ENGAGE !

55th Round Square International Conference with the theme "The New Africa'' was held in Nairobi, Kenya from October 8th till the 14th 2023.

It allowed students to explore many ways the continent has evolved and is defining its position in the 21st Century. Brookhouse, Nairobi, the host school planned for keynotes and panel discussions that highlighted an array of African innovators. The keynote speakers were Clifford Oluoch a passionate educator with a rich 33 years of teaching experience and Idah Murithi a Conservation Education Strategic Consultant.

The Royal Global School delegation which left Guwahati on the 7th of October was represented by students of Class XI, Rishika Jain, Chavi Agarwal, Nayesha Agarwal, Arisha Sheikh, and Radha Sanjay Das, and faculty members Punam Agarwal and Sattyakee D’com Bhuyan.

There were many plus sides to the conference. All the conference delegates got together for the opening and closing days, whilst the Adventure, Service, and Democracy days did provide smaller group opportunities on a rotation of activities across the middle three days of the conference, hosted at the two Brookhouse campuses. Moreover, it was interesting to note that on a rotation basis, Brookhouse families did provide homestay accommodation and a first-hand experience of African hospitality for student delegates across the world.

On the 9th of October, 2023 former First Lady H.E. Margaret Kenyatta opened the 55th Annual Round Square International Conference (RSIC) at the Bomas of Kenya Auditorium, Nairobi County amidst 1600 delegates from six continents. In attendance during the RSIC2023 opening ceremony were Round Square Chairman and CEO Kurt Hahn, World Marathon Champion and United Nations Peace Ambassador Tegla Loroupe, and long-distance runner Henry Wanyoike amongst others.

As the conference in all its positive vibrations marched ahead it was time for Adventure Day under the clear African sky. It was indeed a memorable experience camping inside the Nairobi National Park (NNP), with wildlife safari drives and an environmental conservation focus.

It may be mentioned here that at the heart of the Round Square ethos is a shared belief that the foremost task of education is to inspire and equip students to be active and engaged global citizens. In pursuit of this goal, it was a busy day of service when the student delegates went off to different Brookhouse partner schools in Nairobi to offer services like painting, planting trees, cleaning, and over and above sharing experiences with the local students.

Soon after the Service Day, all the delegates gathered at the Brookhouse School Karen Campus for the Cultural Evening. Royal Global School was represented by Arisha Sheikh who performed a Sattriya Nrittya (Dance )with much élan enthralling the audience. Towards the end of her performance, she received a standing ovation.RSIC 2023 Kenya was not merely a conference, it was more of being responsible citizens and putting leadership skills into full action !!!

On 17th August 2023 a team of 6 students of Grade 7, along with their escort teacher Mahua G. Kanungoe left for Varanasi to attend the prestigious Round Square Conference 2023 hosted by the Sunbeam School, Lahartara from 17th to 21st of August.

Day 1 began with an introductory speech followed by a presentation on Varanasi -“The City of Light”. The day culminated with a musical orchestra by the students followed by a scrumptious dinner.

On Day 2 the 31 schools across India and abroad hoisted their respective school flags with pride.

The show stopper was the “Round Square: Heroes of Discovery” performed by pre-primary students, dressing up as the heroes. The Conference had an array of keynote speakers like Mr. Pratish Nair – Managing Director and co-founder of – Prahlad Kakkar, School of Branding and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Vinay Mahajan in "Music Shaping Leadership Ethos, the puppet show by Doll's Theatre, Kolkata. The Baraza sessions were the attractions for the Conference where participants got a platform to discuss inspirational poems by great writers on all four days.

Day 3 marked the visit to the historic Sarnath and the one and only Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies where we were blessed by the words of the Vice Chancellor Dr. Wangchuk Dorjee Negi. It was followed by the keynote address by Mr. Tenzin Tsundue—a Tibetan writer and activist. An interactive session by Mr. Mukherjee took place on How to See a City Through its Spaces. Special interest sessions followed by a showcase of Kathakali Dance Drama by Mr. Dibyendu Tarafder.

Day 4 started off with a keynote address on leadership by Mr. Kannan Gireesh- Founder and CEO of Live life Education whose words touched the hearts of many leaving all teary-eyed.'Satya ki Pratiroop 'by the Ishara Puppet Theatre of Padmashree Dadi Pudumjee left us spellbound.

Day 5 highlights were the cultural performances by all the participating schools. The Royal Global School team presented the traditional folk dance 'Bihu' and a special dance on skates by Mehal Agarwal that fetched a lot of appreciation. The Conference culminated with a final open Baraza where everyone shared their perspectives on how the Baraza sessions gave them an opportunity to express themselves. It was indeed a great learning experience for all the students and teachers. This Conference gave our kids a strong platform to Dream, Believe, and Achieve.

SANAWAR ROUND SQUARE CONFERENCE: 5TH JUNE- 9TH JUNE, 2023

Royal Global School attended its first Round Square Conference, which was hosted by The Lawrence School Sanawar. A student delegation of 6 Royalites- Arjun Agarwal, Granth Jalan, Rupal Jain, Samaira Jain, Tieara Agarwala, and Vihaan Upadhyay- escorted by Ms. Binita Jain, Round Square Rep of RGS, attended the conference.

The theme of the conference was… Protect…. Preserve and Progress….. for Sustainable Happiness. A total of 244 students from across 27 schools in India and abroad assembled to deliberate on the theme of the conference.

The inspiring keynote speakers Ms. Rajbir Sandhu the Round Square Schools’ Support Director of South Asia & Gulf Region, Mr. Kartik Satyanarayan, Mr. Arjun Kochar, and Lt. Gen. Kamal Dawar enlightened the students on various aspects of wildlife protection, forests conservation, and physical as well as mental well-being for sustainable happiness. The evenings of the three-day conference were replete with amazing story-telling sessions by the renowned storyteller Mrs. Rituparna Ghosh.

The discussions and deliberation during the Barraza sessions provided an enriching experience for the attendees, fostering the exchange of views, personal growth, and a deeper understanding of the theme of the conference.

They enjoyed storytelling sessions sitting amidst the grove of trees with a variety of birds chirping around them, went for bird watching in the early hours, and bravely participated in a host of adventure activities in Chail and Dhaaron ki Dhar.

The student delegation of RGS presented a musical skit where they passed on a strong message on the need to make the earth a better place for all.