July 2019 Newsletter | AFS India

STUDY ABROAD Discover new things about yourself and find your place in the world by going abroad.

HOST AN AFSer Experience your world through the eyes of a young person from another country.

A world-class intercultural educa onal organiza on; a global movement to develop and ac vate global ci zens AFS Intercultural Programs India is an interna onal, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organiza onthat provides intercultural learning opportuni es to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world.

SCHOOLS Implement AFS Intercultural Learning Programs at your school for your students & educators.

VOLUNTEER Join a Global community of changemakers & serve a change agent in your community.

Newsletter Your source to stay up to date with AFS Intercultural Programs India’s ac vi es, events & opportuni es www.india.afs.org | india@afs.org

JULY 2019 4

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Editorial by Aadil F.

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AFS ICL Educators' Training and Effect+ Workshops

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AFS Educator Exchange Program to Hungary

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Alumni Achievement

7

Training And Development

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Na onal Arrival Orienta on 2019-20 Batch

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Reflec ng the Exchange Journey, Re-Entry Orienta on | AFS Programs 2018-19

11 Hos ng Short Term Program Arrival Orienta on 12 NSLI-Y & PEACE Arrival Orienta on 13 14 15

Community Service in Bangalore, Vadodara & Gandhinagar AIMUN (Promo on)

The Need For Emotional Intelligence On one hand, Amaya is the smartest student in the class. She works hard, scores the top grades, and makes her parents proud. Teachers love her and give her example to the class. In class, you’d o en hear, “Amaya se seekho”, “Amaya n ki tarah bano” [Be like Amaya. Learn from Amaya]. On the other, Amaya doesn’t know how to manage her emo ons. She is always worried about ge ng higher grades but keeps to herself. When it comes to having friends, she prefers to remain all by herself. She spends her day reading books and improving skills that can help her score well, academically.

Amaya is a great student but she lacks something very important – Emo onal Intelligence or otherwise known as emo onal quo ent. While she excels in the academic sphere, she hides behind the walls created around herself that hinder her growth as an individual, not because she is an introvert, but she doesn’t know how to connect emo onally. Not being able to iden fy, understand and manage her emo ons or communicate effec vely, her life outside academics seems restricted.

Looking at life holis cally - some ques ons brought forward are, Is Amaya’s intelligence quo ent (IQ) enough for her to achieve success in her life? Is academic intelligence the only determinant to a be er life? How, in an ever world, a person who is people smart, self smart and globally smart takes precedence over academic intelligence? Can we build peace through an emo onally healthy society?

The urge of the present day is to iden fy the necessity for an individual to develop emo onal intelligence. It is important that schools prac ce it, families adapt it and society embraces it to fully transform. While it is certainly instrumental in honing one’s own personality and using his/her full poten al, it also helps one empathize with others, look at problems from a perspec ve beyond self-interest and find harmonious solu ons.

In today’s world, we’re facing many challenges on personal, professional, social, and global fronts. One can learn to confront those challenges well only if they can manage their emo ons and learn to navigate through the maze of different feelings by recognizing, acknowledging, and accep ng those emo ons.

Inarguably, reaping emo onal intelligence can help in a aining be er mental and physical health, dealing with everyday situa ons, building las ng and meaningful rela onships, and enhancing personal and interpersonal growth.

While we can go on reflec ng, we must give emo ons its due place in our life. If you’re looking to develop your emo onal intelligence, here are a few things to start with: - Start reflec ng on your day. Understand your emo ons. Try to comprehend how different events throughout the day made you feel and your reac on towards it.

- Engage yourself in mindfulness ac vi es. Breathe through the heavy emo ons.

Know that it will pass.

- Learn to adapt and have a posi ve outlook. Look at situa ons through more perspec ves than one. Slightly complex, but try to slip into others’ shoes and see their perspec ves.

- Join a mentor-mentee class or let someone coach you to understand and have a grasp of your emo onal journey.

- Evaluate yourself and focus on how you can improve.

- Take responsibility for your ac ons and examine how your ac ons affect those around you.

Finally, we need to understand the power of emo onal intelligence in our lives. We can be smart by being academically superior, but we can’t enjoy life to the fullest if we aren’t emo onally engaged and prepared. Spend me understanding your emo ons, research, read, iden fy if you need to meet an expert or a therapist and find new exercises that can help you be more emo onally self-aware.

