Round Square International Conference Delivers a Life Experience

For the first time since 2019, the annual Round Square International Conference returned this year hosted in the United Kingdom. This incredible journey started at 3am at Sydney airport on the first day of the holidays (17 September) with eight girls and three teachers from MLC School, eventually to join students and teachers of 140 schools from across the world.

Round Square is an international organisation of nearly 200 schools that follow the 6 IDEALS developed by educator Kurt Hahn. The IDEALS are Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service and are the underlying values for both Round Square at MLC School and all schools internationally. Annually, Round Square hosts a conference where schools can meet, collaborate and unite with a rotating host country and school. 2022 was the first conference since the pandemic and was jointly hosted by six schools across the United Kingdom, AKS Lytham, Felsted School, Latymer Upper School, Ryde School with Upper Chine, Cobham Hall and the Box Hill School.

Leaving Sydney on time we landed in London after 22 hours of flying and dived into the trip head first. After a day of sightseeing in London and marking off some historic sites from our bucket list we ventured to Oxford University for the start of the Round Square International Conference for 2022. Staying in the Queen’s College on campus, the first day was full of new names, new faces and ice breakers and we found ourselves quickly finding the value of google maps by getting lost in the large site.

We met Lisa Moloney (Principal) in Oxford completing the MLC School delegation for the conference. The theme for the week was ‘Take Less, Be More’ with a focus on sustainability in all elements of life both environmentally and ethically in our community and as leaders. Over the next three days we participated in fascinating keynote speakers from Emily Penn (researcher and oceans activist), Ben Fogle (adventurer and film director), and Dieter Helm (economics and climate professor) alongside a speaker panel of Round Square alumni and charity directors from across the world. Each of these presentations were later broken down and discussed in small ‘baraza’ groups questioning both our individual and community perspectives.

Each evening saw dinners in the Oxford dining hall and exciting and interactive activities. The first evening was filled with a cultural night of performances featuring traditional Japanese dancing, South African Gumboot dancing and other performances from across the world. The second evening was our opportunity to immerse ourselves in other cultures participating in the Ceilidh folk dancing from Scotland and Ireland which was one of the highlights of the trip.

Travelling to Surrey for the second half of our conference, hosted by the Box Hill School, saw a trip to London for a West End performance of Mary Poppins, conservation talks and a trip to Marwell Zoo focusing on rescue and protection programs, and gorgeous hikes through the surrounding country-side. The next three days saw the international delegation bonding through card games, dancing and music at the campsite at High Ashurst as we built connections and made memories we will never forget. By the end of the week all eight of the students left the conference with incredible, long-term friendships, new ideas and dreams for the future with a new perspective on our own role in society.

The delegation then returned to London to explore the city, seeing a performance of Mamma Mia, visiting the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum and Westminster. Leaving London, we travelled on the Eurostar to Paris for four days to visit Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and many more incredible locations before travelling back to Sydney.

After 16 days we landed at home following one of the best adventures of a lifetime. The conference was an amazing opportunity for us to meet students from across the world, compare our outlooks, opinions and dreams for the future and be able to collaborate on the issues that affect us all.

– Elizabeth (Year 11)

MLC School celebrates 20 years of being a Round Square school in 2022.

Please click on the gallery below for full sized photographs.