Making it to Paris.

"I guess it goes to show that you just never know where life will take you. You search for answers. You wonder what it all means. You stumble, and you soar. And, if you’re lucky, you make it to Paris for a while." - Amy Thomas

This week I made it to Paris for a while.

On Thursday and Friday, I had the joy of spending time at the OECD Headquarters, Chateau de la Muette, in Paris. And a joy it truly was. We had two days of closed-door meetings where I got to spend time in the company of some of the most inspiring, joyful and passionate people from all corners of the globe. Educators and stakeholders whom I have worked with for almost three years now and many of whom I have never met in person. Until now.

Seeing the smiling faces of my international colleagues sitting in front of the flags that represent their nations was a stark reminder of the significance of this project. Our daily work has become so commonplace now that I forget the scale and significance of what my team and I achieve on a weekly basis.

The world has become a small place thanks to tools such as Zoom and Teams. Meeting with colleagues in Brazil, Spain, Kazakhstan or India can happen in moments and WhatsApp provides a steady stream of daily, office-style banter. Yet, this moment of being together, in the same room, was overwhelming. It reminded me of the importance of being present. It showed the value of human interaction in a tangible form. It reminded me how nice it is to not be viewing the world through a box on a screen. Most of all, it reminded me of the scale at which we are operating and how we are positively impacting schools globally.

There are many learnings that came out of our time together in Paris. Many rich conversations that will inform and shape future directions. Over the next few weeks as I process them all in my mind there is one memory that will dominate them all - how nice it was to be together and make it to Paris for a while.