There are moments when I feel stretched in every direction, holding together vision, people, funding, and the constant movement of it all. It can feel overwhelming. And yet, in those moments, I’ve learned how important it is to pause and to look back, even briefly, and recognise what has already been built.

Preparing for the Lugano Academy this September has become one of those anchor points for me. A moment where everything realigns. It reminds me not only of what we do, but of why we started in the first place, with the simple belief that talent exists everywhere, even where opportunity does not. I still remember when the idea of creating our own Opera for Peace Academies felt almost out of reach. And yet, in 2022, it became real.

This year, we celebrate five years in Switzerland, at LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, together with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and with the continued support of Fondation BNP Paribas. There is something very grounding in that continuity. In seeing an idea take root, grow, and slowly find its place in the world.

What moves me most, though, is not the scale of it, but the people. The artists who come from all over the world, each with their own path, their own courage, their own story. To be able to create a space for them, even temporarily, feels like a quiet but meaningful responsibility. Some days are uncertain. But moments like this remind me that we are building something real. And that, sometimes, is enough to keep going.