The story behind Parenthèses du Monde

And to finish, let me share a little glimpse of how it all began.

I was born into a family where French, Polish, German and Swiss roots lived side by side (more or less) happily… and where stories were passed around (more or less) freely. As a little girl, I was forever asking my father to tell me his story, the family's story — and even History itself, which I could never seem to remember unless he was the one explaining it.

And yet I felt my family heritage everywhere: in the gestures, the traditions, the glances, the smiles… but I was missing the words. That, I think, is where I first understood how much it matters to understand a language, decode its codes and pass on the stories in order to truly find your place.

In Germany and then in England, I saw first-hand what it's like to settle into a new country: getting to grips with the customs, learning the language, finding your bearings, meeting people. Simple, concrete experiences that today let me support those going through this transition with honesty and a real sense of what it takes.

For some twenty years, I worked across a range of international worlds — international trade, luxury marketing, entrepreneurship, translation, language training. Places where appeal, international mobility and settling in aren't concepts but everyday realities, with all their challenges, successes and vulnerabilities.

That journey gave me a very clear picture of what arrival really looks like, of what families need and of what's at stake for organisations.

Parenthèses du Monde is the fruit of that journey: a blend of cultures, languages, stories, international experience and mobility lived up close. Today I put those skills to work for the organisations who welcome international talent — so that every member of the family finds their place, and every move becomes a stable, human and lasting settling-in.

Florence