At the initiative of CEO & Director Robert Ford, the “Founders’ Lecture Series” fulfills year by year our founders’ mission of preparing students for the challenges of the future and providing them with a global education. This program has become a tradition, already reaching its 5th series of having extraordinary speakers in our school, sharing their success stories that inspire Heritage students and team, as well as from other schools in Moldova. 

The 2023-2024 academic year came with a lot of activities, meaningful meetings, learnings, and achievements. The exceptional guests visiting us spoke from their experience and insights on different topics such as diplomacy, democracy, gender equality, EU integration, university studies, shelters and animals, charity, but also about dreams and ambitions.  

As a brief summary, we had the honour of discussing with:

Edward Inglett, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy and Iulia Tvigun, Chevening scholar

The past year’s Founders’ Lecture Series was opened by one of the closest partners of Heritage – the British Embassy in Moldova. Edward Inglett, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Moldova, spoke about his studies at the second oldest school in the UK, but also at university. He described the diplomat world and what makes a good diplomat, qualities one must possess in order to be successful. Moreover, Mr. Inglett spoke about Moldova and the global issues we all face these days.

Our guest was accompanied by Iulia Tvigun, the Chevening scholar, who explained in detail how one can apply for studies in the UK through the Chevening programme and how to look for universities. This was captivating for our learners, as they are all outward facing and looking for various study opportunities. The meeting ended with an interactive Q&A session.

HE Kent Logsdon, US Ambassador to Moldova

In October, we had the pleasure of meeting the US Ambassador to Moldova HE Kent Logsdon in the Eminescu Library – a real honour for our students and students around Moldova. 

Ambassador Logsdon talked about the parts of Moldova he has visited and liked the most and the things he likes the most about our country. He highlighted the importance of young people’s involvement in building a democratic free country and about the great potential we have and we should take advantage from.

HE Katarina Fried, Ambassador of Sweden to Moldova

The Ambassador of Sweden to Moldova, HE Katarina Fried, was out next special guest of Founders’ Lecture series. HE Fried spoke about the importance of books and her personal story. She grew up in a small village in southern Sweden, her mother was a librarian, her father was a farmer, and she started her first job at the age of 11, working on a farm. She studied hard and read many books, while doing various jobs and she succeeded in getting to university. She studied Law, had many jobs abroad, such as working at the United Nations in New York, in Botswana, or Switzerland.

Gender equality being one of her favourite topics, she did lots of work on human rights issues, being dedicated to the sustainability cause as well, supporting initiatives in Moldova. In the Q&A session at the end, students asked many questions about Sweden, Moldova’s progress and a potential accession into the EU.

Dr. Cosmin Dinescu, Head of the European Union Partnership Mission in Moldova

The 4th Founders' Lecture welcomed our guest Cosmin Dinescu, Head of the EU Partnership Mission to Moldova, giving students a wonderful insight into Moldova's place regarding EU integration, but also the realistic possibilities of accession and the opportunities that might come with it.

Dr. Dinescu spoke about his diplomatic journey as well, about culture, languages, politics, history and the power of good negotiations. Students reflected together with him on the economy of Moldova now and then, on young people's opportunities and what it means to be European and a member of a larger community.

HE Uygar Mustafa Sertel, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to the Republic of Moldova

In February, Heritage hosted the 5th Founders’ Lecture of the previous school year.  HE Uygar Mustafa Sertel, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to the Republic of Moldova honoured us with his visit, speaking about diplomacy as a profession and all the stages it takes to become a country’s ambassador. He described the usual day of a diplomat, the knowledge a diplomat should possess, and which are the most helpful subjects from school and university in this profession.

Within the Q&A, our curious students had the chance to ask all they wanted to learn about. The meeting was also joined by students from the College of Ecology, who enjoyed listening to Ambassador Sertel.

Debbie O'Connell and Jane Sumner, AREAL/FOMS UK Founders

Debbie O’Connell and Jane Sumner, the Founders of AREAL/FOMS animal shelter, visited us to talk to our learners about their shelter, but also about the importance of taking care of animals and of spaying them so they don’t reproduce uncontrollably. They emphasized how important it is to offer good food and medical treatment that is needed.

Our guests presented the shelter and the history of setting it up, and our learners felt they all wanted to visit, to volunteer there, and to make good in the world. On this occasion, Heritage organised a food drive, and our staff and students visited the shelter to deliver the food.

Chris Lomas, Founder & CEO of Hope4

Chris Lomas, the Founder & CEO of Hope4 charity organisation was the guest of our 7th Founders’ Lecture. Mr. Lomas talked about the power of ambition and hard work and told the students about his career path, as well as how social media helps him raise money for donations around the world.

Our guest said a detailed story about his adventure of climbing Kilimanjaro this winter. His speech was very inspirational for our students who were interactive and asked different questions. They went home with a new motto in their mind: “Dream big, aim high!”

George Teodorescu, Founder & Director of Mixbook Moldova

The last Founder’s Lecture of the 2023-2024 academic year was held on Founder’s Day, (May 29^th). Our guest speaker was George Teodorescu, Lawyer, Entrepreneur and Founder & Director of Mixbook Moldova.

He spoke about him leaving Communist Romania in 1987 to get political asylum in the USA. Moreover, he shared his story of being a student from Romania, his academic performance, how a child from Romania can be seen as a genius in the States. Mr. Teodorescu explained why consistency in learning matters so much and how to combat procrastination. This inspiring last meeting was full of powerful messages for our students.

We thank all the remarkable guests who visited Heritage International School and enriched us with so many great insights and ideas. More than that, we are truly glad and proud that other schools in our country also joined these meetings and got inspired.

The 6th “Founders’ Lecture Series” will start soon, so we are looking forward to continuing this extraordinary project and offer our students the best possible educational environment. Education can happen anywhere. Global education – only at Heritage.