Round Square Conference – Pattaya

Over the meticulously planned and packed week, we had the opportunity of hearing inspiring speeches, take part in two-way discussions and presentations that were held to keep our thinking caps on and to infuse our minds with new ideas and information. The first key note speaker, Mr. Peter Dalglish, was indisputably everyone’s favourite. His speech was the kind of inspiring that makes you get up and want to

follow your dream, serve the world, save humanity. He spoke about how he had left a budding career as a lawyer and chosen to help reduce poverty, proliferate education and provide greater medical support to the poor people in the world in his own, though at first small, way. His speech focused on the things we could do – as the more fortunate, educated young people of today and the leaders of tomorrow – to contribute and how we could thus maximize our holistic development.

Mechai Viravaidya (a man known far and wide for his groundbreaking family planning and AIDS prevention schemes, innovative poverty-reduction and rural education measures and large-scale rural development and environmental programs) enlightened us with a couple of life lessons, awed us with an exhibition of his initiatives and amused us with his excellent wit and sense of humour.

The aforementioned Father Joe Maeir preached a message of love, peace and concern for those who unthinkingly support us through thick and thin. In his customary effusive, jovial manner, he incited us to channel our energy into service for the greater good of humanity.

Other speakers were no less insightful and each had his or her own refreshing perspective to lend to our appreciation of the opportunities in community and environment-oriented service. Notable examples include Justin Bedard (from the JUMP! foundation) and what was easily the most enjoyable rikha at the conference. This enthusiastic young man prompted us to lose our inhibitions, learn more about ourselves and the wild, restless young spirits within us. His advice on personal leadership and setting and achieving goals is sure to remain with us for a long time to come. Grant Periera’s presentation on environmental destruction and the plight of local fauna, helpless in the face of the whims and fancies of mahouts, poachers and builders, was heart-wrenching and soul-stirring to say the least. His urgent pleas to do something, anything, to help definitely did not go unheeded.

Inspired and motivated by the great key note speeches, we were given a platform to voice our opinions in our respective Barazza groups. There were more than 80 Barraza groups each consisting of an eclectic pool of delegates from different schools and countries. These groups were essentially a means of reflecting on what we learned on a daily basis. In our respective groups we were able to get the opinions of people from diverse cultures and realize how every individual has a different perspective on a common topic. There was great discussion on our last key note speaker, Father Joe Maier, who expressed great anger towards the privileged classes in his speech. While some people chose to be inspired and moved by his speech, some were extremely perplexed by the fact that he was angry with them for being privileged. ‘I didn’t choose this’ was a common thing heard in the groups. Apart from various discussions we also played various games that increased our friendship and bonding and created the sense of belonging in us. In our very last barazza session, we engaged in making ‘krathong’s. In Thai culture, these krathongs are circular floating objects made out of banana leaves that people launch in water as the direction that the float takes symbolizes the future direction of their own lives. Despite being alien to us, the activity of making these krathongs with our fellow delegates was gratifying and unified us as we realized that culture is not necessarily a barrier to interaction and communication.

The community projects and service days were arguably the highlights of the conference, aimed to establish a pathway for and to facilitate sustainable development in the areas that need it most. One possible interpretation of the Father Joe quote was to create equals in today’s “disadvantaged” sections of society, who are not dependent on the constant financial aid provided by the upper socio-economic classes, but are capable of realising and actualising their own needs and asserting their own independence with adequate guidance and contributions in kind, effort and willpower from enterprising young students like us.

The multivarious projects we participated in included:

• Building a mushroom farm at the Child Development and Protection Centre, which is involved in taking care of children who are "at-risk" and providing them with loving care and adequate nutrition. The harvests from this low-maintenance farm could form an integral part of the children's daily diet, and the community could use the extra money from selling the mushrooms to their benefit.
  
  
• Interacting with the HIV-positive kids at the Abundant Life Centre. This involved us discarding our fears and prejudices and impacting the children’s acceptance into society, and giving them something to smile about.
  
  
• Participating in activities such as hair-braiding and baking at the Tamar Centre, a rescue centre for women who have been exploited through human trafficking or the illegal sex trade.
  
  
• Taking care of young children in various schools and day cares for the poor, as well as orphanages...and many more.

These profound encounters and experiences that we were exposed to will stay with us, through unforgettable memories, photos and souvenirs, to remind us of our duty to give back what society has given to us.

True, the main themes of the conference focused on the Service and Environment pillars of Round Square, but true to the nature of any RS conference, we had a chance to experience the other 4 IDEALS being delivered as well. Internationalism was, for instance, a buzzword – considering the plethora of inter-cultural interactions that enabled us to form long-lasting friendships with students from around 72 countries, including South Africa, Australia, Denmark, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Japan, Kenya, Canada and not-to-mention, the ever- hospitable Thailand. We also attended an International Lunch, where we were presented with delicacies from around the world (the proceeds, naturally, being donated to charity), and were exposed to snippets of different cultures during the ‘We Express Together’ evening. This was essentially a cultural event and involving an elaborate show that in which students from different countries expressed themselves through song, dance and drama. It was a mesmerizing and informative showcase of their varying and rich cultures and traditions as they seemed to come alive on stage. As delegates representing India, we too performed a traditional dance and were truly moved by the applause we received from the audience. We felt not only proud and honoured to be representing our Indian culture but also very much a central part of this solid Round Square community. It was almost like a moment of realization for us as delegates as we become conscious of the fact that this conference had not only enabled us to learn more about the RS pillars but also somewhere along the line about ourselves and our own local culture. This learning experience was truly unique and one that could have been found nowhere else. The community workshops on the first day too were windows into the intriguing nuances of Thai culture; they invited us to learn the surprisingly difficult-to-master Thai language, cook Thai food, and engage in indigenous crafts, dance and martial arts. The barazza groups indeed involved the pillar of Democracy as they promoted freedom of thought and speech and gave us a sense of responsibility as we exchanged opinions and suggestions, and so did the extensive workshops and conference movies on Burma’s freedom movement and struggle for independence. While Adventure was mostly incorporated into the Pre-Conference projects, we did experience this IDEAL in action to some degree in our individual service groups (for example, the building of the mushroom farm involved some tough physical exertion to see it through to completion). Leadership was excellently demonstrated by the meticulous student steering committee at The Regent’s School, Pattaya, whose members have, for the past two years, been committed to making RS 2010 the overwhelming success that it was.

The inter-cultural harmony we encountered was definitely an aspect worth mentioning. There was never a moment we spent lost or lonely as there was always an amicable stranger nearby who would be ready to break the eyes and find a friend from across the globe in you. Some of the most memorable events for the more sports-inclined among us were the friendly evening football matches that unified representatives of different regions under the same team. For a few glorious moments, we let go of our political and socio-cultural divides and played the game, in true sporting spirit.

At the end of it all, it was only reluctantly that we allowed ourselves to part with the conference that we had grown so fond of. Every day, a new stimulus to develop and shape our perceptions of the world. Every day, a new impetus, a new motivation to drive us into action. All of six of us consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime journey like this and kick-started our commitment, nationally and internationally, to work for the betterment of humanity and our one planet.