Page 02 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Intercultural Learning | Educa on AFS ICL Educators' Training and Effect+ Workshops

#InterculturalLearning AFS ICL Educators' Training and Effect+ Workshops were organised in the month of July 2019.

- Jodhamal Public School, Jammu - MV Interna onal School, Jammu - Partap World School, Pa ala - Mamta Niketan Convent, Tarn Taran, Punjab The Effect + workshops use interac ve experien al learning methods to teach students how they can advance the United Na ons Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ICL Teachers Training empowers teachers to incorporate intercultural learning in class rooms while also helping the students develop intercultural competences, become savvy about the world around them, and be prepared to make an impact in their local communi es. This supports the global movement to advance intercultural learning and global ci zenship educa on and AFS's mission to create CHANGE-MAKERS! The workshops were duly facilitated by Sarita Badhwar for about 150 students and 100 teachers.

Group Photo: Jodhamal Public School, Jammu

Educators A ending Session

Group Photo: Pratap World School, Pa ala

Group Photo: MV Interna onal School, Jammu

Educators A ending Session

Educators A ending Session

In This session we learned about: - What it means to be a Change maker - A global ci zen - Our self - Our neighbourhood - The neighbourhood of others - Sustainable development - Solving global problems - Analysing a problem in mul ple perspec ves We learnt the quali es required to be a global ci zen, as a change maker.

We learnt to look from different perspec ves, To start the change from within from ourselves right now. we also

learnt leadership quality, the things happening all over the world, through a lot of ac vi es like power walk and interac ve sessions, etc..We learnt about global connec vity.

In overall, this session was awesome, enjoyable and informa ve, which made us global students.We learnt to start the change right from the neighbourhood, and learnt the bu erfly effect.We also learnt about change makers such as Afroz Shah. We saw the quali es of a Change maker in ourself, and the quali es we need to develop in Self Reflec on In future i look forward to a end more sessions from AFS. - By Darshan Prema Page 03 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

School | Educa on AFS Educator Exchange Program to Hungary

#EducatorsExchange HAPPINESS IS NOT A DESTINATION, IT IS A WAY OF LIFE

By Nidhi Sahni, Educator, The Emerald Heights Interna onal School, Indore “AFS Intercultural teacher educator volunteer exchange offered me one such wholesome nourishing experience in Bardudvarnok, Hungary. It had all the ingridients of personal, emo onal, professional, social, academic, cultural and patrio c nourishment on the same pla er.

On a personal front, it was inspira onal to see my host sister's skills who manages me for children, parents, co-workers, friends, pets, handicra s, hobby shop, and exchange student from Finland and a host sister from India that is ME. It was good o see bounteous po on of emo ons which came through li le beau ful things that my host family did for me, it veritably demonstrated that Love knows no bars be it language, religion, age etc. Whether it was giving up non vegetarian food on their menu and baking vegan recipes or watching a movie in English and pu ng Hungarian sub tles for themselves, offering their own seats while dining and travelling ,acquain ng me with the traffic rules and acquiring a travel card and much more le me amazed with their hospitality.

Visit to the Grandparents engendered even more respect for their own choice to live with dignity and venerate the joy of giving. Visit to the school in Kaposvar turned out to be really lucky and enriching. We could share and appreciate the uniqueness in these countries, their culture and educa onal systems. Visit to Lake Page 04 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Photo Above: Group Photo During Hungary Program

Balaton known as the Hungarian Sea, Tapolca with interlocking lake caves, fragrant and lavender coloured Tihany streets with beau ful ceramic po ery, flowers and handicra s, Visegrad, Hollókő ethnographic village in Hungary which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Buda castle, the Budapest Parliament, the Synagogue etc. were astounding. It was admirable to see the ini a ve taken to preserve the ancient architecture, ethnicity yet keeping pace with the modern mes.

I feel this exchange program has been level next for me whether it was being with a new family, travelling, speaking a new language, comparing currencies despite maths being a weakness, travelling in public transport, shopping, educa onal system, learning about a new culture etc. helped me to see more in me, discover my unknown strengths, realise more about my own country's strengths.”

Enjoying Dinner During Hungary Program

HOSPITALITY IN HUNGARY

By Reena Dhupia, Volunteer, Baroda Chapter “First of all, I would like to thank AFS for giving me such a wonderful opportunity of visi ng Hungary.

