Alice in Typhoidland

Early in the year, when listening to the Chinese Ambassador speaking about the virus in Wuhan on a BBC politics talk show, I was entirely fascinated to learn that the Chinese word for crisis is a combination of two words: crisis and opportunities.

Never was an interview — or an unexpected language lesson — timelier.

Yes, we can

There are opportunities in every crisis became our mantra – a mantra that enabled us to maintain a positive can-do attitude throughout world-wide challenges to the cultural sector that neither of us could have imagined in our worst nightmares.

We:

• developed new and agile working practices
• embraced digital media whose name we had not even heard of a couple of months earlier
• created innovative displays online for lockdown(s) and onsite for reopening
• reached audiences globally who were previously not even aware of our existence, and
• managed to keep all team members safe and supported throughout.

A new vision

Amazingly, we also managed to keep Vision 2024, the ambitious strategy for our centenary, on track and on schedule.

Even better: the necessity to adapt and change at breath-taking speed over the past ten months has provided us with any number of chances to trial and pilot ideas that we want to implement for Vision 2024 – opportunities in a crisis, indeed.

THANK YOU to our fantastic audiences and wonderful supporters who came along with us on the occasionally bumpy ride — we could not have done this without you!

It’s all about teamwork

None of this would have been possible without the incredible team that I have the privilege to lead, and especially my colleagues on our Executive Team who have rolled up sleeves, pulled out all the stops, and were there with me when the going got tough. THANK YOU!

We hope that 2021 will continue to offer opportunities, but ideally less crisis!

With best wishes for a peaceful and relaxing festive season and a happy and healthy New Year.

Silke
Dr Silke Ackermann FSA, Director