Lausanne Guide
Kanika Khatter has a positive outlook towards life and loves meeting people from different cultures. Originally from India, she moved to Switzerland in 2019 and became an active member of ISL’s Cultural Ambassador Programme. She is a seasoned technology consultant in Digital Transformation and Programme Management and has worked across various organisations in India and Europe. During her last job with Microsoft, she worked extensively for education and public health sector clients. Now she enjoys supporting the school community with her technical expertise. Her own son is presently in Year 6.
Kanika is experienced in curating web content and is currently part of a global voluntary organisation which conceptualizes and coordinates various welfare initiatives. She finds joy and fulfilment in experiencing new cultures and from getting to know people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and insights. In fact, for more than a decade, Kanika has been collaborating with clients from different parts of the world and has travelled vastly in order to explore other cultures firsthand. She strongly feels that cross-cultural engagement expands our horizons and creates new opportunities for growth and development.
“She finds joy and fulfilment in experiencing new cultures and from getting to know people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and insights.”
ISL’s Cultural Ambassador Programme (CAP) was launched on International Day in March 2018. The programme aims to develop the ISL community and increase opportunities for knowledge exchange by building stronger ties between community members who belong to different cultural backgrounds. The PTA collaborates with CAP to support the school through various events and volunteer opportunities. Kanika says: “We have a team of around thirty- eight enthusiastic Cultural Ambassadors from different countries who are a parent point of contact for families with common cultural identities, to help connect to new families every year, and contribute to school programmes with relevant cultural contributions.”
She continues: “The goals for the upcoming year are being expanded and repurposed for greater impact. We are planning to host events which have been part of the previous school calendar like International Day and global festivals. Along with this, we will also be curating customized events throughout the year, complementing the school’s policies around diversity, interculturalism, and internationalism.”
If you are interested in getting involved, explore ways to participate below:
- Become a cultural ambassador – a single point of contact for parent groups who share
common cultural identities and coordinate opportunities to bring families together. - Connect with, or “Meet and Greet”, new families through the “Welcome Programme”
and help them with settling-in issues. - Volunteer, plan, or attend as table coordinators for our annual International Day.
- Contribute to school events that relate to your culture such as leading classroom
events about special festivals or current affairs. - Share culture-related articles.
Gradient Issue #2: The magazine of the International School of Lausanne
In this edition, we explore how our community has coped during this special year to make the best of it. We also have a special section on multilingualism and how it can both benefit and challenge our students.