Hotchkiss In India

Impressions from the road in India

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:33:00 +0000

The view from the bus
D. Thompson

Our time in India outside of the conference was crucial to our experience, but also far too short. Much like life at Hotchkiss, during our time at Mayo College we existed in a "bubble" made up of an oasis-like campus, beautiful facilities, and the familiar faces and actions of boarding school life.

Before describing some of what we saw on the road, it is worth mentioning that there is a river of outside life that bisected the Mayo campus. Between the boys college and the girls college, there is a narrow street, with traffic hurtling between the whitewashed walls of the two schools. After walking across the quiet campus, you emerge from a gate to find Indian Police officers waving at you to stop while they try and halt the torrent of bikes, motorcycles, three wheeled cabs, and black and yellow taxis that rush by the gates. When deep in conversation, this was all the more startling, as the buzz and roar of engines replaced bird calls and the whirring and clank of bicycles, the sounds of campus.

Our time in the bus traveling from Ajmer to Jaipur and then to Agra was full of motorized life as well. The presence of tractors - as a means of transportation - was particularly striking - we went through an intersection in Jaipur, and waiting at the red light were a couple of cars, some three-wheeled cabs, many motorcycles, and a tractor.

Another vehicle that impressed was what appeared to be partially completed trucks and buses - the chassis, wheels, and exposed engine, a seat, and the steering wheel and pedals, and that was it. No body, no roof over the driver, and sometimes no windshield or just a windshield in front of the driver...

We saw plenty of motorcycles with women riding "side saddle" in brightly colored saris, or crowded with groups of friends (three or four), or an entire four person family - with the infant child propped up in front of the father, and if they reached, their hands on the handlebars. Impressive balance from an early age!

We passed the occasional car stuffed to the gills with people - we passed one four door car that had close to 20 people in it, some standing on the back bumper, and leaning to hang on to the roof rack.

Many buses went by with fifteen or twenty people sitting on the roof - our guide told us that they also paid full fare to sit up there...

The long distance trucks were very impressive, with multicolored paint jobs, and pinstriping, and multiple mirrors and decorative lights, and some variation of "Horn Please" painted on to the tailgate. My favorite was a truck that said "Horn Do."

We also saw many camel-drawn carts, and as we passed through small towns, saw camels tied up on the side of the road - they would laconically glance at the bus as it passed, and their enormous, limpid eyes and long lashes brought to mind makeup commercials.

Also impressive was the painting of animals - a herd of sheep with bright pink dots sprayed on their backs, and in some cases, their foreheads painted as well; cows who had had their horns painted red; elephants with painted, patterned, decorations on their foreheads and down their trunks...

As we went through the small towns, there were always many, many people on the sides of the road - often sitting together around stalls and shops, and almost all male. It was rare to see more than five or ten women as we passed through any of the towns, but there were always hundreds of men.

We continued to remark on how many businesses there were, but how little evidence there was that any transactions were taking place - it was rare to see any shopkeeper wrapping goods, or taking money.

Because it was Divali, there were numerous sweets stalls set up - large displays of brightly colored small cakes - like petit fours - in yellows and oranges with green highlights. The stalls - and many of the brick and mortar store fronts - had garlands of marigolds draped over their facades, and there were lights strung around the businesses as well.

The roadside temples were interesting as well - beehive shaped roofs, and lights, and often someone inside making their offering to the particular god of the temple. Peering inside, the god was decorated with garlands of marigolds, and had other flowers at their feet - golden Ganeshas (elephant shaped god) and Hanumans (monkey-faced god) and Shivas (multi-armed female god).

We passed fields, and small rural villages, and modern gas stations, and brick yards with their five story chimneys, and the occasional pack of monkeys...

There is so much more to relate - as one student said on a previous trip to India - "I thought I would get a lot of homework done when we were driving, but I just couldn't stop looking out the window..."

Post Conference, Day 1 (Jaipur)

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Post Conference, Day One (Jaipur)

A. Wymard '11

Friday morning began bright and early as we were prepared to leave the conference before sunrise. However, Sabrina, Abby, Isabella, Liza and I quickly learned just how much security there is on the girls’ campus. After trying to speak with one of the guards who would not let us leave, we had to wait on a bench right behind the main gate until Mrs. Bird could come and explain that we needed to leave.