Before leaving I was not aware of the wonderful experience of Intercultural learning which I gained. It is a pla orm for exploring your own self too.

When I arrived at the airport Anita and her friend had come to pick me up. Her friend did not let me pick up my bag and asked for the privilege to be our chauffeur as we were guests from India. Then I came to know her gesture of love when she told me that she is a member parliament of friendship rela onship between India and Hungary.

Above Photo : Group Photo During Program

A HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY IN SUMMER

By Kanakshankar Mukherji, Educator, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata “Budapest enthralls visitors with its fast public transporta on network. My host Gabor Csikos and I reached his apartment within no me in the public transport. In the process I got onto the bus and trams. I was delighted to get into the trams as it was the first me I was ge ng such swank trams. Needless to say in Kolkata we have trams which uses old technology.

I felt mesmerized on the second day when we visited Krishna Valley where the culture of India is being taught to 130 families staying all together. The children are being taught Hymns of Lord Krishna and prayers also with all Indian instruments. They are not given homework to serve humanity and look a er farming and animals. We also a ended a presenta on by an AFS volunteer from Germany in Hungarian School.

I was in another world altogether as was not worried about my business and family. It was a life me unforge able memorable experience. The impact of the visit on me is very posi ve and I do feel that everybody should be a global ci zen because when you see their culture and stay with them, you feel like adop ng it and being a part of their extended family, forever.”

Above Photo : Group Photo During Program

Due to individualism the people may not fall over you to be friends but they are friendly and warm. It is just that they may take a bit of me to open. But in the AFS office I felt as if I had known them from ages. Whether it be the Na onal Director or the others their warmth was infec ous.

In Szeged and Pece along with Gabor, I did presenta on in front of high school students. They were curious about India but at the same me not too curious as for them maybe other des na ons were far more charming. But the seeds of AFS India were planted nonetheless. However, what was noteworthy was the ques ons asked showed that they knew about India and in some depth. That was indeed heartening.

We travelled to Mezoberrani, the hometown of Gabor. His parents and sister and her family presented to me any family home in any part of the world including India. So much of similarity with an Indian country home. I have spent my me in childhood in my aunt's home and my mother's ancestral house which were either in rural area or semi-urban areas. The farm land of Csikos Sr, the chickens, the warmth of holding a freshly laid egg reminded me so much of my childhood.

How can I forget the cheese coins made by Gabor's mother? The most delicious snack in the world which is tasty to the point of being addic ve. Made in a jiffy but humongous in its taste!!! Food in Hungary is largely meat based but doesn't give any trouble in diges ng as they are done up in light sauces or spices which are digested easily.

It was a lovely two weeks of inter-cultural learning for me. But never felt I am not at home. The ma er of fact a tude with a good mix of warmth charm and wit of the Hungarians made the stay so.

Enchanted… that's all I can say” Page 05 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Photo Above: Parita Patel During Her Exchange Program

Alumni Achievement YES Changemakers Workshop

By Parita Patel | YES’15 Alumni from Anand

#YESAlumni “My 10 days in the USA have been a rollercoaster of emo ons ranging from joy, learning, happiness, sa sfac on to sadness. It is funny how even a day volunteering with at the YES end of stay orienta on can teach you so much! For the first 4 days, I was a volunteer helping out with the 2019 YES End of Stay orienta on. It was very heartwarming to see students of different cultures from different countries, having spent a year in the US with their host families, to come back and greet each other like they're a part of this one big family. It reminded me of my own End of Stay orienta on which was 3 years ago. In my me, we were not able to go to Capitol Hill because of some complica ons. But I am glad I was able to go there 3 years later and say my thanks to the office of a Representa ve of my host state–Michigan!

I met so many different students, YES Alumni and volunteers. I have come to realize that once an exchange student, you connect with other exchange students (present or past) irrespec ve of their host country and na ve country.

For End of Stay, I had jobs like helping out with registra on, making the nametags, going to collect students from the airport, helping out with the students on visit to Capitol Hill and U.S. Department of State and patrolling the hallways with fellow Alumni at night to enforce the curfew (I am sorry, but it had to be done). I also cofacilitated a session on 'Readjus ng back into the Society' for the exchange students of India, Ghana and Thailand. It felt gra fying Page 06 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

to have been on exchange and have begun the process of readjus ng back into the society and being able to help current exchange students because of that experience. On final day, I spent the day with the new Alumni from India since they were the last ones to leave. Talking, dancing with them on Bollywood songs and even refereeing a friendly wrestling match was so much fun! I felt beyond blessed to be able to interact with them and all the other amazing people I met at End of Stay orienta on. Those days were hec c, full of work but I am lucky to have experienced them.

