AFS 5th National Meet Celebrates Cultural Exchange and Unity in Diversity
“Most of the important lessons about life come from recognizing how others from different culture view things” Edgar H. Sehein
The Emerald Heights International School, Indore, played host to the 5th National Meeting for AFS member schools on October 24th and 25th, 2023. The event aimed to impart crucial life lessons by exploring diverse cultural perspectives. Students R. Sanvith Murari and Ragi Sri Nithya, accompanied by Ms. Sreevalli, Senior Faculty, represented their school, fostering a global outlook in the clean city of Indore.
The meet showcased vibrant cultural displays, inspiring introductions, and intense discussions on the theme of ahimsa, cultivating an atmosphere of mutual learning and respect. Emphasizing the importance of staying connected to one’s roots, the event underscored the value of human principles.
Students engaged in collaborative discussions, bonding over Indian cuisine and celebrating cultural diversity through food and dance. The AFS 5th National Meet served as a testament to India’s unity in diversity, offering an enriching learning experience for all participants.
AFS STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM
G.Kaavya of Class 12 from The Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur has been selected for AFS Global STEM Academies Intercultural Student Exchange Program sponsored by British Petroleum.
Kaavya was selected among 23 applicants and 4 finalists after an intensive interview.
She left to the University of Houston in Texas, USA on 7th July 2022 for a month long Project Presentation on
“Sustainable Living In Concrete Jungle”
Best Wishes to Kaavya, from the HPS family!
Domestic Student Exchange Program, Selaqui International School, Dehradun
HPS-R endows its students with opportunities and space to explore the depths of their thinking and leave no stone unturned in securing the best positions for themselves. Moreover, the school believes in global exposure to new ideas, new academic environments, and collaborative learning. Being a member of the American Field Service(AFS), the students of HPS-R participated in a domestic student exchange program to Selaqui International School, Dehradun, in November. The students were housed in the boarding house of Selaqui and got the opportunity to participate in the academic classes. The students then invigorated their curiosity about the new culture by exploring the cities of Dehradun, Rishikesh, and, ultimately, the Queen of the hills Mussorie. They were able to witness authentic Gharwahli culture through these short trips. The students also got the chance to visit the Forest Research Institute Dehradun. This trip not only enlightened the students with an insight into a different approach to studies, but it also made them more malleable to accepting and imbibing different cultures than the one they are used to observing around them.
The trip also provided a chance for the students to perform community services, like sharing goodies and essential items with children of SAHYOG, an initiative by the host school to give back to the society. The trip was an amalgamation of learning, understanding cultures, and ultimately appreciating diversity. The aim of the trip was not only to unveil a new environment to the students, but also to enliven a reformed curiosity in their minds towards the world.
AFS
ASIA KAKEHASHI
A mind that is stretched by a NEW EXPERIENCE can never go back to its old dimensions. -Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, in coordination with AFS has seized such an opportunity for its students- The ASIA KAKEHASHI PROJECT 2020-21, a study abroad Scholarship Programme that provides educational and cultural experience for the Asian High Schoolers interested in building their global competencies, sponsored by the Government of Japan. The Institution identified and selected Aneesh Kakarala who has lofty aims of organizing collaborative events between school and the Government/NGO that would make his State of Telangana a GREEN ZONE in India. He made the school proud by participating in the IGBC conference and winning the Platinum rating for his Alma Mater. The initiative of the Institution to encourage and bolster a promising student with excellent academic achievement to venture on this intercultural training would definitely boost his potential to affect change in his community and be a future leader.
The Institution continues to keep avenues of opportunities open to the Students to academic prospects, but to help experience the dynamics of world cultures.
As Gustave Flaubert quotes- Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.
BRINGING YOUNG MINDS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD TOGETHER
AFS-BP Global STEM ACADEMIES
“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together” — Malcom Forbes
Intercultural learning programmes enable students to interact in a global, diverse and challenging world, also establishing a more creative and healthy learning environment.
BP and AFS partnered to host the BP Global STEM academies, a four-week programme in Brazil, Egypt, India and USA focussing on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and global competence, and this was in synchrony with the Hyderabad Public School Ramanthapur’s constant pursuit to provide engaging platforms of opportunities and learning to its students. Deputy Head Boy Jatin Manoj was quick to apply and get selected to be a part of the BP STEM Academies.
With studying abroad currently not possible due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the scholarship winners will participate in a virtual programme before travelling to the Academies in 2021. The aim of the programme is to bring together bright young minds to find global solutions to urgent global challenges. The scholars were divided into teams to focus on SDG’s ( Sustainable Development Goals) as a result of the pandemic and how they would like to see the world changing. He has also been given the opportunity to do a course in Social Innovation from Penn University USA . This is to ensure the generation to be socially responsible .
Through a youtube video, Jatin and his team members which included students from China, Austria, South Africa and United Kingdom not only brought to light the impact that plastic accumulation has on our environment, birds and marine life but also came up with probable solutions to the plastic menace that is a serious global concern today.Their team was ranked third in this competition
With AFS focussed on bringing students from various cultural backgrounds together and BP Global STEM Academies having proven to enrich the scholar’s knowledge and develop their global competence, Jatin adds that this experience has been one of a kind exposing him to great minds from various cultures.
