Round Square

The second session of History Lab - 'Civil Wars and Wars of Independence' was hosted by the Cate School, USA on the 15th of February 2024. The session opened with a brief presentation by the Cate school, an AI generated, unbiased perspective on the topic and then broke out into Baraza rooms for more individual, region-specific presentations. The hosts commenced the discussions with a presentation on the revolution and the American Civil War as they went on to hear various standpoints from multiple regions panning India, Columbia, the UK, Pakistan, and Spain.

The post presentation discussions included an intellectually stimulating round of questions and answers, encouraging the delegates to engage in enthusiastic conversations where they exchanged views and fortified their perspectives. These dialogues solidified the understanding of each region’s rich and diverse history, educating the delegates on important worldly affairs. Finally, the session elapsed on a positive note with the delegates sharing their personal reflections and experiences that further enriched their collective understanding of the intricate tapestry of the historical events.

The post presentation discussions included an intellectually stimulating round of questions and answers, encouraging the delegates to engage in enthusiastic conversations where they exchanged views and fortified their perspectives. These dialogues solidified the understanding of each region’s rich and diverse history, educating the delegates on important worldly affairs. Finally, the session elapsed on a positive note with the delegates sharing their personal reflections and experiences that further enriched their collective understanding of the intricate tapestry of the historical events.

DAIS delegation along with Mr. Narendar Dalal joined the session hosted by St. George's Grammar School, South Arica on the theme - 'Historic Leaders'. The meeting began with greetings and a brief introduction to the topic with a reading of a script by AI - ensuring a lack of bias. The students were then split up into Baraza rooms. Here, the hosts began their presentations about their country’s leaders, with Albertina and Walter Sisulu featuring in their slides.

Numerous other schools presented too, with notable names such as Sam Nujoma and Akbar the Great. DAIS students presented Historic leader, Sam Manekshaw, the first Indian Field Marshal and a deeply revered figure. Shortly after the presentations, the delegates engaged in discussions on the qualities of leadership and how easy is it to be one. They explored diverse ideas on qualities of leadership and reached a consensus about a leader being defined by the circumstances and people that surround someone. Exploring the Round Square IDEAL of 'Leadership,'' delegates discussed how young people can make a difference and exhibit their qualities as leaders.

Numerous other schools presented too, with notable names such as Sam Nujoma and Akbar the Great. DAIS students presented Historic leader, Sam Manekshaw, the first Indian Field Marshal and a deeply revered figure. Shortly after the presentations, the delegates engaged in discussions on the qualities of leadership and how easy is it to be one. They explored diverse ideas on qualities of leadership and reached a consensus about a leader being defined by the circumstances and people that surround someone. Exploring the Round Square IDEAL of 'Leadership,'' delegates discussed how young people can make a difference and exhibit their qualities as leaders.

In conclusion, the RS Collaboration - History Labs were a riveting and enlightening experience, engaging in multicultural discussions, and reflecting on historical significance, each session fostered a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of past events and their enduring impact on modern society. As we continue to unravel the mysteries of history, we are reminded of its relevance in shaping our collective future, and the importance of embracing diversity and understanding across cultures and generations. This collaboration served as a testament to the transformative power of education in fostering global citizenship and intercultural understanding, embodying the ethos of Round Square's mission to nurture students into compassionate and responsible global citizens.

DAIS Student delegates: Aanya Thakur, Abhiraj Singh, Sanaa Malesra, Saphyra Khanna, Uma Shukla and Vir Gahrotra.

DAIS Adult delegate: Ms. Parul Malik and Mr. Narender Dalal

Students of Dhirubhai Ambani International School participated in the virtual French Language Lab hosted by Inter Community School, Zurich (ICSZ) on 31st October 2023. It was a French Language Exchange Program hosted online comprising over 100 delegates from schools across the world including from regions in Africa, Southeast Asia, Switzerland as well as participation from Indian states like Manipur, Haryana, etc.

The event began with an introduction to the school and a little about Switzerland which was conveyed through a short presentation and quiz, in which everyone actively participated in the chat. After this, the delegates joined separate Baraza rooms based on their level of proficiency in French.

The session in the Baraza rooms began with an introduction of all delegates, i.e., their names, the country they belonged to, and the school they represented.

The presentation that followed helped delegates to learn simple expressions including names of family members and animals. A short quiz with 10 questions provided opportunities for the students to respond in the chat. They progressed into a discussion about their friends, their qualities and how to identify a good friend from a toxic friend. The delegates implemented all the concepts learnt into a Booklet Game where they had to answer questions and win points.

They also participated in two other quizzes based on their learnings which helped them expand their vocabulary and revise old and important concepts. They concluded the session by expressing some of their experiences with their families and friends in French. Helping the delegates revisit their prior learning in French, this segment was an enriching experience through which the delegates had an opportunity to interact with French speaking students across the globe, giving them a better understanding of the language and structure, which additionally helped improve their language fluency winning accolades for DAIS.

They also participated in two other quizzes based on their learnings which helped them expand their vocabulary and revise old and important concepts. They concluded the session by expressing some of their experiences with their families and friends in French. Helping the delegates revisit their prior learning in French, this segment was an enriching experience through which the delegates had an opportunity to interact with French speaking students across the globe, giving them a better understanding of the language and structure, which additionally helped improve their language fluency winning accolades for DAIS.

They also participated in two other quizzes based on their learnings which helped them expand their vocabulary and revise old and important concepts. They concluded the session by expressing some of their experiences with their families and friends in French. Helping the delegates revisit their prior learning in French, this segment was an enriching experience through which the delegates had an opportunity to interact with French speaking students across the globe, giving them a better understanding of the language and structure, which additionally helped improve their language fluency winning accolades for DAIS.

OUR REFLECTIONS

The French Language Lab was truly an enriching experience as I gained the opportunity to interact with peers from all over the world and learned more about Switzerland. I enjoyed speaking in French and playing the fun interactive games and activities organised by our hosts. Looking forward to participating in more such Round Square Collaborations and events! - Ishaan Surve

The French Language Lab was extremely well-organised and a great medium for interacting with students from different countries. It was a thorough revision for basic French concepts via games played, which made the whole experience much more engaging. We also got to learn a bit about Switzerland and the host school: Inter-Community School, Zurich. It was a wonderful experience which I will always look forward to!! - Anirudh Bhat

The French Language Lab organised by Inter Community School - Zurich (ICSZ) allowed me to practise some simple French vocabulary through games with delegates across India and the world. I also learnt a lot about Swiss culture and geography and noticed that there are French speakers across the world including regions in Africa, Southeast Asia and even in Indian states like Manipur, Haryana, etc. - Sudarshan Manikantan

The French Language Lab was indeed a unique experience, we interacted with a variety of French Speakers from across the world. The Inter Community School - Zurich (ICSZ) organised interactive activities for us to engage in making the overall experience fantastic. The event was well organised, giving everyone an opportunity to showcase their ideas, the recapped previous concepts we learnt in the past and expanded our vocabulary, we even got a little insight to Swiss Culture through a quiz, and we even got an introduction to their school and other Francophone countries. It gave us a better understanding of the language and structure especially when speaking, it also helped me improve my fluency in the language. It was an overall stellar experience. - Saanvie Seth

The French Language Lab was a new and greatly educational experience that allowed us to practise our French speaking skills and get a chance to interact with French speakers from around the world. It served as a great boost of confidence and allowed us to learn a lot about the language, as well as facts about Switzerland. It was excellently organised by the host, The Inter Community School - Zurich, and made the learning fun and interactive via the use of quizzes in Kahoot and Blooket. - Rihaan Sodhani

Round Square has always been a collaborative platform for us to connect with a diverse variety of people across schools and countries and the French Language Lab lived up to this. From the interactive activities arranged to the information on other countries we learned, everyone truly had an enriching experience. Despite the wide participation, the host school was able to manage the event well and made sure everyone got an opportunity to speak and share their thoughts (in French). We were engrossed in every activity planned - the quizzes, interactive questions and games. As students of DAIS, we were able to connect well with students from across the world in French and understand their perspectives. Overall, we truly enjoyed the event and hope to attend more in the future! - Sharmila Ranganathan

DAIS Student delegates: Ishaan Surve, Anirudh Bhat, Sudarshan Manikantan, Saanvie Seth, Rihaan Sodhani and Sharmila Ranganathan.

DAIS Adult delegate: Ms. Sanika Vaze

Bringing the children of the world with music and melody.

DAIS students along with their Western Music teachers joined hands to collaborate virtually in a unique music collaboration – WORLD MUSIC MONTAGE hosted by Mayo College Ajmer, in September 2023. The collaboration aimed to capture the true essence of ‘UNITY IN DIVERSITY’, across cultures around the globe; fostering an ethos of global comradery by planting the seeds of co-existence among the youth who would hold the reins of the future world. Perfectly resonating with the Indian philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - One Earth - One Family and One Future, this unique endeavour is an attempt to traverse beyond the boundaries, bringing the world together through one melody and one emotion through the song – “I'd like to teach the world to sing”.

