‘Take Less: Be More’
By Terry Yang, Year 11 student and Round Square International Conference attendee
Check-in was at 2 pm, and we arrived at Oxford for the 2022 Round Square International Conference knowing that we would be different people when we left. We would be different people because of the connections we would make with other delegates, because of the experiences, and because of the lessons we would learn from this year’s theme: “Take Less: Be More.”
This year’s conference was the first non-virtual conference in two years, and as people began streaming into New Theatre Oxford for the opening ceremony, you could tell everyone was happy to be back. During the ceremony, recipients of the Kurt Hahn Prize, Sena Yenilmez and Meera Baswan, were announced. Sena and Meera talked to us about their initiative, The Indigenous Foundation, and the sense of awe around the theatre was palpable as we considered the vast impact they had been able to make at such a young age. Coming from Australia, I was amazed - if not unnerved - by the similarities between the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada (where The Indigenous Foundation is based) and Australia. As they finished their speeches, I resolved to try and make an impact within my own community once I returned home.
The opportunity to meet like-minded and inspirational people from all over the world was truly special. And, as different as we all were, in one sense we were essentially the same, united by the Round Square IDEALS and a shared desire to do good. The problems we face as the next generation – climate change; Indigenous justice, be that in Canada, Australia, or any other nation; and equality, in all its forms – are fundamentally global issues, and as we talked to delegates with different accents and perspectives from all over the world, we were reminded that this conference – this coming together of the leaders of the next generation – is a microcosm of the international collaboration that will be necessary to secure a sustainable, and indeed, viable future.
This idea of sustainability was a common thread throughout all the keynote speakers we listened to during the conference. I found the most compelling speech was by Sir Dieter Helm, who drew on his expertise as Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford to underscore the simple inadequacy of our current response to the climate crisis. His speech was candid, unforgiving, and frankly, terrifying. The most chilling part of his presentation was a single line. A single, increasing, undeviating line showing the consistent rise of carbon dioxide parts per million in the atmosphere since 1990; a trend that neither the Kyoto Protocol and all the associated agreements since nor the global COVID-19 lockdowns have changed.
We got the chance to discuss this speech and all the keynote speakers in our Baraza groups, consisting of around ten delegates from different schools. Baraza groups were an invaluable opportunity to expose ourselves to varying opinions from people around the world. In the opening ceremony, Rachael Westgarth quoted Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland: “I am not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.” As we discussed these issues, this sentiment rang clearer than ever - every delegate’s reality was influenced by their individual perspective, and each contribution was uniquely insightful.
These different realities could not have been more apparent during our final evening at Oxford – the cultural performance evening. The performances, ranging from song and dance to yoga and comedy, were breathtaking; the talent of the performers matched only by the audience's enthusiasm. Each of the performances helped merge our respective realities, giving us that international mindset that is so valuable. However, there was one reality we knew we shared: one where the oceans, atmosphere, and Earth that we each rely upon – wherever we are in the world – are being taken from us at a disastrous rate. Walking back to our dorms, we considered that it would be up to us as the leaders of the next generation to make that dream of a sustainable and prosperous future our new reality.
Social events, such as the cultural evening, were interspersed throughout the conference, and they provided an important opportunity to get to know the other delegates in a more relaxed setting. Personally, these events helped me learn a lot about myself, and I discovered that I didn’t find talking to new people that scary – I even enjoyed it. And while I’m still an introvert at heart, the confidence I developed to just walk up to someone I’d never met before and ask them how their day was is something I’ll cherish. Similarly, I appreciated the chance to step out of my comfort zone - either through Ceilidh (a Scottish dancing event that I had dreaded but ended up enjoying) or swimming in the icy waters on the Isle of Wight (which was indeed icy - thanks again Ms Notley for the hot chocolate!).
Another thing I took away from my time at the conference was just how big the world is. Having lived in Canberra all my life, this experience was eye-opening because I had never been immersed in such an international environment. To use a classic, if not slightly trivial example, I had always thought the crisps versus chips vs hot chips debate was just a trope – a clichéd example of cultural difference. However, as I felt those brief moments of confusion while processing what people were referring to (and we used these terms plenty given the Brits’ penchant for fish and chips), I felt a sense of… sonder.
Sonder is defined by the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows as, “the realisation that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” A neologism, admittedly, but a word that feels particularly fitting. Because although the delegates that we met – the friends that we had talked to, laughed with, confided in, and ultimately said goodbye to – were no random passers-by. They did pass by, staying in our lives for seven short days before returning to their homes around the world and to calling chips crisps with no one to correct them. Each unique individual living a vivid and complex life interrupted – only for a moment – by a conference of like-minded peers. A conference that will stay with us for the rest of our lives; a conference we’ll tell our grandchildren about, according to one of my friends. And with that sonder comes the empathy, wonder and hope that we’ll need if we are to truly create change. To take less and be more.
I’ll miss that week. Sitting here, writing this, I can’t help but smile at the memories we shared and the friends we made. I know that each one of us will miss it too.
I left on that last day a different person from the one I was when I arrived. We all did.