Eight students from Ryan International were part of 35-member Indian team that took part
in the Future World Leaders Summit at Georgetown

Eight students from the city were part of the 35-member delegation that participated in the presidential classroom held during the Future World Leaders Summit in Georgetown University, USA.

The Indian delegation received a standing ovation for their presentation on India at the seven-day summit that concluded on July 28. Kriti Thakur, a student of Ryan International School, Kharghar was selected as the head of the Indian delegation and was accompanied by Upala Banerjee, Bakhtawar Dange and Nikita Amin from Ryan International, Kharghar, Ankit Chopra and Yash Mehta from Ryan International, Sanpada and Rohit Panhale from St Joseph, Kalamboli.

"We are really proud to represent India and it was a great learning experience as we got the opportunity to meet a number of students from various counties and learn about their culture and language. We also discussed the issues prevailing in the society," informed Kriti, a class X student adding that it mainly was a global platform to express their views on various issues such as drugs, health concerns, energy, peace keeping, terrorism and more.

Ankit, a class IX student informed that the exposure they gained can not be explained. "We were fortunate to see so many embassies and interact with international policy makers, diplomats, scientists and others. We also gained knowledge in policy making process and insight into interaction between government entities and organisations around the world," he said. Bakhtawar added that they were put in different working groups with students from other countries that helped them learn working in groups.

The students were all smiles on recollecting experiences during their week-long stay. "We all had room mates from different country and we taught them to say namaste," said Nikita Amin adding that initially they assumed that Indians do not know to speak proper English, but when they interacted with us their perception about us changed. Upala added that their day used to start at 5 am and end by 11 pm and their every minute was planned.

"If anybody got a bit late then he or she had to stay back. This made us very punctual," Upala added.

Ryan want their students to be in the cabinet and be President or Prime Minister 20 years down the line.

"Students got an international exposure and those with good communication skills are selected to be a part of this summit," she said. Students concluded saying that they are still in touch with their friends through e-mails and feel proud to be a part of such a summit.