we find ourselves in.
One of the issues that does appear to translate, wherever we find ourselves, is the challenge of finding and retaining leaders. The Pandemic has accelerated a process that was already taking place, whereby leaders as far apart as Europe, Australia and Africa are saying to themselves ‘do I really need the pressure that comes with this job?’
For this reason ICP has made raising the profile of school leadership one of the central planks of its programme over the next two years. As a global family of leaders, we need to play our part in helping existing leaders to stay in their role and in making the next generation feel supported as they step forward.
As a first step, we are using this month to hold a series of regional meetings In Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania to explore this challenge. How, for example, can we provide more support for school leaders and make their role more sustainable?
If you would like to know more about the date and time of the meeting in your region, please contact me at president@icponline.org or via twitter @icpconnect. We would love your input to the discussion, as we explore how best to support leaders worldwide.
Peter Kent
ICP President