As the delegates rehearsed the song to perfect their musical notes, they also gained an insight into the technical aspects of music recordings with the use of a green screen.

DAIS delegates chose to record the melodious version of the song, representing their home state of Maharashtra. The backdrop of the recording of DAIS song showcases the WARLI paintings, which symbolises the animistic beliefs, life, customs and traditions of an indigenous tribe of western India, living in mountainous as well as coastal areas along the border of Maharashtra.

DAIS Delegates:

Grade 6 - Divisha Khandelwal, Vidyut Sundar and Devika Joshi, Grade 7 - Hridaya Sharma, Ria Subramanian, and Athira Asokan, Grade 8A – Sudarshan Manikantan and Grade 9A – Anoushka Tandon.

DAIS Teachers:

Mr. Prabhakar Sharma & Ms. Manali Sharma.

The Round Square virtual conference ‘Democracy: The Power of Stories’, hosted by Riverdale Country School, New York, on 5th May, was attended by five DAIS students from grade 7. The theme of the conference –, aimed to explore how democracy is followed in different schools around the world.

The Conference started with the Host school sharing a PPT on how Democracy was followed at Riverdale Country School. Following this, the host school shared with the delegates the experience of their Storytelling Club, which used stories to discuss the problems faced around the world and brainstormed on proposing sustainable solutions to resolve world problems.

Next, the participating delegates shared their Pre tasks to highlight practice of Democracy in their respective schools. Everyone was invited to share their pre tasks. DAIS delegates shared their Pre task representing the Democracy as student voices at DAIS proudly.

This was followed by an inspiring keynote speech by Ms. Ophelia Watahomigie-Corliss, a member of the Havasupai Tribe who addressed the delegates online from her village located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

She shared with the students how she was working to bring broadband internet access to her people, without which, children were disadvantaged in their education and basic services like healthcare and security denied to the village.

In the breakout rooms delegates discussed on some questions related to the keynote speech.

The next keynote speaker, Ms. Antoinette Quarshie shared her experience of growing up in four different countries and her learnings from her experience of different places and cultures from South Africa to Afghanistan, and from Kenya, to Botswana, to her local Bronx and New York communities. Her personal experience of teaching students all around the world gave the delegates an insight into how education could be different in various parts of the world. In the succeeding breakout room, the delegates discussed different questions in relation to the keynote speakers’ stories.

Besides being a fun filled learning experience, the Conference enabled the delegates introspect the fact that they were far privileged compared to other children, their age, across the globe. Their school was just a few miles away from their homes in contrast to other students who needed to leave their country in pursuit of education. They appreciated the opportunities made available at DAIS that help them develop their overall personalities. The participation in this Conference provided a unique opportunity for the delegates to learn about diverse students, cultures, and perspectives, thus reinforcing the Round Square IDEALS.

DAIS Student Delegates:

Atharv Agarwal, Riaan Mehta, Rishab Tiwari, Jai Sachdeva and Devaryaa Makhijaa

DAIS Adult Delegate:

Ms. Sunita Nath

On 29th April 2022, Birla Public School, Pilani, hosted a Round Square Collaboration – ‘MATHEMENTS: How Math is involved in the construction of monuments?’ Delegates from 22 schools with around 150 delegates across grades 6 - 8 participated in the event, including a six-student delegation from Dhirubhai Ambani International School. The goal of the event was to identify the concepts of mathematics used in ancient and modern monuments. The session included two keynote speeches, baraza sessions and presentations by each participating school.

Prior to the main event, all schools had to send their ‘Pre-Task’ – shared in the form of a PPT, to understand the application of math in monuments. DAIS delegates chose to explore one of the most popular forts in Maharashtra - the majestic fort of Raigad, known for its historical significance and the rich culture of the Marathas. They learnt about strategic location of the Raigad fort, nested on a steep vertical rock face, with a layout that makes it almost impossible to enter the fort through the surrounding rocky terrain making it one of the safest places in the Maharaj Shivaji’s kingdom.

The two keynote speakers of the event, Mr. Vikramjit Singh Rooprai and Ms. Preety Tripathi, inspired the delegates to delve deeper into the world of Mathematics while helping the delegates get an advanced view on the theme of the event. The keynote speakers connected Indian history and monuments with mathematics in creative ways.

For the main meeting, every school was allocated three different regions, to choose a monument from each region and explore the Math related to that structure. DAIS delegates were allocated Delhi, Germany, and Russia and they made their presentations on Jantar Mantar from Delhi in India; Glory of Soviet Science from Voronezh, Russia; and the Allianz Arena of Munich, Germany.

It was a rare and wonderful experience for the DAIS delegates to reflect on the use of math in around 60 different monuments around the world which were presented by the other participating school delegations. These enabled the delegates gain a unique perspective on how medieval humans used mathematics extensively in the monuments they built. They were provided an insight on the use of complicated mathematical and architectural equations like the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci Sequence which were often used extensively in the most famous monuments known today.

‘MATHEMENTS’ helped the DAIS delegates identifying so many more monuments around the world as they wondered on the connection of mathematics seen in each one. As quoted by the participants, “Everything we have learned today will certainly help us later in life, especially in careers choices that include different aspects of mathematics, as well as aesthetics”.

Our Reflections:

MATHEMENTS was an excellent opportunity for me to interact with other schools. – Kavya Mangal.

I loved meeting new people. Preparing for the event was even more fun. – Iknoor Gill.

This event made me look at Math in a new way. – Neil Agarwal.

I got to learn about the hidden Mathematics in Architecture! – Shourya Thakkar

I learned about other cultures and monuments and even developed my public speaking skills. – Sohrab Daver.

I got to listen to people’s perspectives on Mathematics. – Samay Gulzar Sandhu.

DAIS Student Delegates: Sohrab Daver, Neil Agrawal, Samay Gulzar Sandhu, Iknoor Gill and Kavya Mangal.

DAIS Teacher Delegates: Ms. Bharathi Shinde

On 8th June 2022, seven delegates from grade 7 represented DAIS at a Round Square virtual Conference, “Our Environment: A Responsible Legacy”, hosted by Newcastle Grammar School, Australia. With thought provoking discussions and activities focussed on the local changes one person does to create global impacts, the Conference aimed to build students’ commitment and ambition to act in ways that leave a positive environmental legacy for the future.

The conference started off with the host school introducing themselves and their concerns related to environmental issues. Next, the delegates transitioned into Baraza rooms where they participated in discussions on the icebreaker questions. The baraza groups also shared their school wise Conference Pre task – to discuss the most important environmental initiatives local of them, which have a connection to global challenges and share the collage of images that represent these initiatives and challenges. The baraza hosts also initiated reflections on the pre tasks shared by the different schools.

Back into the main meeting, the delegates interacted with the Keynote Speaker, Cherry Sung, a winner of the 2020 Global Social Leaders Global Goals Competition, one of the 2021 International Young Eco Heroes, a youth environmentalist activist from South Korea.

Cherry is a founder of ‘Greener is Cleaner’, a youth-led organization fuelled by "people-power" that leads by example to empower youth worldwide to act for the environment and thus their futures. In her speech, Cherry highlighted the problems and causes of the unpredictable eco-system issues. The delegates shared their reflections on the speech in their second baraza session.

The next key-note speech in the main meeting focussed on the need to spread awareness about environmental challenges and recognize the potential of the youth in making changes in relation to the environmental problems.

In the baraza session that followed the delegates shared with each other the changes they could make to their environments. In the final segment, the baraza groups shared their learnings in the main meeting before bidding goodbyes to all.

As quoted by the DAIS delegates, “This conference was an amazing experience with an opportunity to understand the global environmental issues, to spread awareness and implement small changes that would create big impacts!

DAIS Student Delegates: Shloka Choudhary, Siddhant Mehendale, Sanaya Chadha, Ayanna Vazirani Arishka Betadpur and Sohum Anand.

DAIS Teacher Delegates: Ms. Sushila Victor

On Thursday 8th September the Indian High School, Dubai hosted a Symposium for World Literacy Day exploring the effect and impact language has on our culture. 5 DAIS delegates- Kavya Sinha, Meher Mathur, Aanya Shah, Ria Chawla and Kcavyan Agarwal studying three different second languages - French, Spanish and Hindi – attended the symposium to share their insights and experiences through these languages and the impact it has had on understanding culture and origins.

The keynote address by Dr. Mansoor Al Obeidli, a physician, actor, and entrepreneur, was a segment which highlighted the obstacles we can overcome through languages. Speaking to someone in their own language, he believes, creates a personal connection, and has a significant impact because it makes them feel important and impressed. Moreover, we also understand how learning a language can make you more helpful and inspire others to lend a hand.

