Last Fall, 3 students from Ermitage International School (Thomas (1ère), Alix (DP1) and Louise (MYP5)), along with their English teacher, Mrs. Harris, took part in the Round Square 2023 International Conference in Kenya. Let’s take a look back at the 54th edition of this event, which was held in Nairobi from 8 to 14 October 2023.

The Round Square International Conference is an annual event bringing together students aged 16 to 18 from over 50 countries. They all gather in one of the Round Square Network schools to engage in discussion and share ideas about a set topic. In 2023, the theme was “The New Africa”. On the programme: panel discussions and keynotes highlighting an array of brilliant African innovators.

Before attending the conference, the Ermitage representatives went on a pre-conference tour with six other schools from Australia, Switzerland, Canada, and Denmark. Throughout the week, they visited several reserves dedicated to protecting the country's flora and fauna. 

They had the opportunity, using slingshots, to plant over 20,000 trees to provide food and shelter for the wild animals.

To round off the pre-conference in style, they spent a few days in the Maasai Mara, where they enjoyed safaris and discovered the Maasai culture.

After the pre-conference, the group returned to Nairobi for the Round Square conference. The students spent the week learning about new technology development in Kenya, listening to keynote speakers and carrying out service projects in local schools.

It was also an opportunity to make new friends from the 150 other schools attending the conference. Our three Ermitage ambassadors were particularly impressed by their meetings with like-minded students from so many different countries. The experience enabled them to step out of their comfort zone and make a wide variety of international friendships that will have a lasting impact on them and will be useful to them in the future.