Upon leaving the campus we traveled with two Australian schools to Jaipur. Our tour guide took us through the "Pink City." The Pink City is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and was the first planned city in India, laid out on a grid, with parks and traffic circles, and with shops in covered galleries along the main streets. Although it was built in 1727, all of the buildings still obey the law which says that they must be pink - a development for the visit of Edward, The Prince of Wales, in 1853.

Overwhelmed by the throngs of people and traffic in Jaipur, we decided to step out of the bus to have a closer look. We were immediately greeted by men selling souvenirs and beggar children. By the end of the day, this type of reception became expected whenever we would disembark from the bus.

Continuing further into Jaipur, we reached the Amber Fort. The Amber Fort was a breathtaking experience - situated atop a ridge, with views of the entire valley. Again, once we got off the bus, men were immediately trying to sell us trinkets. Thinking we could stump some of them, we decided to speak in either Spanish or Chinese. We discovered all too quickly that these men are at least tri-lingual. In order to reach the top of the fort, we rode elephants two-by-two, and some of us were surprised by the bumpiness of the ride. We were given a tour of the fort which enabled us to learn not only about its history, but about the magnificent architecture as well.

After visiting the Amber Fort, we enjoyed lunch with our new Australian friends and exchanged many exciting stories with each other about our different weeks. After lunch, we boarded the bus again (this time just with the Hotchkiss delegation) and headed off for Agra, arriving late in the evening, exhausted from such an amazing day. We checked-in to our rooms, trying to enjoy some sleep before off on our next great adventure - sunrise at the Taj Mahal.

Third Speaker, Student Riika, Indian Fair

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Third Keynote Speaker and student Riika, and Indian Fair

E. Johnson ‘11

Wednesday morning began for many with early morning yoga. Most of the mornings had been pretty calm, stretching, breathing, a few easy positions, the female leader ordering us to “reeeeeeeee-laxxxxxx,” but Wednesday was a little different. Seemingly appropriate with the very full day that awaited us, we began with a few new positions, one of which involved lying on our stomachs with arms underneath the body and both legs picked up and bent to the back of the head. Simple.

We then attended a presentation by Mr. Shiv Khera who can best be described as a motivational speaker. He fervently urged us to be leaders and tried to fill us with the inspiration to do so, though many were left unsure with the true message of his address. In talking to delegates from India, I learned that he is a very famous author in India and one student even said that every household of India has one of his books.

After discussion in our baraza groups about character, values, and teamwork, we students listened to a Riika speaker named Mr. Ravi Singh, on environmentalism. He is the Secretary General and CEO of Worldlife Fund- India. He spoke of tigers in the region of the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and the only one inhabited by tigers. These tigers have recently been wandering from their homes which have been destroyed and into human inhabited zones. It was interesting to look at a concrete effect of global climate change today in India.

From late afternoon into the night, we attended the Fun Fête, where we took a camel ride tour of the campus led by our friend Abu, and explored the many stalls of textiles and other Indian goods. Upon returning from our second camel ride of the night, we saw that a few students were dancing and joined them. We danced for over an hour with all our new friends and learned dance moves from all over the world. Quincy especially has mastered one move, which is just begging for a Thrilling Thursday all school auditorium appearance.

Adventure Day

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Adventure Day
I. Johnson '12

Our third day in India started off very, very early. With the women in pink (house mothers) waking us up at 4:30 a.m. we all got ready and headed off to the buses parked at the Boys' School. Of course because of confusion we did not leave campus until 7:00am... However when we did leave we still had a journey of three hours ahead of us. Two hours in, we stopped at the office building for a textile factory. This, we were informed, was the closest bathroom to our final destination: Chittorgarh.

Chittorgarh is considered to be the largest fort in Asia and when we got there we certainly saw why. There were parts of the fort stretching in every direction. Chittorgarh has an interesting history. Some highlights include first being used for a dowry (given to the groom in marriage from the bride) and then in 1303 the palace was attacked in efforts to try and capture "the most beautiful woman in the world."