There were various Baraza sessions, each representing a language, Latin, Telugu, Hebrew, Sanskrit and Greek. The leaders in each room organized a multitude of engaging activities that imparted knowledge regarding the diversity of languages around the globe, such as kahoot quizzes and languages guessing games based on diction and script, which were followed by profound discussions amongst the delegates.

A great way to get us into the spirit of talking about our languages was the Pre-task. Each of the delegates got to present their given language and it was a great way to learn something new. Along with that, multiple discussions on topics like 'Are languages a barrier or a bridge?' encouraged us to put forward our views and perspectives, encouraging us to pursue Languages in the long run.

To conclude, the conference broadened the horizons of our perspectives as we heard from a multilingual keynote speaker, discussed the significance and uniqueness of languages, explored the nuances and distinctive features of certain languages and brought to light as a community how literacy around the world and communication through languages intersect in the most crucial of ways.

On 18th November, a team of eight DAIS students from grades 7 and 8 took participated in a Drama Event hosted by Hyderabad Public School.

The event started with inspiring words from the keynote speaker, Miss Sowmya Ram H, who spoke about the Covid-19 pandemic being an opportunity in disguise because it promotes essential skills like video editing and collaboration on the online platform. The DAIS delegates, along with senior leaders, created their musical virtually in which delegates recorded their dialogues individually before putting all their clips together to ensure the final product was one seamless video. The team spent the month before the event gearing up to produce an original musical spanning over 20 minutes through an online platform. The DAIS musical was a modernized adaptation of the Pied Piper which suggested the optimal manner to use social media.

Then the curtains were raised for performances. The students were in awe at the incredible performances put up by participating schools - a re-enactment of the Mahabharata, an adaptation of The Invisible Man, and more! They witnessed plays in different genres and saw values and morals highlighted in every piece.

Finally, DAIS team presented their play - 'Pied Piper and the tunes of Social Media', a twist of the original tale, with Pied Piper trapped into the enchanting tunes of social media.

Highlighting the reasons as to why one shouldn’t fall prey to the enticing lures of social media, the DAIS musical received a lot of positive feedback and much appreciation for its originality and the relevance of its theme in today’s context.

Then the curtains were raised for performances. The students were in awe at the incredible performances put up by participating schools - a re-enactment of the Mahabharata, an adaptation of The Invisible Man, and more! They witnessed plays in different genres and saw values and morals highlighted in every piece.

Next, the delegates eagerly joined the Barazas - namely ’Roll’, ’Camera’ and ’Action’ - where they engaged in insightful and exciting discussions. There the themes of all the performed plays were discussed and delegates shared their perspectives on the different plays enacted. In ‘Roll’, the discussion revolved around the usage of social media and Indian epics. In the Baraza ‘Camera’, the morality of Yudhistara's gambling in the Mahabharata was broached upon. While the Baraza, ‘Action’, deliberated upon the differences between creating YouTube videos and their plays.

The second day was equally as enriching. The first play discussed gave the participants an insight on the traditions that depicted the true meaning of Halloween, and the delegates discovered the reason it came to be. The discussion led to an exchange of cultures, fulfilling the underlying goal of the Round Square events. Next in line was a play covering the theme ‘Ambitions.’ The play was not only fun to watch but it also made the audience ponder on the true nature of one’s ambitions. Discussions in the Barazas were thought-provoking as the delegates shared their own ambitions and thought about the actions they would hypothetically carry out as a fairy who could grant wishes. They also discussed many more interesting questions that were raised during the interactions.

The Host school themselves presented the tale of the brilliant scholar and thinker, Tenali Raman. They included some amazing sound effects and songs making it a delight to watch. Following this, an interesting discussion took place about attitudes and ego, in regard to the quote ‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind.’ The delegates talked about how humans are imperfect using the ministers’ behaviour towards Tenali in the play as an example and pondered on what could have possibly caused them to be so bitter towards him.

Points to Ponder about the Baraza sessions:

1. The Baraza sessions were open discussions, and everyone shared their inputs and ideas. These interactions helped me contribute my thoughts as well.
2. The plays were on a vast range of topics, and it was interesting to note the true meaning behind the skits as shared by the participating delegates.
3. The Baraza sessions especially taught us how to express ourselves more efficiently.
4. It was a great opportunity to interact with everyone and it was real fun listening to how other delegates learnt drama in their own schools and about the challenges they overcame while performing their play. We expressed our views on the different plays enacted and got to interact with different people.
5. Each person had their own opinions and perspectives which sometimes caused controversy but also taught us to agree to disagree. With various questions posed by the Baraza leaders, we contemplated, and shared our thoughts on certain problems that are prevalent in society today.
6. The Baraza sessions had a fun environment and allowed us to express our opinions, ponder upon questions, solve problems, experience incidences in another's life, as well as understand the viewpoints of other delegates.

The learning’s and reflections of the DAIS delegates were as follows:

This event was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed interacting with so many people. The plays were on a vast range of topics and seeing everyone's different take on the true meaning behind the skits, as well as receiving their inputs and thoughts was something I found most interesting. Seeing everyone make optimum use of the online platform and put-up intriguing skits was a delight. I am glad I got the opportunity to be a part of this Round Square event! – Aryahi Agarwal

I found the conference to be very enriching. I saw several plays which utilized different techniques and spoke of different themes while at the same time being light-hearted, humorous, and dramatic as the needs were. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable experience. – Ishaan Surve

This round square was an enriching experience and helped develop real world skills, such as public speaking and quick thinking. I learnt a lot about the effort that goes into making a play and all the behind-the-scenes processes, be it scripting, casting or costumes. All the presentations taught me about culture, heritage, or life in general while also making me laugh with the brilliant comedic elements. Overall, this was a fantastic experience that helped us make amazing memories. – Riddimma Sampat

Participating in a Round Square event for the first time helped me develop a sense of leadership and responsibility. The Drama event was a unique way of exposing us to the Round square fundamentals portrayed through the various segments of the event. - Ayaan Shah

Nouveau Media Art Meet-2021 was an event co-hosted by the Welham Boys School and the Welham Boys School, Dehradun from 18th September to 2nd October 2021. The theme was “Moving Mirrors”- New Art in New Normal. 113 delegates from across 5 countries- India, South America, Bangladesh, Oman and Pakistan attended this event.

The event was kick started by creating a piece of art based on the theme using any medium of our choice. This compelled delegates to explore their thoughts on the theme of the conference and represent their interpretation of it. This was followed by key note speeches by Professor Aftab Gharda and Shudrabrata Sengupta, the Keynote Speakers, gave a insight into New Media Art. Delegates had an opportunity of interacting with them and enhance their understanding of the art form. The overall experience was very informative, and the most significant was the use of new technology to create the most impactful and meaningful art pieces like “Opus” and “Hollowgram”.

Next, delegates were divided into baraza groups where they had a few ice-breaking activities to encourage engagement and stimulate collaboration. They were further divided into sub-teams, and over the course of the next 2 days each team worked on a collaborative project revolving around the theme, “Moving Mirrors”, using digital art.

Once again the delegates had the opportunity to discuss and interact with renowned artists, art critics and art educators who provided an overall feedback on the work submitted. The most intriguing part for most delegates was the discussion on the definition of art. The delegates realised that there is not just one definition of art and any creative, interpretive, original work can be defined as art.

The delegates presented their art work in the Baraza sessions. It was astonishing to see the imagination, skill, and perspectives in each of the different interpretations of the theme. Collectively they witnessed incredible projects and interacted with extremely creative prospective artists. What was most striking was how each group had communicated with students across the globe, from different cultures, with various judgements to create a marvellous piece. Every artwork was a culmination of cohesive effort and diversity. The conference ended with Baraza groups presenting their reflection statements.

Overall Reflection:

Through our journey, we learnt to see the power of Art to usher a change for a better tomorrow. The conference stimulated greater creativity & imagination for each and every one of the participants. It inculcated finer aesthetic sensibility and we acquired knowledge on Post-modern Art and cultures of the world while exploring New Media Art.

Individual Reflections: 
Sharav Jiwrajka: “It was a very insightful and engaging experience as I was exposed to an array of cultural artworks. I am grateful for my art teacher, Mr Puranik who helped us majorly in making our work. I am looking forward to more such experiences in the future.”

Aarna Sanghai:
The conference was an extremely insightful experience. Augmenting our creativity and knowledge on New Media Art, we got the opportunity to collaborate with students from across the globe. I really enjoyed the conference and hope to be a part of many more art round square events in the future.

On 9th October 2021, 6 delegates from Grade 10 of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School participated in the World Mental Health Day Collaboration, jointly hosted by The Doon School and The British Overseas School. The theme of the conference was “Mental Health in an Unequal World” and over 250 delegates from across the world attended it including delegates from schools in South Asia and the Gulf Region, such as Bangladesh, the UAE, Oman, and India, among others.

