The Round Square International Conference 2019 was hosted by The Emerald Heights International School, Indore from 2nd to 8th of October 2019.
Six students along with RS REP Aradhna Malik
attended the conference –
- Tara Dube – XII – 9305 – Kasturba
- Seerat Dhesi – XII – 7853 – Savitri
- Shristy Dalania – X – 8294 – Laxmibai
- Shaily Sharma – XII – 7007 – Kasturba
- Khushpreet Kaur – XII – 8450 – Kasturba
- Vasudha Agarwal – XII – 8710 – Kasturba
The theme of the conference “Sarvodaya” – The world we wish to see, implies the welfare of all the citizens and the society as a whole. It aims at the moral and material upliftment of the rich and the poor, respectively. It treats all human beings in a similar manner and believes that values like equality, freedom, and fraternity have great relevance for the development of society.
The RSIC 2019 was officially declared as the largest RSIC ever hosted. It brought the whole Round Square community together at The Emerald Heights International School with the participation of 159 schools from 6 different continents bringing in rich and diverse cultures from their homes and countries. Our days were fully packed with activities, popular keynote speakers and exciting ways of inculcating knowledge. The greatest attraction of the conference was to interact with the eminent keynote speakers and thereafter discuss their extraordinary viewpoints and achievements in our Barazza groups.
The speakers for RSIC2019 : Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Kailash Satyarthi, Dr. Shashi Tharoor-Member of the Parliament, Sophia-the Robot, Ms. Kiran Gandhi, Musician and activist, Major D P Singh-The Blade Runner and Swami Gaur Gopal Das-The International Life Coach
Mr Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace laureate)
He has been tirelessly working for the protection of children’s rights for four decades from now. He started the campaign “Bachpan Bachhao Andolan” (save the childhood movement). He has rescued over 88,000 children from the scourge of bondage, trafficking, and exploitation. His philosophy of 3D (Dream, Discover, and Do) has motivated us to not wait for any leader rather become our own leader and work for the betterment of others.
Mr. Shashi Tharoor (Member of Parliament)
He is currently serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala since 2009. Tharoor is an acclaimed writer having authored 18 best selling works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981 which are centered on India and its history, culture, film, politics, society, foreign policy and more related themes. He profoundly focused in teaching the whole community of RSIC students on how to think rather than what to think.
Sophia (The First-Ever Robot Citizen)
Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ most advanced human-like robot, created by combining breakthrough innovations in robotics, AI and artistry. She is endowed with remarkable expressiveness, aesthetics, and interactivity and can stimulate a full range of facial expressions, track and recognize faces and hold natural conversations with people. She believes in being kind to yourself, your world, your environment and lives in the world you wish to see.
Kiran Gandhi (Electronic music artist and activist)
Kiran Gandhi also performs as Madame Gandhi, is a female drummer and activists whose mission is to elevate and celebrate the female voice. She travels the world to perform and speak about modern gender equality and will release her album Visions in Fall 2019. She wants the world to be collaborative and not competitive.
Major DP Singh (first blade runner of India)
This 45-year-old man is a proud Kargil war veteran. Injured badly during Kargil war to the tune of being declared dead, Major Singh survived to shine as India’s 1st amputee marathon runner, famous as an Indian Blade runner. He has completed 26 marathons to date. He understands that don’t change anything around you, no one but you are the boss of your life. He believes that whatever happens, happens for good. Accept the challenges, learn and move on. To conquer the world, one has to conquer oneself (Man Jeete Jag Jeete…). He motivated everyone to not give up and if you are planning to then ….GIVE UP GIVING UP!
Swami Gaur Gopal Das( International Life Coach)
Sir is a renowned life coach all over the world. He has been speaking at various prestigious academic institutions and corporate firms in India and abroad for over 2 decades and has even spoken at the British Parliament. With over 4 million followers on Face book, over 1 million on Instagram and over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, he is known as the urban, online monk. He emphasized in explaining to us the meaning of success. Success all depends upon our attitude. You don’t need someone to tell your value or worth, you have infinite. There’s a fire inside you. Push and explore the sky. It might be limitless but do not forget to keep your one leg on the ground. Be humble.
The barazzas and rikkas, divided into four groups – Jal, Vayu, Akash, and Prithvi, helped in bridging individual and cultural differences. During the conference, a platform was provided where problems faced globally were discussed and solutions were sought. Student community made a sincere attempt to create an atmosphere to bring together all young delegates with unwavering faith in the welfare for all. The conference also featured sessions to understand and implement the Round Square Discovery Framework which is in line with RS ideals. A Run for Cancer with The Blade Runner had been organised for all the delegates to ignite the spirit of adventure.
The conference also offered a community service experience. The students gave a visit to a blind school for girls, deaf school, old age home, special school, and Gyanodaya school. Every group was sent to different venues, and no two students from one school were together. Visits to cities like Mandu and Maheshwar, located on the banks of river Narmada with great historical significance in India, had been planned. The visits exceeded our expectations and took us to places where no garbage trails followed! Every evening there was a gala theme dinner depicting a different region of India with a local market set up and cuisine specific to that region, which was served with local cultural performances.
Learning outcome-
- The well-organized conference brought infinite repository of learning to our students and all.
- Emerald Heights gave a new meaning to the phrase ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ Impeccable, flawless planning and overwhelming the warmth from every member of EMERALD HEIGHTS SCHOOL FAMILY stole our hearts!
- The students got a chance to interact with the renowned and eminent speakers.
- The work and life of every speaker opened up and broadened the gatherings’ mind. Helping others to solve their problems and meet new challenges really gets you thinking about how to do things differently yourself.
- 5. Every young Round Square delegate got a chance to know more about different aspects and advantages of Round Square Discovery Framework, which were inquisitiveness, tenacity, courage, compassion, inventiveness, ability to solve problems, self-awareness, sense of responsibility, appreciation of diversity, commitment to sustainability, communication and team-working skills.
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Thank you,
Aradhna Malik
Rs Rep
.