On the way back, we stopped at the Textile factory and had lunch. During this, "Ms. Annie" and "Mr. Quincy" we interviewed for Indian national televion. Asking which country was "best" at evironmental efforts, they tried and could not get accross that no country was "best."

We drove back to the school at around 6:00 p.m. just in time for cultural night. The United States presented a dance and sing-a-long to "Surfing USA." This was the Hotchkiss students' preference to "Party in the USA" a Hannah Montana song schools from California were more interested in... Getting a chance to see all the cultures represted at the conference was really cool. The Indians, our host nation, danced to Jai Ho and invited us to join, Canada sang the Hockey Song and Japan showed some martial art skill.

After this, we enjoyed a dinner with everyone - including the adult delegates - outside. This was a nice treat in comparison to our cafeteria setting the past two days. We walked around and some girls learned some Indian dance moves. It was a great way to end a long and tiring day.

A Brief Overview of SERVICE DAY at RSIC '09

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:28:00 +0000

A Brief Overview of SERVICE DAY at RSIC '09

Abby F. '12

Our second day here at the conference began with chocolate donuts, corn, and lemon tarts for breakfast. It it interesting how the conference organizers seem to think that foreigners eat lemon squares for breakfast, but it is a nice treat. As I sat with five Indian girls at breakfast, they asked me if this was a typical breakfast for Americans. Hopefully I explained to them well enough that I do not eat desserts for breakfast every morning.

The theme for the day was service, and it kicked off with a keynote address from Mr. Sachin Pilot, the youngest person elected to Parliament at the age of 26 in 2004. Mr. Pilot stressed the challenges that face the democracies around the world, and stated his firm belief that no type of democracy works for every country.

Mr. Pilot is a particularly interesting and inspring young man, but we also remarked on his good looks. I wondered if it was maybe just us Hotchkiss delegates who found him particularly attractive, but an Indian girl in my room told me that he is a beloved celebrity in this country, not only because of his good looks but also because of his record-breaking acheivements. Her friends screamed when they found out she would be hearing him, and they told her to get his autograph. It is interesting that kids across the country idolize him, and that he is as well known for his good looks as for his politics.

Later in the afternoon, we were all seperated into various service projects. I found myself doing an art project which they later wanted me to buy- an intersting service project in a country where more than 40% of the people live in slums. I found it difficult to reconcile the idea that there are 700 people here for this conference and we are waited on day and night, and yet we could not even get out of the school to help out in the community for service day. I think it is something worth considering- not everyone's idea of service is going into the community and interacting with those who need service.

The evening ended with a rehearsal for mulitcultural night. We got together with the other three American schools to decide on a performance that represented American culture. Some people argued for Hannah Montana, so it took a while for us to try to talk them out of that. We eventually decide on "Surfin' USA," which is not the most accurate representation of the whole of America, but we came up with a fun dance that was easy to learn.

The Importance of Asking Questions

I want to end with a short summary of theme that has manifested itself here at the conference many times. Many of our keynote speakers have stressed the importance of asking questions. As I heard their claims that just asking a question can start to solve a multitude of global problems, I wondered just how true that is. As the conference has progressed, I have come across many instances where the truth of their claims is visible.

Whenever I meet someone new, our conversation is usually comprised of back and forth questioning. It seems like an awkward way to lead a conversation, but at the same time, it is almost the only way to get to know new people. I know nothing about most of their cultures, and the only way for me to discover the similarities and differences between my lifestyle and theirs is to ask the questions. If we all got to know each other a little better around the world, we might better understand the "others" that we are so fearful of.

This also applies to the idea of environmentalism, which has been discussed at the conference numerous times. If you ask yourself, "do I really need to buy that car?" or "Should I throw away all that food that is still perfectly edible?" we could greatly reduce the ridiculous consumption that makes America the leading producer of carbon dioxide emissions in the world.