For the next few days, I a ended the Training of Trainers for YES Changemakers workshop. There was one YES Alum each from 11 different countries. I felt blessed to represent India there. Our trainers Bob, Carolyn and Nancy were wonderful. They provided us the modules of the Changemakers curriculum and for the three days, we took the trainings as a trainer based on those modules for which they provided feedback. All the trainers and Alumni were very encouraging, pa ent and suppor ve. I learnt a lot about good training and being a good trainer. I learnt the different learning styles of the par cipants and how to take sessions such that people with different learning styles can learn from it. These days were full of trainings, making my session plan with my partner and brainstorming on how to make the curriculum more crea ve and taking risks with it. In the evenings, we walked around the beau ful city of Alexandria. We talked about different cultures, our hobbies (I and my roommate even choreographed and filmed a Bollywood/belly dance rou ne!), poli cs, community and life in our countries. One Alumna from Thailand took us to authen c Thai restaurant where we all got to taste Thai food. Because of those walks, long discussions outside of sessions, the cultural acceptance and sensi vity, we all became very close as a group. That means not only do I have a friend in those 10 countries, I also have a fellow trainer that I can ask for help! All in all, it was an enriching experience and I am very grateful to YES program for giving me this opportunity.”

Photo Above: Ajay Mehta During Pre-Departure Orienta on in Italy

Training And Development Country Specific Pre Departure Orientation In Italy

By Ajay Mehta, Trainer, AFS India

#Orientation #Italy “As it is said by Edgar H. Schein, “most of my important lessons about life have come from recognizing how others from a different culture view things”, it is quite likely that people from a different culture have completely different perspec ves on life than us. Instead of remaining in the same framework of thinking, they challenge our thought processes by showing us that there are completely different approaches to look at a specific issue or think about a problem. They challenge our singular view of looking at the world and allow us to start a process of being able to look at the world from mul ple perspec ves. They also provide for the most interes ng intercultural learning opportuni es.

I got an opportunity to see how people from a different culture perceive Indian culture. I was invited by Intercultural to be a part of Asia specific pre-departure orienta on camp held at Rome, Italy from May 31st to June 02nd, 2019. There were around 200 plus students who would go on intercultural excursions soon. The main objec ve of the orienta on was to give country specific ps to students. The orienta on camp included students who had signed up for Asian countries like China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia for their exchange year. Students were divided into groups as per the country of their exchange des na on. Orienta on of each group was facilitated by Intercultural returnees who have been on an exchange to those countries. Two Intercultural returnees namely Alessandro Genoni and Emily Zanardo were the facilitators for India group. Alessandro was hosted in Gandhinagar and Emily was hosted in Delhi during their exchange year in India. There were ac vi es that aimed at equipping students with intercultural tools for their exchange year in a different cultural se ng. We discussed topics like Stereotypes and Generalisa ons, Collision of Cultural Icebergs, Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions, etc. It was quite a humbling experience to be a part of this orienta on.”

During Session

Discussion

Ac vity-Based Session

Page 07 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

National Arrival Orientation 2019-20 Batch

#ARRIVALOrientation The Na onal Arrival Orienta on for 2019-20 Batch was conducted from 3rd to 6th July 2019 in New Delhi. The orienta on was a ended by 48 students from 10 different countries (Italy, USA, Japan, Argen na, Finland, Mexico, Thailand, France, Germany, Switzerland), 16 chapter representa ves, 4 trainers, and 9 staff members.

The orienta on started with an Indian tradi on of welcoming the guests with Tika and Garland. The host students were felicitated by our lovely volunteers who were dressed up beau fully for the occasion in colorful Indian clothes. The students were quite overwhelmed with the way they were given to see a glimpse of the rich Indian culture through this warm welcome with open arms.

Group Photo During Arrival Orienta on

The orienta on emphasized on preparing the par cipants with the right expecta on from the program with adequate intercultural learning. It was a great pla orm for the host students to make new friends and take a taste of the Indian culture before actually going to the host communi es. The orienta on also helped the host students in ge ng familiar with the support staff members, volunteers, and fellow exchange students.

