Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of my life, a new life after 37 years of service … and this is no April fool’s joke!
Over the years, I came across many people, colleagues, partners, some of whom have become dear friends. UNESCO is a great organization, but at the same time a bit of a family for its members, who have chosen an international career and often a life straddling borders. I cannot measure how much I have learned both from a professional and human point of view.
I want to thank all those with whom I shared good times and especially those who allowed me to grow, to believe in myself and in my abilities, in short, to become a better person. My respect for them and my gratitude are immense.
Serving UNESCO and presiding ISAU has been a great honor for me! I also want to express my appreciation and esteem to all those who have placed their trust in me.
While writing these words, I am overcome with emotion and I think of Marguerite Yourcenar’s beautiful sentence: “You must not cry because it is no longer, but you must smile because it has been”.
I am leaving office at a time when a health crisis of unprecedented magnitude is hitting the entire globe. Such a scale recalls me our mandate and the spirit that animates the Constitution of UNESCO. I hope you continue to carry this torch with the courage and dignity that must always distinguish us.
Thank you all and see you soon in other circumstances.
Take care!
Kadidia DialloISAU President