The conference began with speeches from the headmasters of both the hosting schools – Dr. Jagpreet Singh (The Doon School) and Dr. Andrew Williams (The British Overseas School). After this – the delegates were divided into smaller Barazza groups to share their perspective on the topic of Mental Health.

Each Barazza had a unique name and subjects of the discussion were centred around the very name of the groups. Groups included “Mind or Marathon”, “Mending Mindsets”, “Constitutional Wellbeing” and many more. Several other topics of discussion in the Barazza sessions included fascinating subjects such as the impact of genetics and discrimination on Mental Health, the importance of mental health vis-a-vis physical health, etc.

This was followed by the keynote speaker – Dr. Kimberly Kendall – an academic psychiatrist. Dr. Kendall helped all the delegates of the conference in identifying specific parts of the large problem of mental health, different kinds of mental illnesses and their effects, defining key terms relating to mental health including schizophrenia, mental wellbeing, anxiety, etc.

The delegates then returned to their Baraza groups and were given the task to come up with resolutions to the problems relating to mental health. After concluding the discussions – each Baraza prepared a presentation to display the main points of the discussion and came up with a resolution to an aspect of mental health. This was presented in front of all the other Baraza groups and gave the delegates a chance to learn about different solutions on the common problem of mental health.

All in all, the conference opened up the mental pathways for the delegates as they were exposed to discussions and debates that sparked questions about mental wellness and growth. The conference was very enriching, and it was a memorable learning experience for our delegates.

DAIS Delegates: Trisha Karmakar, Annika Cerejo, Sumeir Walia, Suhani Choudhry, Daya Ravi, Hrishita Shah. Accompanying adult: Ms Ruhi Vakil

On the 2nd of October, Vrinda Das and Ananya Sachdev of Grade 12 participated in a Girls’ Leadership Summit hosted by Roedean School, South Africa. This hosted with and aim to discuss the third sustainable development goal - Good health and wellbeing. The theme of the summit was - Role of leaders in shaping whole human beings with a focus on mental health. Vrinda and Ananya were part of a Youth Leaders in Conversation panel discussion, where 4 young girls from around the world unpacked the quote “Every generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it”. The conversation circled around the 6 Round Square ideals, and the girls discussed the leadership challenges of their generation and how they have found expression in each of their schools.

As part of the panel, Vrinda and Ananya commented on the ‘Environment’ IDEAL, discussing school social environments and how they have adapted to provide adequate mental health support to students in the midst of the Pandemic. They were also asked about the Leadership IDEAL within school environments and the work they could do to improve support to facilitate these issues. To these questions they had insightful answers which discussed the policies within their school, what is working for the students here, how mental health can be given more visibility and what can be improved. They were also asked to comment on the quote ‘there is more in you than you think’ by Kurt Hahn in terms of school leadership and were further able to exemplify the important work they have done in this field within school to facilitate more open conversations on mental health and leadership. Hearing insights from other students from Australia and South Africa was also very enlightening for these two students and gave them a global platform to share best practices and learn more about one another. All in all, through the course of the summit, Ananya and Vrinda were able to learn a lot more about women in leadership, mental health and how they can be leaders and mental health advocates in their environments.

As part of the panel, Vrinda and Ananya commented on the ‘Environment’ IDEAL, discussing school social environments and how they have adapted to provide adequate mental health support to students in the midst of the Pandemic. They were also asked about the Leadership IDEAL within school environments and the work they could do to improve support to facilitate these issues. To these questions they had insightful answers which discussed the policies within their school, what is working for the students here, how mental health can be given more visibility and what can be improved. They were also asked to comment on the quote ‘there is more in you than you think’ by Kurt Hahn in terms of school leadership and were further able to exemplify the important work they have done in this field within school to facilitate more open conversations on mental health and leadership. Hearing insights from other students from Australia and South Africa was also very enlightening for these two students and gave them a global platform to share best practices and learn more about one another. All in all, through the course of the summit, Ananya and Vrinda were able to learn a lot more about women in leadership, mental health and how they can be leaders and mental health advocates in their environments.

With the advent of the corona virus, the mechanism of world economy changed dramatically. Genesis Global School from Delhi, India hosted a 90-minute Round Square postcard titled ‘Dynamics of World Economics in 2020’. Here, we discussed the changes the world has undergone in the past 17 months, along with the policies implemented to battle them, particular to our countries of residence. We aimed to discuss the differences in the policies with respect to the countries, followed by analysing, evaluating, and debating them. The participants were students aged 16 to 18 from countries, such as India, United States of America, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, Japan, etc. Representing Dhirubhai Ambani International School were students from Grade 11 and 12.

Research and Presentation:

As a pre task, all participant schools were to prepare a two-slide presentation on the impact of COVID-19 on their country’s economy and the consequential policies taken by the government. This presentation was an opportunity to utilise our research skills and we were able to gain practical insight into the nuances of fiscal and monetary policies. The research undertaken for the conference helped us understand the wide extent of industries and stakeholders the pandemic had an impact on. Learning about the responses of different governments to minimize the adverse effect of the pandemic stimulated us to evaluate the efficacy of the policies implemented by the Indian government and the rest of the world.

Opening Ceremony

During the opening ceremony, Ms. Malini Sharma gave an extremely informative and analytical speech on the impact of the pandemic on the global economy, describing the two-fold crisis—health and economic—the supply and demand shock, the geo-political trend of de-globalisation and the measures to continue sustained economic activity. She also described the boost in online trade, shift away from global supply chains, and impact on the labour force participation rate of women due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Baraza group:

In the Baraza groups, we began with a short ice-breaker session to get to know the others and our Baraza leader much better. We, then, moved onto in-depth discussions of how the governments responded to the downturn caused by the pandemic, where each participant presented their research.

Presenting and discussing the policies with citizens of countries from Colombia to the United States allowed us to see the real-world impact of these policies, not just its academic evaluations, and gain perspective. Moreover, there was interesting debate about the correct approach to dealing with a recession, whether using fiscal, monetary or supply-side policies was the better choice, and how governments should effectively implement them.

We also concurrently discussed the different ways in which the pandemic impacted people from different sections of society; the discussion ended with all of us talking about whether or not nations should invest more heavily in stabilizing their economy, or prioritizing human welfare (imposition of lockdowns, etc).

In conclusion, the Round Square postcard was a unique opportunity of exposure to different students, cultures, and, hence, points of view on the economic impacts of and policies for the COVID-19 pandemic – the most significant world event of our lifetime.

Reflections:

“The conference provided an interesting window to explore the practical reality of the policies we learn about in class.” - Sidharth Wagle

“This was an extremely productive experience that provided me with different insights from a diverse group of students” - Mira Dasgupta

“The conference helped me widen my perspective on different nations’ economies and introduced me to many new individuals from across the world.” - Ahaan Jindal

Delegates:

Ahaan Jindal, Sidharth Wagle, Vivaan Singh, Manthan Rao, Arav Dalwani, Mira Dasgupta

Accompanying Teacher:

Ms Rashmi Baruah

Brief:

On 11th September, 2021, a few delegates from Dhirubhai Ambani international school represented the school at Daly college international for a virtual conference on the topic ‘democracy or DeMocracy’ in the evening. The conference had multiple keynote speakers, exciting activities and enthralling videos planned for us. It was an eye opening conference that enlightened and explained to me the vital points regarding our nation’s democracy.

Introduction:

It started off with an introductory video of the Daly college, showing what the college stands for and it’s various different aspects. It made us get more familiar with the whole setup.

After the video, the principal of the college, Mr.Neeraj Bedhotiya gave an introductory speech and described the topic for the conference. He spoke about what he expects the delegates to do and what we will take away from this conference.

First keynote speaker

After the introductory speech, the first keynote speaker, Mr.Javed Ansari, a senior journalist from Delhi working for India Today was introduced. He expressed his views on the current Indian journalism set up, the problems he faced and solutions he found and the current democracy setup in our country, how it is not perfect and how there is a disconnect between politicians and people of our country.

He feels social media is doing more damage than good and supported this statement with a personal experience when he interviewed Rahul Gandhi and an edited video circulating throughout the country reached him.

He also spoke about his experience in Pakistan when the Pakistani reporters asked him what happens to a leader after losing the election, which was very well replied by Mr. Ansari by stating that their leaders don’t get banned after losing, unlike some other countries.

There were a lot more issues he covered in the question answer session, how the youth today can dominate politics tomorrow, how we can look at the past records of a leader and think a lot before making a decision, the emerging issues of minorities submission in Afghanistan, dying democracy of India and a lot more. It was a very informative and educational session.