In India, the Right to Information Act allows all citizens to ask questions and to get answers. It requires the government to publicize their accounts to whomever desires them. This has allowed many Indians to becoime more informed and responsible voters, but more importantly, it has started to solve the problem of tax money being absorbed into the government and then disappearing. It would be wonderful to see a law such as this one passed in the U.S.A. Mr. Pilot discussed how positively it has affected India, and how it is the only law of its kind in the world.

Lastly, the theme of asking questions relates to the conference theme: "lead me from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge." Personally, I believe that the more questions we ask, the closer we get to light. We will never fully understand our world, but we can definitely take steps toward that when we discover the answers to some of our burning questions.

Goodbye from India- we look forward to sharing more of our experiences with the Hotchkiss community upon our return!

Opening Day - from Sabrina

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:23:00 +0000

Sabrina B. '12 writes about the first day on campus.

The opening ceremony for the Round Square conference was held at the Bikaner Pavilion on the Mayo Campus. The pavilion is a beautiful open air area in which all the delegates and teachers sat, organized by school. We sat near the top, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Dressed in our home-made Hotchkiss uniforms, we stood out a bit from the other delegates clothed in matching, elaborate ones. It was interesting to see how well each uniform reflected the schools. For example the Mayo girls school uniform was a modern take on tradition Indian attire while Scottish girls were wearing ankle length tartan skirts despite the unbelievable heat. The diversity of the students attending the conference was apparent by just glancing at the attire.

The ceremony began with a parade of 18 antique cars owned by various Mayo alumni. Each car, carrying an important Round Square board member, pulled up to a red carpet that circled the grand stage. Men in white suits and colorful turbans emerged as they were announced by a speaker. Although this entire procession was quite surprising, the most shocking thing was the board member that emerged from the final call. It was Prince Andrew. Duke of York. As he walked done the aisle surrounded a group of Mayo students accompanying, every student whipped our their cameras and took pictures. He took his seat at an actual throne, facing the stage.

The whole ceremony was meticulously planned down the last detail. It contined with the Prince, the principal of Mayo, and the head of Round Square making brief speeches each welcoming us to the school. Every time someone noteworthy went onto the stage, a Mayo student was ready to accompany them. Every guest was treated like royalty, not only the Prince.

Next came the flagbearing procession during which one member from each school walked across proudly bearing the flag of our school. Only at this moment did it dawn on me the number of schools and vartiety of countries represented at the conference. As the ceremony came to a close I thought about how formal it had been, a type of formality I hadn't really seen in a school environment before. I couldn't help but compare Mayo College to Hotchkiss. Both are beautiful in their own right,.offer excellent educations, and are boarding but besides these few similarities, everything else was so strikingly different.

Directly after this the first speaker came up. She was a small, older woman named Aruna Roy dressed in a lovely sari. She was charismatic and engaging, holding the attention of even a group of overheated teenagers very well. Mrs. Roy, an activist, among many things, told us about herself and then continued on to her cause. She was an activist of human rights, especially for those in poverty. After driving thtough Mumbai, only briefly, the amount of slums and poverty was eye-opening to say the least. The feeling of shock and sadness still lingered with me even two days later. Sitting in the conference, in a beautiful school for the most privileged of children surrounded by people waiting on us hand and foot, my mind drifted back to the slum children of Mumbai many times. Although I knew the situation was out of my control and that I should stop thinking and enjoy my time at the conference, I was left with unexplicable guilt.

To hear such a strong advocate for them so early in the conference reassured me quite a bit, I felt a bit more at ease. Mrs. Roy was so driven and ambitious in her cause, yet refereshingly not idealistic. She knew that the problem wouldn't be solved in a day, her lifetime, or probably ours, but she knew, despite this that she wanted to take an active role in helping. Another thing I liked about her was depsite her obvious success and probable wealth, Mrs. Roy lived modestly, as she described to us. I enjoyed hearing her greatly and was excited for the speakers to come.

First three days

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Hello, all,

I write at 6 in the morning , having been awoken at 5:20 by the call to prayer from the small mosque on the edge of campus, and the horn of a passing train (another one is going by now as I type - long, minute+ horn blasts, with full Doppler effect!).

