From the Head of School

International Day By 1913, global trade had increased four times in two generations. Newly installed telephones enabled people to communicate instantaneously with others half a world away, and steam ships and railways meant they travelled further than ever before. Western nations had never been so prosperous. Science and culture had never been so fertile as ideas flowed effortlessly across borders. Then it all collapsed to the sound of cheers in London, Paris and Berlin. Many people felt that they were demonstrating pride in their nation by celebrating war with another. In the four years that followed 16 million died prematurely as a result. Next week, ISA will celebrate our annual international festival. We are a school where around 50 nationalities come together to learn and play, to make friends and find out about other ways of living. We don’t take this for granted. Nor should we in a world with so much tragic conflict between and within nations. Creating an international community takes hard work and clear intentions. When I first entered international education 25 years ago, the culmination of a festival like this would have been the flag parade: each child marching behind their nation’s flag. We have come to realise that it isn’t only our communities which are diverse, but the individuals within it as well. A student may have a dad from Germany, mum from Brazil, were born in the US and grew up in Scotland. Who they are can’t be summed up so simply as a single flag. Please make sure you save the date - Saturday the 26th of April, 11am to 2pm. There will be performances and food from around the world, story telling, sports, dancing and, of course - a parade! It will be a celebration of the way we want the world to be. A world where people can be proud of their differences and, united with others, make those differences more than the sum of its parts. A year after the peak of prosperity and culture in 1913, Europe and the world descended into war. The voices of hate and division prevailed. It wasn’t that peoples disagreed, but that they could no longer listen to disagreement. I hope ISA shows a very different way of being.