Baraza group:

After his speech, we were put in different bazara groups where we first introduced ourselves to each other and then proceeded on to an enthralling activity. We were given 6 different candidates and their resumes and we had to decide whom we would choose to be the next leader of our country. The decision needed a lot of thinking as there were a lot of cons and pros in each candidate present and a rushed decision could not be made. After being given some time, we started giving our answers and gave a justification as well on why we thought the chosen candidate was suited to lead our nation. This led to a lot of debates, discussions, arguments and question-answers which eventually helped us understand how all candidates were correct if looked a certain way. This activity showed the different perspectives and answers that people have for the same question.

Second Keynote Speaker:

After the bazara session, we came back to the main meeting where the prestigious second keynote speaker, Mr. Pushyamitra Bhargav was introduced. He is a senior and well known advocate in the Madhya Pradesh high court. His speech revolved around how democracy in India can still survive and what role the citizens play in it. Demonstrated his views on political parties and the propaganda they have, through the judicial eye. His speech gave me a new outlook and showed a different stance on our democratic set up.

Conclusion:

Overall, the conference was a completely worth it experience. The details covered helped us understand the issues and benefits in our country’s democracy and how we should have a sense of responsibility towards our country’s future. I was honoured to be a part of this prestigious and overwhelming conference and would like to thank all the teachers on behalf of our team.

Delegates:

Sahil Jaiswal, Diya Hebbar, Manan Maheshwari, Bhavesh Agarwal, Arishta Goel, and Rihaan Bhansali

On 13th and 14th June 2021, 8 delegates from Grade 10 of Dhirubhai Ambani International School attended a 2-day Round Square collaborative conclave titled ‘The Art of Growing Up,’ hosted by The Millennium School, Dubai. The conclave aimed to discuss and encourage a positive approach to mental health, featuring over 300 delegates from schools in South Asia and the Gulf Region, such as Bangladesh, the UAE, and India, among others.

Day 1

The first day began with leaders from the host school addressing the participants, followed by the first Keynote Speaker – Mr Patrick Ehler – who conducted a workshop on ‘Emotional Intelligence.’ Delegates were made to reflect on school life, participate in meditation exercises and given insights on how to be calm in challenging situations. This was followed by a session with Ms Gulshan Kavarana, who briefed delegates on the importance of sign language. She taught delegates to sign letters, numbers and colours in the American Sign Language.

Delegates were then split into their respective baraza groups, wherein the discussion was centred around the very names of the groups chosen. Groups included Optimism, Resilience, Communication, Gratitude, Motivation etc. Discussions allowed delegates to open up about challenges and brought about a sense of comfort and community by seeing that everyone else felt the same way as well. Baraza groups expressed their views through poems, songs, videos, posters, or even multi-media formats in the main meeting.

As a post-conclave submission, baraza groups collaborated to make a wellness journal in any format they preferred.After the conclave, these journals were distributed to all delegates and consisted of their learnings, advice, and discussions through a chosen medium.

Day 2:

The second and final day of the conclave commenced with the second Keynote Speaker – Dr Gilda Scarfe – who spoke to the delegates on ‘Finding Your Purpose.’ She elaborated on regulating emotions, preparing for growth and unpredictability while reflecting on her observations from the previous day.

Delegates were sent into breakout rooms to “connect with their inner selves” through different elements of wellness workshops, including Body Positivity, Time Management, Vegan Bistro, Baking, Storytelling etc. Through activities and discussions, delegates understood the importance of incorporating their respective elements for wellness.

The final speaker was Mr Gaurav Kapur, a television presenter and sports commentator. He briefed the delegates on his journey and addressed questions on hardships, setbacks and his coping mechanisms for failure.

All in all, the conclave opened up the mental pathways for the delegates as they were exposed to discussions and debates that sparked questions about mental wellness and growth.

Delegation: Aisha Patel, Ahaan Jindal, Anavi Kaul, Arjun Asudani, Dhruv Bhalla, Rhiaan Shah, Kshitig Seth, Vivaan Turakhia accompanied by Ms. Vasundhara Sanghi.

With the increasing involvement of automation and AI in various fields, Paradis International College in Romania hosted an online Round Square Conference - “Future Insights: A Propulsion into the Future of Jobs”. The three hour conference aimed at discussing the future of jobs, sharing information on jobs that may not exist in the future, new jobs that might get created, and new skill sets needed for jobs in the future. The conference for students aged 15-17 was attended by participants from 29 schools in 13 countries representing Argentina, Rwanda, South Africa, Colombia, India, Dubai, Ghana, Tanzania, Peru, Canada, Australia, Thailand and Oman. Every participant provided a unique insight into the key discussions.

After introducing the agenda of the conference, students of the host school gave the attendees a virtual tour of their school, campus, sharing their culture and values. Subsequently, they presented a report on the future of jobs based on their research into this topic. Many important points were brought up in this preliminary presentation itself.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Adrian Stoica, from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, provided insights into changes in Space Science by sharing his personal experiences on applications of changing technology. In addition, a Q&A session was conducted in which attendees could ask Mr. Stoica questions about the future of jobs and on his presentation in particular. This questioning helped all attendees further explore the agenda and provided valuable insights into future careers for the student participants.

Mrs. Anurupa Ganguly, the founding CEO of Prisms VR, gave a presentation on the future of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in the context of jobs and education in particular. This allowed students to better understand the future of education, as well as the possibility of working in the field of VR and/or AR. After this presentation, in the Q&A session, Mrs. Ganguly elaborated on the role of technology in education.

Participants had interactive sessions in breakout rooms with introductory icebreakers and discussions on the main questions of the agenda on a more individual scale. They were engaged in games designed to evoke interesting questions about the agenda that they could then later discuss. Each breakout room collated responses on questions like “What jobs would be most useful in an apocalyptic scenario?” and “What jobs do you want to have in the future?” Each participant would share their input on the question, and often a friendly debate would break out among two or more participants, which helped the breakout group develop greater insight into the current question.

Overall, it was a very enriching experience and exposed the participants to several interesting questions to reflect on regarding the future of jobs.

“The conference was on a very interesting and relevant topic. The discussions were illuminating and the games made the experience fun and supper interactive!”

“The conference was an enlightening experience that featured passionate discussion and interesting questions.” - Sidharth Wagle

“Evolution of jobs is a pertinent global and local issue in our time. Listening to keynote speakers and discussing this theme with like minded individuals was a highly enriching experience for me.” - Aditya Bhargava

“I enjoyed the stimulating and thought-provoking discussion on how human, industrial, creative and technological elements will transform our future.” - Tanmay Arvind

Delegates: 
Tamanna Sanghvi, Sidharth Wagle, Aditya Bhargava, Tanmay Arvind

Accompanying Teacher: Ms. Nitika Thakur

Hosted by The Athenian School, Markham College, San Silvestre School and Chadwick School on the 29th of May, “Finding Common Ground” was a virtual Round Square Conference revolving around the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion. The conference included student and teacher participants from over 30 schools across the globe, all coming together from different backgrounds and cultures to learn how to have healthy debate about controversial topics in today’s world. We attended presentations on the role of empathy, humility, conscience and principled advocacy in achieving civil discourse. We would go on to discuss the same with students from other schools and learn to have robust debate to truly embrace the idea of finding a common ground.

Our time during the conference was divided between interactions in the main session that introduced us to concepts and ideas that we further discussed in baraza groups.

In our first interaction in the main session, after the introductions, various delegations from cultures all over the world discussed problems that they saw around them. This included issues such as gender discrimination, wealth gaps, the increase in the use of AI, effects of industrialisation, unsustainable development and child labour. While the problems discussed didn’t come as too much of a surprise to us, it was the extent of these different problems in independent cultures that left us thinking of how the concept of ‘common ground’ can be applied globally.

Our second session in the main meeting was the keynote speech. Given by Mr. Kalyan Ali Balavenv JD, the outgoing Director of Teaching and Learning at The Athenian School, and founder of The Inclusion Dashboard Consortium. The keynote speech took the form of a gripping story that found its way through projects on democracy, stories from Turkish culture, the whole student, cultural competence and the story of Kurt Hahn. The speech concluded with Mr. Kalyan revealing to us the secret ingredient of empathy and how it plays not only into civil discourse but also into our role as change makers tomorrow. The third main interaction was a content-based session where we learnt the key elements of having successful and respectful civil discourse including empathy, humility, conscience and principled advocacy. Our fourth and last session together was spent on a fun Kahoot! that tested our Round Square trivia and learnings from all our interaction.

In the barazas sessions, we started off with playing icebreakers to get to know other students in the group. Post the keynote speech, we returned to our barazas and discussed the speech as well as how we can implement empathy in our daily lives. The discussion really helped us understand the power of simple acts of empathy and how these can instantly uplift a person’s spirits. Our third session in the barazas focused on implementing the elements of fruitful civil discourse that were introduced to us in the main session. Actually, practicing civil discourse was an exciting opportunity that left us with perspectives and ideas we had never thought of before.

In conclusion, we were very grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this virtual conference. We not only learnt the skills of civil discourse but also got to interact with students from other cultures. We gained an insightful understanding of the world around us and learnt how although we may have differing opinions, we can always work together to reach common ground.