The sessions spread over 3 days and included main topics like mood curve, adjustment with the host family and school, AFS educa onal goals, tools for emo onal management, insight on Indian classroom and teaching and se ng realis c expecta ons, AFS support to name a few. These sessions were good learning and helpful in terms of understanding about various Taboos in Indian Culture.

Host Students & Volunteers at Cultural Bazar During Arrival Orienta on

NSLI-Y Students & Volunteers at Cultural Bazar During Arrival Orienta on

Brazile Deligate with Volunteers at Cultural Bazar During Arrival Orienta on

Host Student from Thialand at Cultural Bazar During Arrival Orienta on

Page 08 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Deputy Head, French Language & Communica on with Host Students

Thialand Host Students with Embassy Representa ves

Alumni Sharing Exchange Program Experience with Students

Foreigner Living in India, Sharing Her Experience

During the orienta on, cultural bazar was also set up by our volunteers to showcase the culture of their chapters to the students.

A talent show was organized for the host students where they performed to showcase their talents specific to their countries.

During both the events, Embassy representa ves from France (Ja nder Singh, Responsible Adjoint, Deputy Head, Office for coopera on in French Language and Communica on), Italy (Chiara Petracca, Counsellor, Head of Press and Cultural Affairs; Valen na

Ierna, Head of Uni- Italia in India) and Thailand (Mr. Kritnarong Sereeswad, Second Secretary; Varaporn, Assistant to Counselor; Ms. Technikon, Protocol Officer) also had their presence and were quite amused by the student's performances.

There were also guest speakers who delivered various sessions: Dip Shankar, Safe for Self Defense session and Joanna Agnieszka who works in business and development with Embassy and Social Development Organiza ons talked about the aspects of a foreigner living in India.

Italy Group Dressed for Talent Show During Arrival Orienta on

NSLI-Y Students Sharing Iceberg Model During Arrival Orienta on

Students Marking AFS Educa onal Goal During Arrival Orienta on

Self Defense Session During Arrival Orienta on

Page 09 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Photo Above: Group Photo During Re-Entry Orienta on

Reflecting the Exchange Journey, Re-Entry Orientation | AFS Programs 2018-19

#AFSReEntryOrientaion It was overwhelming to see some of the students who did not talk at all during the pre-departure orienta on back in June 2018, were now not ready to stop sharing their experiences in front of the whole group-indeed a great transforma on. This is how the reentry orienta on of 13 AFS Year program students began with enthused young ambassadors returning from France, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Norway, USA, Germany, and Denmark.

The orienta on, held in Delhi from 12th to 14th July 2019 focused on reflec ng on the exchange year, the reverse cultural adapta on cycle, planning how students can take these new developed global skills forward and their future engagement with AFS as alumni. The orienta on was facilitated by AFS India Staff Members.

Na onal Director, Divya Arora Addressing The Students

These students not only successfully completed their exchange year of 2018-19, but they have also now emerged as a sensi zed global ci zen. Most of them, now even more aware about the Indian culture and equipped with learnings from a new diversified culture of their host country. Learning a language such as Finnish, Dutch, French, German, etc has been yet another feather in the cap for these returnees for life.

AFS Returnees were also given an idea about chapter engagements.

They were made aware of the AFS India's processes and various ac vi es that they can par cipate in once they go back to their chapters. Each of the staff members of AFS India connected with the returnee via an online call to introduce the processes and gave them clarity on the expecta ons once they go back to chapter as alumni.

The 3 days of experience sharing, reflec ons and talks culminated into a fun lunch of celebra on before they took off on their new journey of being AFS Alumni. We wish the newly AFS graduates good luck. We look forward to seeing them get engaged and par cipate in various ac vi es as an alumnus and volunteers. Our hear elt gra tude to all the stakeholders for their tremendous support to the students.

Page 10 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Students A ending Session On Educa onal Goals

During Session

Photo Above: During English Short Term Program

Hosting Short Term Program Arrival Orientation

#ShortTermProgram

AFS India Hos ng Short Term Programs are from 4 weeks to 10 weeks hosted in different ci es of India with respect to their themes.

Each Hos ng Short Term Program had Arrival orienta on within the first week of the arrival of the group. All the Host student underwent the Arrival orienta on with the purpose to introspect into the expected realis c and unrealis c expecta ons and introduc on of the journey of the intercultural exchange. The orienta on helped them to understand the risk management measures.

