The second half of my internship has flown by. Having now found my daily work routine: Wake up and have breakfast with my 88 year old, French “host family grandma” Françoise, take metro line 10, say good morning to everyone on my team, make a cup of instant coffee, sit down to organize my to do list whilst catching up with my friends (the other interns), and begin the day with the biggest readings that I’ve been assigned, the end of my internship is coming with a sense of great sadness for anticipating having to say “á la prochaine” to my friends; but also a sense of pride for how much I was able to accomplish in my short 10 weeks.
This summer has been a particularly slow one in terms of the number of in-person events, but I have still very much enjoyed the few major events that we have had. On July 10th, UNESCO Headquarters hosted its Transforming Education Summit +4, System Transformation and Resilience for SDG 4 conference. After assisting to check in and give all 600 guests their name tags (a shockingly difficult task), I was able to sit in and enjoy the rest of the day-long conference. Opened and moderated by Audrey Nuna, the Grammy nominated recording artist and songwriter and singing voice of Mira from KPop Demon Hunters; Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO; Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa began with introductory remarks. Feeling thrilled to be in the room for such an important meeting, I looked around and realized I was also sitting next to many presidents, ministers of education, and leading policy makers from around the world.
During the conference, the main talking point discussed was the funding of education, a topic that I have become quite familiar with this summer. The opening remarks discussed that the biggest problem facing education was rising debt costs of countries all over the world. And that 58% of countries around the world pay more towards debt, than they do towards education. Another question was how funding is being used, as, “a child can sit in the finest buildings, with the newest devices, the best designed curriculum, but learning can only take place when a good teacher is in the classroom.” Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The conference continued with further pressing problems including the discussion of technology and AI usage in the classroom, as well as the need for a reconception of the idea of lifelong learning, particular to help ensure that reskilling can occur at any age, especially at a time of rapid technological development and its [potential impact on changing every aspect of work.
Outside of attending conferences, I am now beginning to conclude working on my summer projects. Currently, I am using my research on higher education financing to draft an article as well as draft a background paper. I am also helping to identify the chapters and important highlights/ case studies for an upcoming publication on higher education in emergencies. And I have also supported the revision of the 1997 Recommendation concerning the Status of Teacher Personnel by summarizing a bilingual French and English transcript from a two-day long meeting with experts for the official minutes and official summary record.
All of these projects have greatly kept me on my toes and have taught me a lot about policy making, research and the publication processes, and how multilateral organizations function.
Outside of work, I have been doing my very best to use every minute of free time to take advantage of being in France.
The month of July brought to France many fun cultural events. Beginning with July 4th, I attended a unique event, “L’Amérique et Versailles” at Chateaux de Versailles. With more than 500 actors and a set up that rivaled that of Disney world in terms of execution, the event re-enacted America’s independence from the perspective of France. The event shared how supporting the American colonialist with troops, weapons, and its navy fit into a larger battle against the British (as France was also fighting Britain in other theaters around the world including in the Caribbean, in India, at the straight of gibraltar, and in Senegal) and what that decision process (which took place at Versailles 250 years ago) looked like.
In addition to celebrating the 4th of July in France, I also got to celebrate France’s national holiday, “Quarante de Juillet" or as Americans know it, Bastille Day. Still (yes still…) in a heatwave, we arrived at Champ de Mars hours in advance to ensure a good picnic blanket spot on the lawn.
The event was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed. To begin the evening, France’s national symphony orchestra performed notable pieces from its history and had several renditions of its National anthem, “La Marseillaise”. Following Camille Saint-Saën’s "The Swan", Gioachino Rossini’s “William tell overture”, Verdi’s “La Traviata”, and another rendition of la Marseillaise, the sun went down, the previously twinkling eiffel tower went dark, and the firework and drone show began.
Further highlights of the past month include doing karaoke with my team, watching the final games of the world cup (of course until the national devastation of France losing against Spain on Bastille day!), watching the finale of the Tour de France from Montmartre, going to a theatre to watch the production, “Passeport” by Alexis Michalik in French (And I proudly understood the entire show, which proves how much my French has advanced this summer!), and I also took advantage of my many vacation days to do a short, solo backpacking trip to Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich.
With just about a week left of being in France, I have been spending my evenings walking around the city, continuing to try new bakeries to conclude who the champion will be for best pain au chocolate, and getting last dinners with the community that I have made while here in France. While sad to leave, Paris will continue to have a special place in my heart and I know that when I come back, I will have many more people to reconnect with. There will certainly be more adventures to France in my future.
Megan Blackman is a Graduating M.A. Student in International Education at the George Washington University. Her area of focus is on global citizenship education in secondary and higher education, Teacher Professional Development, and education policy.