“Attending this conference helped me learn the skills to successfully and respectfully have conversations about sensitive topics.” - Sriya Bodapati, student participant

“Fruitful baraza discussions and an eye-opening keynote speech made it an enriching experience!” - Devika Kothari, student participant

DAIS students from grade 9, participated in 'Mental Health Matters', a Round Square discussion organized by the Belgrano Day School in Argentina on June 14th. The organisers implemented various ingenious approaches to quintessentially highlight participants' perspectives on mental health, using word clouds and discussions entailing elaborate explanations of views on mental health in the modern world. There was also a clever use of social media apps such as memes, Instagram posts, and TikTok reels, to bring out how the younger generation views and copes with mental health problems.

Participants then branched into a discussion entailing coping mechanisms and triggers for mental disorders. Finally, to more extensively understand the views of others, the participants were put into breakout rooms with smaller groups for a more interactive discussion based on a few questions penned by the organisers around coping mechanisms, triggers and pathologies. Towards the end, participants reflected on their learnings from the breakout rooms and their relationships with mental health.

Thus, the conference enabled attendees to expand their knowledge on various mental health issues and coping mechanisms and presented an opportunity for participants to talk about mental health openly. Furthermore, it reminded participants of the scale of these issues. It nurtured them so that they will be able to help their friends develop coping mechanisms or cure similar infirmities, providing a holistic educational experience for all those that attended.

Overall, it was a very enriching experience and exposed the participants to several interesting questions to reflect on regarding the future of jobs.

Over the course of 4 weeks, 6 students from the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Ananya Srinivasan, Diya Piramal, Diya Shah, Kshitig Seth, Saisha Gupta and Sanaa Beriwala, accompanied by Mr Julian Aguilar, participated in the Spanish Lab, a series of weekly Zoom calls to practice and develop Spanish language skills. These sessions were hosted by 4 schools: Saint George's College in Peru, Colegio Gran Bretaña in Colombia, San Silvestre School in Peru and Markham College in Peru. The sessions involved 60 students from 14 schools in 10 countries. All the sessions were completely conducted in Spanish, which posed an exciting challenge and became an enjoyable way to explore hispanic language and culture.

The First session, on 18th May, 2021, Hosted by Saint George's college, was called “introducing ourselves”. The session was mostly conducted in breakout rooms during which the students described themselves, spoke about their hobbies, and discussed their future plans. They also played a game to improve their vocabulary; zoomed in images of animals, verbs and objects were displayed on the screen and the first person to correctly answer was awarded a point. The session concluded with a game whose purpose was to learn more about each other and each student's culture. Each student was asked to bring an object from his or her home based on prompts like: ‘bring something that represents your culture’, ‘bring an object you bought on a vacation’, ‘an object that represents something you like’ and ‘pictures of your friends’. These games were extremely interactive and the students also learnt alot about different cultures.

The second session, on 25th May, 2021, Hosted by Colegio Gran Bretaña in Colombia, covered the topic “where are we from?” In each breakout room, the students spoke about their country’s weather, food, climate, and culture. This was followed by a discussion on what an ideal city would be like. It was interesting to hear about perspectives from the other students, especially those who lived in Spanish speaking countries. The session concluded with a fun game of Kahoot which was focused on the cultures of the countries whose students participated in the session. It was a fun yet informative game, which concluded the session on a high.

The third session, on 1st June, 2021, hosted by the San Silvestre in Lima, Peru, allowed delegates to explore different cultures in depth. Following an ice-breaker activity in breakout rooms, the hosts played a video on Peruvian culture that sparked discussion on the delegates’ respective cultures, traditions, foods, and weather. An activity on the diverse songs and music taste of participants was extremely engaging. Students were encouraged to put links of their favourite songs (from their country) into the chat box, after which they were played out loud for the others to listen to. Listening to Spanish, Indian and African tunes was an interesting experience that remained the highlight of the session. Other prompts included conversation about traditional dishes and dance forms. The hosts from San Silvestre were welcoming, took interest in our likes and dislikes, and were also our age, all of which made their session upbeat and comforting.

Our last Spanish lab session on 8th June, 2021, was hosted by Markham College in Peru. Delegates were split into breakout rooms where they shared their likes and dislikes through a game of two lies and a truth. It was an effective ice-breaker that was followed by discussion on holiday destinations, favourite movies and tv shows, all of which helped delegates learn more about each other as people. Conversation on subjects and issues participants’ were passionate about also made for an interesting exchange of stories and experiences. The breakout rooms ended with a game of hangman, which was the high point of the session and brought Spanish lab to a fitting conclusion that was fun, slightly challenging and very memorable.

Spanish lab was an incredibly fulfilling experience, and was a fun, engaging and creative way to not only bring together children from diverse cultural backgrounds, but also to learn and practice Spanish. All of the students thoroughly looked forward to these sessions, and took back a lot of learning from them!

Four DAIS students from Grade 7 were presented with the golden opportunity to participate in a virtual conference hosted by Gut Wanberg, Germany, on the 20th of May, 2021. The conference themed “Cultures of Round Square '' was truly an eye-opening experience for all the first-time delegates. The perspective of ‘Many Cultures - One World’ was reiterated by highlighting the significance of unity, diversity, and cultures creating dimensions of the world. The delegates learned the significance of celebrating the human spirit, integrated via global cultures.

The delegates had several opportunities to broaden their horizons, acquire a healthy perspective and develop a deep vision about culture that could modify their current rigid lives. They redefined the term ‘global citizenship’ by understanding that there is ’right or wrong’ culture. The conference reinforced the delegates’ positions as global citizens, optimized their thoughts, and altered their mindsets to accept the diversity around them. Delegates first attended a pre-conference meet on the 17th of May, where students from all over the world connected with each other through fun icebreakers, an interactive Kahoot and meaningful conversations to share ideas and opinions about their respective cultures and values.

The main conference was far better than one could possibly anticipate. It enabled the delegates to connect easily with one another, conveying the true meaning of Internationalism - an important IDEAL of Round Square. The conference began with the delegates entering their baraza groups. Here, they revisited and discussed the posters every school had designed to share unique facts about their cultures. This activity was particularly insightful as it yielded an important takeaway for all delegates: though our cultures and values are different, they share several similarities, making us truly global citizens.

The delegates were engaged with a keynote speech by Ms. Gill Woodman. Her session focused on an important learning - ‘What comprises culture?‘. Her presentation on culture lent a new dimension to the topic as she shared several examples of differing cultures across the globe. “Culture is a cocktail of rules”, she said. While exploring a new place, a person carries a part of its culture along with them. She addressed the facets of culture, its norms and how every individual understands their own inherited culture. She concluded her remarkable speech with an emphasis on the need to celebrate diversity by appreciating different cultures worldwide.

In the baraza groups, the delegates exchanged notes on the keynote speech and shared some insights about each other's lives. They also collaborated to invent an innovative form of greeting combining different greeting styles used in different cultures. Amid a lot of smiles and laughter, every baraza group crafted their greetings with a handful of interesting emojis depicting positive emotions shared in the main meeting. The enthusiastic delegates collaborated to recreate a new greeting symbol with inputs from every baraza group. Rehearsing the sequence of actions to be followed for the final greeting helped unite all the delegates, spreading an aura of happiness, hope and unity.

This conference was truly a life-changing experience. Words are simply inadequate to express the positive change called upon by the event and giving true meaning to the phrase “Diversity is the power that brings happiness”.

Our Reflections:

Sanaa Malesra: This experience was truly enlightening and unreal for me, as I got the opportunity to connect and interact with several delegates belonging to varying countries. I attained abundant knowledge concerning various cultures and learned that despite belonging to various cultures surprisingly we were all similar.

Akkshita Keswani: The conference was a truly wonderful and momentous event. The keynote speaker for our conference was Ms. Gill Woodman, a widely travelled and astounding person at heart. The conference expanded my cultural knowledge to a great extent.

Alisha Patil: This conference was truly eye-opening and intriguing for me. It taught me the different nuances of culture and diversity and what these truly mean for people across the globe. This enhanced my cultural knowledge and completely changed my perspective.

Uma Shukla: One knows about one’s own culture but this process reminded me how diverse and nuanced it is and told me that the world has so many more cultures to explore! I had loads of fun meeting new delegates and working together with my capable co delegates Alisha, Sana and Akkishta!

DAIS Student Delegates

Alisha Patil, Akkshita Keswani Sanaa Malesra and Uma Shukla

DAIS Teacher Delegates

Ms. Pratima Sridhar

Six student delegates from DAIS participated in the Future of Our Cities Conference on 11th May, hosted by the UWCSEA School, Singapore. Our delegates were Aryana Barai, Freeyah Golia, Taher Kachwala, Shiv Mehta, Aryan Pai and Gayatri Srivastava. The conference had about 30 participating schools from India, Australia, England and the USA.