AFS India is hos ng 48 students from eight different countries in the on the hos ng short term program USA, Japan, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Portuguese, Belgium French and Germany.

Arrival Orienta on helped to prepare the students to set the right expecta on from the program and learn educa onal value with a happy hos ng experience.

AFS India new hos ng cycle 2019 started with many diverse shortterm programs like English Summer Program, STEM Program, Germany Reciprocal Program.

During Germany Reciporical Program

Group Photo: During STEM Program Group

During Ac vity

Page 11 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

NSLI-Y is a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educa onal and Cultural Affairs

Scholarships to Study

Language Abroad

NSLI-Y Arrival Orientation

#NSLIY The Hos ng season for 2019 kick start with the Arrival Orienta on for US State Department Program- Na onal Security Language Ini a ve for Youth (NSLI-Y) Summer Program on July 1, 2019.

Group Photo: During NSLI-Y Summer Program in Modern Public School

PEACE Arrival Orientation

#PEACEProgram PEACE Arrival Orienta on was held on 2nd July 2019 in New Delhi. This is the first me that AFS India has hosted par cipants on the PEACE program. PEACE program is a trimester program focusing on the enhancement of global ci zenship. Overall, we had 8 par cipants from which includes three from Turkey, three from Italy, one from Belgium and one from Portugal.

The orienta on was facilitated by Simone Kundu, our peace alumni along with Priyam Panchal, our volunteer from

The program welcomed 15 students from the USA for a dura on of 6 weeks to learn Hindi Language. The program is being hosted by Delhi Interna onal School, Dwarka and Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh.

The arrival orienta on was an important event to manage expecta ons of the students, provide tools for adapta on and risk management. The students appreciated the induc on into a new culture to help them have a successful exchange year!

Group Photo: During NSLI-Y Summer Program in Delhi Interna onal School

Gandhinagar and Nishad, an alumni and volunteer from Trivandrum. From the Na onal Office, we had two staff members present to facilitate the orienta on.

The facilitators were glad to understand that the students had very realis c expecta ons from the program. While briefing them about risk management, host family and host school life, the students par cipated very well by asking ques ons. They were made to do role-plays to make sessions more interes ng. It was a half-day orienta on and post-lunch the students departed to their host chapters. The chapters received the students with great enthusiasm and love.

Photo Below: During Peace Arrival Orientaion

Page 12 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

The ROAR of the Kingdom Who is to be blamed for the man untamed?

The brute savaged blemished the sphere Once a home to the millions us A few are truant and others perish to fears.

Survival of the dominant was the rule mankind knows.

But loathed with arrogance the road they go They quietly con nue walking their own path.

But they are quietness goes on killing us with its own wrath.

Photo Above: Group Photo During Slam Poetry Contest

Volunteerism Slam Poetry Contest conducted in lieu of World Environment Day 2019 | Bangalore

By Madhusudan Roy, Volunteer, Bangalore Chapter

#AFSEvents “In con nued observa on of the World Environment Day, AFS Bangalore Chapter in collabora on with its Host school Vidyashilp Academy conducted the first ever Slam Poetry event among its member schools on the 22nd of June 2019. What makes it memorable perhaps is the fact that par cipants soaked themselves in nature to create their own poems. In sync with the theme “Reconnec ng people with nature: paradigm shi from Anthropocentrism to Eco-centrism”, they became the voices of natural objects to slam it on stage!

From among the many evoca ve poems, Veda Menon of Vidyashilp Academy notched the top place with her 'countdown' and ins nc ve connect to the stage. Tushar from Vydehi School of Excellence 'roared' to glory grabbing the second place while Shreysht from the same school received third place for being the voice from another planet. Par cipants from Global City Interna onal School too were winners in their own way! The poems wri en by all the par cipants are terrific and they are worth reading and reflec ng on the message they deliver to protect our mother earth.

You are encroaching on a land Leaving us no where to stand You loot, you killed you bombarded the planet.

I reckon you couldn't handled your unworthy gauntlet.

Don't you forget the theory of evolu on You didn't become arrogant in one revolu on.

It took you me to ravage our home for more score And you made all of us deaf with your haughty war.

I ask of you its too late can we change it all ? Yes, let's snap to reverse this phase And bring together them all.

Let's forget what you scored Add your pinch of diligence and love and the loom is restored!