Some mornings there is a lot of amplified activity - people speaking in Hindi over loudspeakers, car horns, the trains, and the calls to prayer. This is blended with the sound of birds - crows (black with a gray collar around their necks), peacocks, parakeets, and other birds. The sound of men pedaling their bicycles (that light "clank clank" and whir as they pedal by) figures in as well.

Most of us seem to be settling into the pace of the conference - we are getting closer to being attuned to the schedule - though many of us still wake up throughout the night - and connections with delegates from other schools are being made, so there are more and more familiar faces and ongoing conversations.

There has been some adjustment on the part of our digestive systems to the new food, but this seems to be running it's course as well.

We have been here a full three days, and we should be having some blog entries from the students soon:

Sabrina - Opening Ceremony, and first conference speaker
Abby - Service Day
Liza - Third Keynote Speaker and student Riika, and Indian Fair
Isa - Adventure Day
Quincy - Closing Ceremony and Democracy Film Presentation
Annie - Departure for Jaipur and Agra

I've tried uploading photos, without success - perhaps these will have to wait until we get back...

Some impressions and reporting from me - the opening ceremony featured Prince Andrew, who went to a Round Square school and is a Patron of the organization, the local Maharaja (a Mayo college "old boy"), a procession of antique cars across the cricket ground that has a tank and fighter jet parked next to it (this IS a boys school!), and a very powerful speech by Ms. Aruna Roy, who has spent her adult life living in rural villages and worked with village people to get a right to information act passed to combat corruption.

She spoke informally, but talked to the conference theme of "lead me from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge" and demonstrated that through personal sacrifice, and continued effort, and a belief in the power of people, that change can be brought about. She was funny, genuine, and a person worthy of great respect.

The day did hold a lot of sitting and listening - we had RS business to attend to in the form of the annual general meeting, and voted on such items (Liza voted for our delegation) as varied as approving the minutes and keeping the auditors. Students were surprised to hear that faculty meetings follow the same format and occasionally similar content...

The day ended on a high note with a presentation on an enormous stage, with elaborate lighting and costumes by some 70 girls from the Mayo College Girls school of the RS pillars in the form of dance, and an interpretation of why each was important. The dances were beautiful, and the IDEALS dances were interspersed with folk dances from around India. The girls must have been practicing for months!

The second day was the Service Day, and also featured a speech by the youngest member of parliament, who talked about the status of Indian democracy, and arrived surrounded by a phalanx of reporters, assistants, and guards with automatic weapons.

The questions from the students were good ones, and he touched on issues of combating corruption, and delivering goods and services to the entire population. The Barazza, or discussion, groups have been good for all of us - lots of student participation, and examination of the issues being raised.

The third day was the Adventure Day, and the Hotchkiss students went some three hours away to Chittorgarh, an ancient fort town. They returned with reports of monkeys and wild pigs, and said that the fort was interesting too!

More importantly, last night was the multicultural evening, and each region had time to share elements of their culture. These performances ranged from a choreographed performance of "Surfing USA" to traditional Kenyan dances, Peruvian flute music, followed by the "Dance of the Anacondas," to poetry and songs in Arabic, to all of the Indian delegates dancing to "Jai Ho" and bringing the other student delegates to the front of the stage in a huge mob of laughing, smiling, dancing kids. The African delegation had a large dance as well to finish their segment, and I can tell that the student social/dance at the end of the conference will be a very succesful one!

Much of this was captured on film by Catherine Tatge and Dominique Lasseur of Global Village Media, who are here to present the Democracy film project that started last year at Hotchkiss, and is becoming a world-wide RS project. They will present the idea for a Democracy Film Festival, as well as "Democracy Outside the Voting Booth" the Hotchkiss film, and also a nine minute collection of video responses from 7 other RS schools to questions about democracy - very exciting!

After the multicultural evening, Charlie Noyes, Chris Burchfield, and I ate with the students, and it was fun to see students learning Japanese dances from the Tamagawa delegation, and then taking photos in each other's traditional dress, and a huge circle of students forming around a female delegate who was teaching them how to belly dance, and just general laughter, conversation, and fun.