All delegations were required to make an infographic of their city and how they envisioned it would be in the period of 50 years by 2071. This task allowed delegates to think creatively about the ideas and technology of the future. It prompted them to think critically about the problems they see in their cities that they would want to change and resolve. The DAIS delegates worked on an infographic based on the map of Mumbai to envision a city with considerable development in the environmental, health, social and technological sectors. There was also a mock conference a week before the main meeting, which allowed the delegates to interact with and get to know the delegations from other schools through interactive ice-breaker games.

During the main conference, delegates had the opportunity to discuss the elements of a future city and test their knowledge through engaging Kahoot games. During the baraza sessions, they got the chance to present their infographics to everyone, sparking fruitful discussions about the similarities and differences between each delegation’s plan for a future city. The delegates had an enriching experience, having been exposed to and learning from others’ ideas about their cities. This gave them the chance to reflect on the strengths of the other teams; moreover, it helped them identify areas where they might adopt ideas from others.

The Future of Our Cities Conference was a brilliant opportunity for delegates to hone their social skills and teamwork while also opening their eyes to the perspectives and ideas of their peers in schools across the world. It was an excellent learning experience which also provided them with a clear insight into the technical aspects of hosting such a big online event.

Student Reflections:

Aryana Barai: The Round Square Conference held by UWSCEA, was truly a memorable event, which I could never forget, I all learnt about various cultures and how cities would look like in 50 years, as well as teaching students about Mumbai. I also made new friends from all over the globe, like the UK, Australia, Africa, India and Singapore, during the breakout rooms. Overall, I loved this opportunity and we’ll never forget it! I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity!!

Freeyah Golia:I am truly thankful to my teachers for giving me the opportunity to attend this event and interact with students from all across the globe. The thing that I enjoyed the most was playing the kahoots prepared by the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA). We had great discussions and shared our views on questions asked by our baraza group leader. This event made me realise that a lot that can be changed to benefit both the environment and our countries. I had a great time and hope that I will get many opportunities like this in the future.

Teachers Involved

Ms Sarika Thapar, Ms Manisha Nanda, Ms Pratima Sridhar

Student Delegates

Gayatri Srivastava, Aryana Barai, Freeyah Golia, Taher Kachwala, Shiv Mehta, Aryan Pai

The Inter-School Photography Competition ‘Zooming out COVID’, was held by the Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun on 31st May 2020. The competition aimed at offering aspiring, young photographers an opportunity to be creative while at home, and subsequently inspire others through their photography. Three students from DAIS took part in this activity, using their passion for photography for something enjoyable.

The guidelines set for the competition allowed the participants to explore their creativity and the medium to the maximum. The competition was based on three remarkably diverse and interesting themes, ‘Lockdown Expression’, ‘Nature I Love’ and ‘The Art of the Selfie’. Each of the participants had to submit one photograph for each of the three themes. Clicking the photographs that accurately described the theme was challenging in this situation, yet immensely gratifying. The pictures also required to be accompanied with creative captions and descriptions like ‘Intrusion of an Insect’s Solitude’.

For the students, the experience of taking these pictures and utilizing their creativity to its fullest was a unique opportunity and a great experience. They realized that even though we were confined to their homes, their imagination and originality was unbounded and could be harnessed to produce incredible pieces of photography.

For the students, the experience of taking these pictures and utilizing their creativity to its fullest was a unique opportunity and a great experience. They realized that even though we were confined to their homes, their imagination and originality was unbounded and could be harnessed to produce incredible pieces of photography.

DAIS Teachers Involved

Ms. Manisha Nanda and Ms. Pratima Sridhar

Dais Student Delegates

Arav Dalwani, Sanika Daga and Sia Harisinghani

A group of 13 DAIS participants accepted the “No Instruments Challenge” hosted by the Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior on the 22nd May 2020. The theme of the challenge was to create a “Covid-19 Warriors Anthem”. The aim was to create music without the instruments, and use the objects around them to create a melody, to celebrate the work of all the Warriors during the pandemic.

The competition required composing a song, and creating its music video. While partaking in the competition, the judging criteria of harmony of sounds and vocals, technique and creativity, video making skills, interpretation of theme, tone, quality and rhythm, and overall performance were kept in mind. The DAIS students decided to split into two groups, and while one group performed the popular patriotic Hindi song “Kandhon Se Milte Hain” from the movie “Lakshya”, the other group decided to take upon the carefree and inspiring song “Bare Necessities” from the movie “The Jungle Book”.

Both the groups followed a similar process to ease the song-making experience. To begin with, song lyrics were divided between group members, and a music composer was selected from each group so as to provide the backing track to the song. The composer worked on the backing track with household objects, and sent in a recording, so that the singers could gauge the tempo and scale. Using this backing track for reference each singer sang their part and sent it to the composer to eventually compile the entire song. The groups used several variations and harmonies to add to the song quality as well. The final step was producing the video, and so each singer recorded their part in the video. Once all the videos were ready, a student helped piece together the final performance.

This competition proved to be an amazing experience for the students as they were able to explore how to sing on an online platform together without being in physical proximity with each other. It allowed them to be creative and gave them the freedom to experiment with different sounds and materials to choose the best possible one. The competition also helped the students become more refined singers. The students were guided by the music teachers at DAIS, Mr. Prabhakar Sharma and Ms. Manali Sharma.

Dais Student Delegates

Advaith Bala, Ahaan Bhansali, Akaesha Negi Tandon, Aryaman Meswani, Dev Mehta, Ishika Srivastava, Manan Agarwal, Maya Singapuri, Neel Maheshwari, Pratham Mehta, Shay Khanchandani, Stuti Daga and Vrinda Das.

The Sunbeam School, Lahartara hosted an Online Movie Making Competition, ‘Through our Lens’, on 6th June 2020, to highlight the social stigma associated with COVID-19 patients during and post the pandemic. The competition aimed to inspire students from grades 9-12 to share a story about this thought-provoking topic in a 3-minute movie. Three students from DAIS collaborated on this activity, to channelize their creativity into something productive, that would help spread awareness about the issue faced by the patients. The guidelines set for the competition allowed the participants to explore their creativity and the medium to the maximum. The issue itself was multi-faceted and therefore lent itself perfectly to being showcased artistically and meaningfully. One of the pieces, titled “The Forgotten Verse”, was centred on the discrimination faced by a minority ethnic community after the events that occurred in early March in India, as reflected in popular media. Another video was based on how the hospital setting was changing and how medical health workers were suffering, and their efforts were going in vain. The third video was about how people were using unreliable information sources like WhatsApp to develop stigmas during this pandemic. It aimed to bridge the gap between truth and the uncertainty created by fake news on social media.

The experience of creating these movies was extremely engaging and a unique learning experience as the students realized that though they were confined within the walls of their own homes, their voices were not confined and they had the freedom to express themselves and be heard too. The activity helped students to think critically during the pandemic and reflect positively.

Dais Student Delegates

Nimaye Garodia, Yash Fadia and Vrinda Das

Three students from DAIS participated in The Shri Debate from the 19th - 21st of June. Hosted by The Shri Ram School, Maulsari, for the Round Square Schools around the world. The competition had over 15 participating schools from India, Serbia and the USA. It followed a rigorous Parliamentary debate format, which catered to two different styles of debate: prepared and unprepared.

The participants were given 4 motions for which they had to prepare for both the opposition and proposition. There were two rounds of debate on the first day, wherein the motion and side were assigned to the participants. Following which, on the second day there was an extempore round for which the participants got an hour to prepare before commencing the debate. All the rounds were held on a specialized online debate website called “Mixed Ideas”.

In conclusion, the participants and reserves had a great experience being exposed to and learning about parliamentary debate. It gave all the participants a chance to reflect on the strengths of the other teams and also helped them identify areas to be worked upon as a team. The participants acknowledged that the competition was a brilliant opportunity for them to hone their debate skills. Although they did not make it to the quarter finals, it was a wonderful learning experience not only as a Debate participant but it also helped them get an insight into the technical aspects of hosting an online debate.

Dais Student Delegates

Vrinda Das, Treya Agarwal and Yash Fadia
(Anirudh Fadia and Arav Dalwani - Reserves)

To mark the International Yoga Day, on the 21st of June, the Birla Public School hosted a Round Square Online ‘Bliss Yoga’ session. Three students from DAIS participated in the online session and captivated the audience with the fabulous display of Asanas and Kriyas. The objective of the session was to encourage students to use Yoga and Mindfulness to improve their focus while developing a lifelong awareness of the importance of their physical and emotional health.The session was attended by students from around 36 schools around the world.

