Round Square International Conference

By Finn Walter, Year 11 Student

The Round Square Conference is an international event, bringing together thousands of students across the globe to meet and discuss a common theme or idea. The theme for the 55th Round Square Conference, hosted by the Brookhouse Schools in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, was The New Africa. It explored the many ways in which the continent has evolved and defined its position in the 21st century. Our trip consisted of both a pre-conference and a conference, lasting one week each.

During the pre-conference, we were joined by students from six other schools, which included students from other Australian schools as well as schools in Denmark, Canada, France, and Switzerland.

During the first week we travelled around the Kenyan countryside, exploring places like Lake Naivasha and the Maasai Mara. We saw a variety of animals, including lions, elephants, giraffes and even leopards! This was such a surreal experience for everyone, and to see these wild animals in their native habitat was amazing.

My favourite part of the pre-conference was on the fourth day, when we visited a traditional Maasai village. When we arrived, we were greeted with a traditional Kenyan welcome, and showed around the village. We participated in “Adumu”, which is a fun Maasai jumping dance. Walking around and exploring the village was an eye-opening experience. We were even invited into some of the homes where we learned more about their cultural practices and their daily lives. Afterwards, we visited the village market where we purchased hand crafted gifts, which also helped support the local school.

In my mind, the pre-conference was an amazing start to the trip. It helped us form close friendships and gave us time to adjust to the new environment.

The conference itself took place during the second week of our stay and was hosted by the Brookhouse Schools. At the start of the conference, we were sorted into our “baraza” group, which consisted of around 20 students. This is the group in which we would do most of our conference activities and have daily meetings to reflect on and discuss the theme of The New Africa.

After a breathtaking opening ceremony, we launched into a three-day rotation of activities. These included Democracy, Adventure and Service. Democracy was a mix of panel speakers and activities, where we learned about how Kenya is embracing the idea of The New Africa. During this part of the conference, we also went home with a local Kenyan family to experience their lifestyle, which was stunning.

Adventure was a day out at the Nairobi National Park where we went on a game drive and saw rhinos! We ended the day by camping under the stars inside the park.

My favourite, however, was Service. Here we travelled to a local Kenyan school and helped rebuild it. This included painting the school rooms and laying new floors. It felt amazing to be able to help the local community. The best part was getting to meet and interact with the kids from the school. All of them had an incredible attitude and were so excited to meet and high-five all of us. We all left the school with a smile.

This was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I know I, and many after delegates, will never forget.