'Postcard' from GEMS Millennium School, Dubai
On the 7th of February 2024, six students from DAIS attended the Round Square 'Postcard' hosted by GEMS Millennium School, Dubai. The Postcard provided a platform for students from 36 schools spanning 11 different countries to present diverse perspectives and opinions on the topic of 'Learning to Unlearn Consumption'. Consumption refers to the action of using up a resource, and this Postcard represented the objective of mitigating consumerism.
For the Pre-task, the students of DAIS performed a survey to collect data representing the responses of 58 students based on questions related to their daily consumption of resources. During the Postcard, around 207 participants collaborated and contributed to a Padlet to gain an understanding of the most utilized resource in our daily lives as a short icebreaker. The hosts then introduced the topic of consumption and the significance of valuing sustainability. To test the participants' previous knowledge, a quiz was conducted by the host school that had two DAIS students being placed in the top 5 positions.
The delegates were split into breakout rooms and discussed different forms of consumerism - material goods, media, natural resources, food, and services. Students delved into their personal habits highlighting the multi-faceted complexities of consumerism and the relentless pursuit of possessions faced by many of the youth.
Delegates returned with a refined understanding of sustainability and developed diverse outlooks incorporated in daily lifestyles such as using introduced species to avoid pesticides in Sydney and the differing perceptions of use of air conditioners in Florida as compared to a student from Peru. A student from DAIS reflected upon the activity, quoting - "What flabbergasted me was how different perspectives would be - one individual claimed that YouTube was the best platform for learning gaming, which completely differed from my opinion on the platform. But this enlightened me that no matter how different perspectives are, it's essential to respect them."
Reflections by one of the delegates Jaisal Shah was penned down in the form of the poem seen below.
DAIS Student Delegates: Avishka Parikh, Sanaa Adukia, Akshaj Panjnani, Jaisal Shah, Rayyaan Shetty, Riaan Mehta
DAIS Adult Delegate: Ms. Pratima Sridhar
