Round Square International Women’s Day Postcard

On Wednesday, MLC School had the opportunity to host the annual Round Square International Women’s Day postcard. A postcard is a weekly online student-led event, where schools around the world are given the opportunity to host a 60 minute call on a decided topic of the host school. 

Students from up to 30 different schools come together to engage in discussions and presentations in breakout rooms. Each breakout room has a group called a ‘baraza’, each baraza host is responsible for facilitating conversations and questions around the decided topic. This initiative was developed by Round Square in response to the conferences and events that were affected by the pandemic in order to keep students connected and allow them to continue having valuable discussions.

The focus of our postcard was the International Women’s Day (IWD)’s 2025 campaign theme, “Accelerate Action”, and was planned fully by the committed Round Square committee. Students brainstormed sub-topics, ideas surrounding our theme and formed insightful questions for the postcard. Seven amazing baraza leaders from Year 11 to Year 12 stepped up to lead these barazas and managed conversations around difficult but important topics.

Here are some personal experiences from the baraza hosts:

‘The conversations that were had in my group were incredibly insightful. We started by discussing what the theme “accelerating action” meant to each of us. We spoke about initiatives that were run at our respective schools and our conversation was focused around what we as individuals and our schools could do in the future in terms of working towards gender equity and equality.’
– Amy Li (Year 12)

‘Leading a baraza group for the IWD postcard was a rewarding experience. My baraza group consisted of students from different schools across the globe. We discussed the campaign theme “accelerating action” for gender equality and what that meant to us as individuals in our generation. We discussed current issues and policies that cause setbacks in women’s rights today. Additionally, my group had a very insightful discussion about what initiatives we have taken at our respective schools and inspired each other with different ways we can actively promote gender equality.’
– Elizabeth Goh (Year 12)

‘Our baraza group for the IWD postcard was an intriguing and fulfilling experience, to learn from schools across Australia and India about their perspectives on gender equality. We engaged in meaningful discussions, and explored the challenges and progress in achieving gender equity in different cultural and social contexts including quotas, the gender pay gap and the opportunities for the new generations to ‘Accelerate Action’. It was inspiring to hear diverse viewpoints and initiatives, reinforcing the importance of collective action. Ultimately, we found it to be a great experience, we gained valuable insights into how schools are fostering inclusivity and empowering young people to advocate for change.’
– Jordan Vo and Crystal Huang (Year 11)

‘The baraza sessions were a great opportunity to talk about pressing gender rights issues with students our age. My baraza group were very insightful as our conversations ranged from the negative impact of new policies on women’s rights to discussing the increase of the anti-feminist sentiment. We also discussed possible solutions we can implement in our schools and education system to help support future generations with gender equity issues. We ended the thoughtful baraza with asking ourselves one takeaway we can leave with. Overall, it was a great experience, thanks to the baraza hosts and Mr Maling for setting everything up.’
– Khushii Varma (Year 12) 

– Amy Li, Anita Mohanan, Elizabeth Goh, Hattie Russell, Jordan Vo, Crystal Huang and Khushii Varma

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