The conference's program cover designed by Graham Kennedy
What is the 'Round Square International Conference' all about?
The Round Square organisation is a charity which schools from around the globe are a member of. The organisation follows the philosophy of the IDEALS (Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service). Every year a membership school is honored to host the 'Round Square International Conference'. This year it was hosted here in my school where preparation and organisation took place over a year.
The RSIC allows different individuals from different 'orders' to meet up and exchange point of views and to make a difference. The conference doesn't involve only students, it involves the meeting of teachers and governors as well.
Same as this year's conference, I was lucky enough as a delegate to go to the conference in India (2009), therefore giving me the place in the Student Stirring Committee for this year.
My initial aims in joining the Student Stirring Committee for the 'We Walk Together' conference...
Initially I applied to go to India for the conference held there, however this gave me the opportunity to be apart of the 'We Walk Together' conference as well. My initial aims which I wanted to get out of the organisation/preparation and the conference itself was that I wanted to become a better communicator and leader as well as being open-minded about different ideas and view points which may contradict my opinion during the conference.
How did I contribute to the conference?
Here is a brief list of my contribution to the conference...
- A member of the Student Stirring Committee
- Morning registration
- Barazza group leader
- Glove dance performance
- Inferno, singing in the informal opening of the conference
- Introducing a keynote speaker (Mr. Peter Dalglish)
Was the conference a success?
In my opinion, I thought that the conference was a success :) However, it had its ups and downs. We designed our conference to be different from the other years where the main focus is on the Round Square pillar 'Service'. Overall, in my opinion the barazza groups were a success, especially the one I was facilitating and this is because everyone managed to express their own opinions and point of views on different issues we discussed. This was the main point of the barazza group. Moreover, I thought the that the key note speaker, Mr. Peter Dalglish provoked an issue which is crucial and he really sent his message across to all the delegates. He was very inspiring. However, on the other hand our last key note speaker, I was a bit disappointed with him. This was because we had so much hope as he was the source of our conference theme 'We Walk Together', but the speech he made didn't really send any true message across and that was how I interpreted it.
What did I personally gain from the experience in contributing to the 'We Walk Together' conference?
It was great to meet people from around the globe and I've made many new friends as well as getting closer with my old ones. I wasn't planning to sleep in school for the conference initially but later on I decided I wanted to. I believe that through the process of organising/preparing the conference I've been able to communicate and work collaboratively with many different individuals. Moreover, I was able to plan and help out within the conference as well as engaging in different global issues through the key note speakers and barazza groups.
The final We Walk Together montage (which presents the images taken during the conference)...
The conference statement which summed up the whole conference:
We must establish a long-term relationship with our environment and community.
We must build upon the foundations of what we already have and give everyone an equal opportunity to pursue their goals.
To do this, we will:
Walk without pity, doubt and apathy,
Walk with empathy, conviction and humility,
Take small, careful and sustainable steps along the way.
Because if we don’t walk today, we will have to run tomorrow.
Please check out the 'We Walk Together' website:
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