Round Square International Conference 2024
During the holidays, Priyanka Thanigasalam (Year 11), Emily Wu (Year 10) and Liliana Hollands (Year 11) were all fortunate enough to be able to go to the 56th annual Round Square International Conference held in Colombia hosted by Colegio Anglo Colombiano, Colegio Gran Bretaña, Colegio Los Nogales, Colegio de Inglaterra – The English School and Gimnasio Campestre.
The theme for this year was ‘Blooming from the Past’ and we learnt how Colombia is learning to embrace their troubled history and the negative reputation they have in the world due to the history of violence, various kinds illegal trafficking and an inequity in the distribution of wealth.
During the conference there were four different keynote speakers, the first taught the history of the political scene in Colombia and spoke of the peace negotiations the country went through, the second spoke about the inequality in sexual education, and the issues with period care inequalities in regional areas of the country, the third spoke about using social media as a way to create social change and to find a network of people whose community you can assist and the final speaker spoke about the changing economic scene within Colombia and how Colombia has been able to bloom from the past. After each keynote speaker students had the opportunity to discuss in baraza groups their thoughts and opinions.
Students stayed in Colombian families for one night, enjoying the hospitality and gifts from the families. Planted trees as part of reforestation and soil restoration, zip lined through the countryside of Villa De Levya, attempted clay pottery, met new people from all over the world, discussing our schools, our uniforms and what our curriculums teach us. Students made lifelong connections and bonds with the those they shared these experiences with.
Here is a round-up of the week in numbers:
➡️ 5 host schools with more than 90 student organisers and baraza leaders
➡️ 904 delegates – 662 students and 242 adults
➡️ 48 Baraza groups
🌞 70+ hours of sunshine
🏡 570 homestays enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the people of Bogotá
🛠️ 180 chicken shed panels constructed to make sheds for six families
🌳 800+ trees planed
In our craft and cultural workshops, we:
🧁 baked 240 Feijoa cupcakes
🥙 cooked 400+ arepas
😷 created 240 matachines masks to ward off bad energy
🎨 worked together on a 10-metre mural as a lasting tribute to the community
As a group we spent we spent over 400 hours together, nearly 48 hours in the sky travelling, spent time in eight different cities, traversing two different continents, and made true authentic connections with ourselves, each other, and the staff – Mr Maling, Ms Jauncey, and Ms Boyd; to whom we owe the success of this trip and without whom none of what we accomplished would have been able to happen.
– Liliana Hollands (Year 10)
