Nov 22

Dew drops are the gems of morning,
But the tears of mournful eve!
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Youth and Age
The penultimate 12th session of Sunday Seminar kick-started at 10 a.m. when 200 dew drops from 12 campuses of the City Montessori School(CMS) gathered at the CMS Convention Centre at CMS Kanpur Road Campus on November 22. Students who were the first to reach the venue were given a dose of French songs while they awaited the arrival of their counterparts from other campuses. They registered their attendance with the help of Mrs Sangeeta Negi, Assistant Coordinator, Sunday Seminar.

Students were given a feedback form in which they were required to complete the phrase ‘I dream of a world…’ and specify two questions they would like to ask the delegates of the 10th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World (ICCJW). This was to be an important session because now students would be chosen for interaction with the distinguished delegates of the conference between December 11 and 14.

The ICCJW would be a platform for the students of CMS to put forth their appeal for world unity and world peace before the visiting judges. Mr Raza Hasnain Naqvi, Chief Coordinator, Sunday Seminar, seized the opportunity and clarified the meaning of an appeal. The dictionary defines it as ‘an urgent request’.

The urgent request that students from CMS RDSO Campus would put forth before the distinguished delegates of the ICCJW was rehearsed first. Among other things, students harped on these of the growing menace of war, global warming, terrorism, stockpile of arms and ammunition, and the deterioration of ecology and environment. After a lot of deliberation, 14 students were selected for the final appeal.

Students from CMS Anand Nagar Campus proceeded to put forth their appeal after this. The issues of concern, among other things, were need for enforceable international law, concern over money being squandered in making weapons, the growing menace of radiation and the urgent need to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. In the end, 10 students were selected for the final appeal.

CMS Kanpur Road Campus was the next to put forth its appeal. The topics ranged from concern for growing pollution, amassing of weapons, need for justice, need to eliminate gap between rich and poor and child labour. Five students could make it to the finishing line.

All 29 students selected after these rehearsals were lined up on the stage and instructed on the manners they would be supposed to follow while on the stage before the delegates. Tanya from CMS RDSO Campus was chosen to summarise the groups’ appeal, while Mansi from CMS Indira Nagar Campus was chosen to be the backup. She would supply the summary in case Tanya is not able to register her presence on the day of the appeal.

Students from CMS Station Road Campus were given a chance to present their appeals after the break that followed. They were concerned about the neglect of human rights in the contemporary society, cutting of trees and illiteracy. At the end of the presentation, two students were selected to lay forth their pleas before the judges.

Students from CMS Gomti Nagar Campus voiced their concern for the deteriorating ecology and the need to unite the world. Two students were selected after the presentation. Students from CMS Aliganj Campus-I & II voiced their concern for child labour, terrorism, poverty, education, and the need for a tree plantation drive.

Students from CMS Ashrafabad Campus were given a chance to voice their appeals after this. Five students were selected from the lot who put forth appeals on deforestation, endangered species, pollution and child exploitation. Five students were selected for the final appeal. Students from CMS Rajendra Nagar Campus-I used the opportunity to put forth appeals on pollution, child labour, international law and need to unite the religions of the world. Eight students were selected from the group.

All the selected students gathered on the stage. Of these, Neha Singh from CMS Aliganj Campus-I was chosen to present a summary of her group’s appeals. Shubham Khurana from CMS Rajendra Nagar Campus-I was chosen as the backup.

Students from CMS Mahanagar Campus-I & III presented their appeals. The topics ranged from endangered species, global warming, deteriorating ecology, growing use of pesticides and chemicals, illiteracy and the need for conservation of forests. Students from CMS Chowk Campus harped their concern for illiteracy, global warming, population explosion and greenhouse effect. Nine students were selected from the group for the final appeal. Mantasha Athar, class IX-D, CMS Chowk Campus was chosen to summarise the group’s appeals.

Appeals by students from CMS Mahanagar Campus-II would be given an ear to in the next and final session of Sunday Seminar scheduled for November 29 at CMS Gomtinagar Campus.