October 25, 2011

I’ve been to numerous conferences in my lifetime.  Although the conferences have been useful, in most cases I can’t really say they were exciting. Perhaps a speaker was particularly dynamic or perhaps I was exposed to a new idea. Round Square conferences, however, are very exciting. It is definitely a thrill to see the smiles on the young delegates faces and at times it is impossible not to be completely swept away by their enthusiasm and positive energy. A very common comment from the young delegates at the end of these conferences is “that was the best time of my life.”  Now I know that young people can be impulsive and impressionable, but nonetheless it feels very good to hear such a positive comment after an activity, which is intended to enrich the educational experience. I guess we could say that youth conferences like the ones of Round Square accomplish great things.

As educators we hope that the young Round Square delegates will learn more about issues related to the Round Square “IDEALS” – Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. For sure the conferences address all of these “IDEALS.” However, for the students the excitement of meeting so many young people from around the world is probably the biggest thrill. They listen intently to the speakers, they attend the “barazza” groups (student-led discussion groups), they participate enthusiastically in all of the activities and they do not cause any difficulties to the adult supervisors. But when they attend the plenary sessions that are more oriented to social interaction and entertainment, the enthusiasm simply explodes. To be in the middle of eight hundred 15-16 year olds who are all waving flags from countries around the world, swaying back and forth in unison to the hit song “Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan – well – truly exciting. In fact for many of us adults, it brought tears to our eyes. Too bad all of you could not experience this. The students will remember this positive experience for the rest of their lives and I will too!– John Gordon, School Counsellor