- By Tushar Kumar Jain, Vydehi School of Excellence, Bangalore

WINNING POETRY THE 7th DAY I saw it all happen What started was over at once, She boiled, she cried, She cooled and she smiled And then took it away without a glance 7 days for the world to end.

I observed as I hid between grass The mother wept And the world drowned They were going to be gone at last 6 days for the world to end My leaves were staring to wither, Disease struck And humans died They were fading one by one .

5 days for the world to end She gave ' em a steely glance They froze , they shivered Begged for some warmth As the mother turned her back.

4 days for the world to end She granted the warmth they wanted They boiled and screamed And pleaded for mercy As all my flowers fell apart 3 days for the world to end I sat staring at the sky My roots were dead And I would be too Before they knew I was gone.

- By Veda Menon, Vidyashilp Academy, Bangalore

Student Nara ng Poetry

Page 13 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Seedball Preparation Activity | Vadodara

By Pri Gohel, Volunteer, Vadodara Chapter

#AFSCommunityService "Ten volunteers from Vadodara par cipated in seedball making the ac vity at Xaviers Technical Ins tute organized by United Way of Vadodara on 21st June 2019.

United Way of Vadodara is one of the major community service organiza ons under the umbrella of which about 100 NGOs are associated. It is working mainly on Health, Environment & Educa on.

Target was to prepare 5000 seedballs in half an hour by 500 volunteers present but almost 13,700 seedballs were prepared by all the volunteers par cipated. AFS volunteers have made 416 seedballs in half an hour. Indeed it was fun performing this ac vity for the ďŹ rst me. For AFS it's a great ini a ve to start with our community service projects. Everyone enjoyed a lot remembering their childhood memories while preparing seedballs."

Making Seedballs

Volunteers During The Ac vity

Volunteer to create change

Tree Plantation Program | Gandhinagar

By Shilpa Tanna, Volunteer, Gandhinagar Chapter

#AFSCommunityService To make Green Gandhinagar greener Gandhinagar chapter organized tree planta on program. To make it successful Nila Shukla, Harshba and Jilubha from Gandhinagar Municipal Corpora on, Arpit Chris an Principal M. B. Patel School, Naresh Chaudhary, NSS students and GCERT B.ED. students and lecturers remained present at Muk dham (crematory). The staunch belief of people serving here feels that Muk dham is not a crematory but a temple. Muk dham is nurturing birds and animals. Gujarat government had provided 500 saplings to plant like teak,

Volunteers During Community Service

Page 14 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

sesam, sandal, neem, herbs and many ayurvedic plants. Alongwith volunteers of the chapter exchange students Merica and Silvan also planted saplings. They very enthusias cally par cipated in the ac vity. They planted trees Everybody seemed very happy and a sense of sa sfac on was there on everybody's face. Its repaying something to nature from our end. Volunteers felt that it is very good to work in collabora on with other organisa ons as we can propagate the ac vi es of AFS through grapevine as it is the best mode of communica on.

Plan ng Saplings

AIMUN offers a pres gious, immersive, and highly engaging experience in the realm of global issues and interna onal rela ons. It features the most talented students from leading colleges and universi es. Because AIMUN is a ended by some of the most diverse, talented, and elite MUN programs across the globe, it consistently features some of the highest-level debate available to students today. AIMUN teaches students valuable cri cal thinking and public speaking skills and prepares them for success in a myriad of fields -- all while forming valuable friendships and memories that will last a life me.

AIMUN is one of the most well-recognized and respected conferences on the global MUN circuit. Since its first session in 2010, AIMUN has hosted students from more than 12 countries across 5 con nents, making it a truly global experience. Our loca on in NOIDA, adjacent to New Delhi exposes students to one of the most prominent cultural and historical centers in the world.

AIMUN is supported by UNESCO and UNIC. AIMUN will be held in Amity’s own sprawling 64 acre University Campus in Noida-adjacent to Delhi, the poli cal capital of India.

Cost of Rs. 3500/- per delegate is involved inclusive for 4 Nights and 5 Day accommoda on, all meals, all events, conference kit and airport / railway sta on transfers.

Early Registra on for AIMUN is now open. Send us an email to jarora@aisn.amity.edu to reserve your seats.

Page 15 | July 2019 | Newsle er | AFS India

Sanya Arora from Delhi, Hosted in UK