Excitement filled the air as ISSE delegates from many countries traveled to Cancún, Mexico in March 2023 for their first international conference since 2018. The delegates representing Mexico, Australia, the United States, El Salvador, and Costa Rica were joined by video call by delegates from Malaysia, Cambodia, India, and Japan. The purpose of the conference was to discuss starting in-person exchanges once more. COVID caused the program to take a hiatus for a few years until it was safe to travel again. Many schools were eager to be matched with schools in other countries so they can begin the preparations.
At the conference, leadership of the program was transitioned. We gave Bev Campbell, Sue Bolduc, and Bob Herring from the U.S., who had been the administrators for approximately 20 years, a warm send-off. They had done a tremendous job for the organization for many years after they had retired from their regular jobs!
We installed our new Administrators Sandra Lopez and Margara Aguilar from Mexico and Treasurer Lisa McCoy from the U.S. They were energized by the success of the conference and the eagerness of the member schools to get started.
The delegates spent many hours collaborating on ways of improving the organization’s website and marketing strategies as well as rewriting the policies and forms.
There were numerous team building activities both during the meetings and in the evenings. The group toured the VKS campus, swam in a cenote, visited Tulum, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, and Xcaret; all great ways to experience the Mexican hospitality and culture.