The participants were welcomed with a wonderful message from the Conference Director, Major General SS Nair and the Headmaster of the BPS Middle School section, who highlighted the importance of Yoga in our lives. The students learned the integral role that yoga plays when it comes to maintaining health and a proper lifestyle. The participants performed Asanas, Pranayama, and Kriyas such as Surya Namaskar, Anulom-Vilom and Mandukasana in coordination under the guidance of the host school. Prior to the live session, they had each made a collage of themselves performing the Asanas and submitted it to the host school.

“I had a lot of fun practicing and performing asanas with schools from all over the world. It was definitely a novel experience and we learnt many new challenging asanas like Mayurasana and Shalabhasan,” said a participant when reflecting upon the event.

The students enjoyed the event and said that it was a refreshing experience and it was definitely something that was necessary during these unprecedented times. The students had to ensure preparations for participation in the event - whether it was getting the collage ready or practising for Asanas for the live display, they were constantly guided and supported by the yoga teacher, Ms. Shilpa Mehta. To sum up, it was a very unique, wonderful and joyous experience.

An overwhelming number of 38 DAIS students participated in the ‘Convivial Conclave’ hosted by Rajmata Krishna Kumari Girls' Public School, Jodhpur, from the 20th - 24th June 2020. The aim of the Convivial Conclave was to encourage students to think beyond the mainstream thoughts prevailing all around them and to develop a contemporary but innovative approach for solving various problems that they faced in their day to day lives. The students participated in a range of activities that helped students explore their creative potentials.

1. PowerPoint Karaoke: In this activity, the participants had to design a PowerPoint Presentation on any random topic and the same was presented to another participant who had never seen the presentation before had to present it impromptu. The content of all the presentations were slightly off the topic, resulting in challenging the presenter students to think of some plausible connection they could make. Presentations were made on a wide array of topics like ‘Vegetables have Feelings’, ‘Special Requirements for Your Dog’, ‘Potatoes’, ‘Ducks’, ‘Blobfish’, and more. However, what kept all the participants going was the support and encouragement that they received from the other students.

2. Word Charades: In Word Charades, the participants had to challenge the audience to guess the word that had been allotted using two phrases. The activity was made more interesting and difficult by adding an adjective in front of the word. The game was made all the more exciting, since in the second round, the participants got a word in Hindi. Though they tried the best, the participants needed a lot of guesses before getting the word right! However, the constant encouragement by the extremely patient host students kept the students motivated through these sessions.

3. To Binge or Not to Binge: Here the students had to pick a book, choose a series or a movie and present their review about their recommendation and discuss if it was worth binging or not. Students presented their ideas through PowerPoint Presentations and videos. After they had presented, the audience shared their comments and feedback whether they agreed with the speaker or not, and the reasons for the same The opposing opinions of students and their short, friendly debates were not only showcasing different perspectives but they were also a great way of interacting and engaging with the other participants. The event was a great way of acquiring knowledge while having fun. Some of the many books, series, and movies recommended include the Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus, The Witches, Shark Tank, Sound of Music, etc.

4. School Exhibition: This activity was similar to an advertising commercial, where participants had to portray their school as a brand and had to advertise it using attractive phrases and catchy taglines. They could also describe a product sold by their school. Students from the same school were divided into groups where they had to collectively present their brand or product. Participants showcased the features and attributes of their school using PowerPoint Presentations and videos. Students presented their schools using the aims, the motto, the objectives, and even their school song.

5. Talent Show: This activity was a platform through which students from various schools were able to portray their skills and interests. This activity also helped all the participants from different schools socialize and mingle with each other, improving their communication skills. The participants displayed an array of talents - art, their composition of poems, singing and playing instruments and also unusual talents like mimicry and also websites they designed as well. The authentic and diverse display of talents helped students appreciate each other and their interests.

6. Mystery in History: The participants were divided into groups and every group was assigned a different unsolved mystery which they had to research on. A few of them included Time Travel, Bermuda Triangle,Cleopatra etc. Every topic was discussed in depth by considering the various theories related to the topic and presenting their opinion and views on it. There was a short question and answer session after each presentation, making it an intriguing activity. There were also umpteens of theories from everyone resulting in a great interaction.

7. Quiz: A PowerPoint Presentation with around 50 GK questions were shared with the participants who had to answer these questions in the chat-box. To make the session more interesting, the organisers added a task after every 5 questions. While some questions were easily answerable, the participants had to rack their mind for a few, discussing a couple of questions. This helped them interact even more! The last five questions were a game changer, as they carried greater scores and helped some participants from the bottom to reach the podium!

Dais Student Delegates

Kiara Maniar, Vansh Bansal, Arhav Thakkar, Reya Mehendale, Aditya Ramanathan, Sanaaya Bhandari, Shiv Kini, Saachi Gupta, Yash Shah, Nastassia Bokdawala, Harshvardhan Jhaveri, Dylan D'souza, Madhav Arora,Tanisha Joshi, Advait Variyar, Niharika Naik, Ishaan Shah, Rhea Jain, Myeisha Chhablani, Ishani Badala, Vivaan Bhatia, Shashwat Singh, Suvanshi Lakhotiya, Jash Shah, Mokksh, Aryan Vivek, Neil Jhunjhunwala, Jiana Shah, Anika Garg, Annika Cerejo, Crista D'Souza, Aditya Gupta, Neil Goradia, Neerja Desai, Manas Agarwal, Ojas Bajaj, Vivaan Jain and Mauurya Desai

Ms. Manisha Nanda and Ms. Pratima Sridhar

The Roundsquare Cultural Cookbook is an extremely interesting initiative that brings together cultures and cuisines from all around the world, as students from every continent and several countries contribute to building this Cultural Cookbook. Three students from DAIS added their cuisines into the Cultural Cookbook keeping the regional and seasonal aspects of these recipes that are unique to a state and also to a seasonal fruit of India.

The cookbook asked its participants to share a recipe that holds either cultural or personal significance to them. This gives it a unique appeal as students get to see each other’s favourite traditional recipes and try to make them. Moreover, students get the opportunity to show off their culinary skills by sharing their own recipes with their names and images of what they’ve made.

Ms. Pratima Sridhar, shared a recipe ‘Tangy Spicy Mango Gravy’, one of her favourite recipes from South Karnataka in India. This recipe hold a special place as a regional cuisine as it is prepared using a specific variety of mango available as a seasonal fruit in India. This recipe brings back lovely memories of the great time spent with my grandparents and our extended family during the long summer vacations.

Elisha Parikh, submitted a mouth-watering mango cheesecake recipe for the same. She chose this recipe as it is one of her favourite desserts to make, requires few ingredients and holds cultural significance as mango is a seasonal fruit, the one that is most awaited by all Indians.

Anavi Kaul, shared a recipe for Kashmiri Haak Saag. This is one of Anavi’s favourite traditional dishes from her home-state of Kashmir. It is also one of her favourite comfort foods and is an essential part of Kashmiri Cuisine.

Arzoo Usgaonkar, submitted a scrumptious Kadha Prashaadh recipe (the dessert given at the Golden Temple after prayer). She chose this as it is one of her favourite foods and makes her feel at home. Being half-Punjabi, the recipe also holds cultural significance to Arzoo as it is one of Punjab’s most well-known foods.

Overall, the students believe that this experience was extremely exciting, unique and enjoyable as it not only allowed them to collaborate with students from around the world but also allowed them to share their love for cooking and baking. The participants look forward to seeing the final version of the RS Cultural Cookbook!

Arzoo Usgaonkar, Anavi Kaul, Elisha Parikh

Ms. Manisha Nanda and Ms. Pratima Shridhar

The Sai International School conducted an ‘Art and Artists’ activity in two sessions held on the 17th and on the 24th of June 2020, where students from all over India presented artists from a country of their choice. Ten students of Art from DAIS attended these sessions. The goal of the activity was to cultivate young artists and evoke a sense of love for art and create fruitful conversations amongst fellow students.

Prior to the session, each school created two presentations each on an artist from their chosen country. The first session started off with DAIS presenting their country of choice - France, where they elaborated on the prominent artists Niki De Saint Phalle and Claude Monet.

Post this, the session had presentations made by the other schools and a fun game of “Match the art piece to the artist”. The students were then given a week to choose and recreate a piece with their own interpretations. Students came up with unique and beautiful ways to interpret their chosen pieces while maintaining the essence of the original work. The session ended with an extensive discussion about the parallels between traditional versus modern art and the evolution of art over the centuries.

Through this journey, the students learned a great deal about the History of Art through the ages and one of the attending DAIS students quoted , “It felt refreshing to have fruitful discussions with such talented and knowledgeable artists”. Overall, this was a wonderful experience that was not only educational but also gave students from around the country a chance to get to know one another from the luxury of their own homes.

Mehak Tiwana, Adya Rohira, Treya Agarwal, Vrinda Das, Dhaniti Parekh, Arzoo Usgaonkar, Nandini Krishnamoorthy, Tanay Bhandari, Sia Harisinghani and Ananya Mukerji

Ms. Manisha Nanda