The conference is starting to "gel" and it is interesting to hear about the conversations that students are having - dispelling stereotypes, exploring similarities, answering questions about Hanna Montana and Miley Cyrus (collective groan), and oh, also Obama (!), and just connecting with fellow teenagers around the world.

OK - in the next couple of days we will get off campus - go to a mosque in town that is one of the most holy sights in Islam (visit seven times and that is equivalent to going on Haj to Mecca) - and also start to wrap up the conference.

Best from all of us,

DLT

First day At Mayo College

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Just a short note at the end of a very long, but satisfying day.

Started with delicious Indian breakfast at the Mumbai Cricket Club overlooking the cricket grounds. Had a very nice conversation with Kennan, and then went to the Raina's beautiful apartment - it is in a building behind another building, on a quiet street near the ocean. They are on the third floor, and surrounded by a dense canopy of trees, filled with birds. Renu Raina says that she has taken photos of some 50 different species of birds that stop over during migrations.

She and Shailesh were wonderful hosts, and we had a lovely lunch with Lisa and Mike Johnson, parents of Branch '13, who moved to Mumbai from Shanghai six months ago.

We made our way to the domestic airport, had an uneventful flight to Jaipur, and were met by students and teachers from Mayo. The drive took three hours and we passed and were passed by many highly decorated long distance trucks, camels pulling carts, daredevil motorcycle and APE (those three wheeled Italian truck/scooters) and people on bicycles.

Upon arrival, we registered and then were whisked off in separate directions for dinner - not to alarm, but the last I saw of our students they were with a group of Mayo College students headed to eat. We'll see them at Yoga tomorrow morning at 6 (?) and then for the opening ceremony at 8.

Even in the dark, the Mayo campus is impressive, and expansive. More importantly, everyone we have met here has been incredibly kind and hospitable!

Group arrives in India

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know that we are safe and sound at the Mumbai Cricket Association complex - quite a stark contrast to some of the neighborhoods we drove through to get here - families sleeping on the street, informal housing, pungent smoke, and lots orf eeriu\y lighting from flourescent tubes hung off of tree branches and in spaces in between tin-sided, single room dwelllings.

We were met at the airport by Shailesh and Renu Raina, parents of Rahul '10, and they had arranged cars to bring us here to the hotel. Tomorrow we will meet their friend Kennan for breakfast - he is a member of this club, and will have breakfast with us here and show us around - perhaps there will be some cricket!

We will then go to lunch at the Raina's house, and then from there to the airport.

We had a lovely send-off from Hotchkiss - some forty or fifty students came to say goodbye, and Calliope (the girls acapella group) sang a beautiful song - a great way to leave the school. We were some of the last people to get on the very full plane, even though we were there almost two hours ahead of schedule, but no problems. We were all seated next to at least one other member of our group, and had some great conversations with our non-Hotchkiss neighbors.

Today's the day!

britterguth@hotchkiss.org (The Hotchkiss School) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

The Hotchkiss delegation to the 2009 International Round Square Conference is leaving for India, ready or not! Several people have commented that they will believe it when we are on the plane...

A nice surprise greeted us in auditorium this morning, when after the delegation presented the new Hotchkiss flag to the Head of School, a Head of School's Holiday (named in honor of our two MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellowship recepients ) was announced!

The group is made up of six students, and four faculty members. The students were chosen by a student committee, who read nearly 40 applications, chose a group of students to interview, and then selected three students from the class of 2012, and three from the class of 2011 to represent the school. These students go with a rich knowledge of activities at Hotchkiss, having taken leadership roles in a variety of student clubs, and in some cases, during the Americas Region Round Square Conference we hosted here last spring.

The conference has the theme of "Lead me from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge," and many interesting activities and speakers are planned. Some 400 students and faculty members from the 70 schools in the Round Square coalition will be in attendance.

Upon arrival in India, our group will have a meal with two sets of Hotchkiss parents who live in Mumbai. Following the conference, we will tour some of the sights, including the Taj Majhal and the Royal Observatory in Jaipur.

Stay tuned to this blog, and also to the conference website , for more updates.