During the week of November 20th to 26th I (Benedikt Rist, 12th grade, German Embassy School New Delhi) participated in a knowledge quiz. The competition was organized by the Indian Navy and brought together students from the G20 member states. I entered the European Union team together with two students from the French School.
Prior to this, there was a national round of the quiz to determine who would represent Team Bharat/India, with 11,741 Indian schools participating. The victorious DAV Public School Gurugram was directly qualified for the International Final. On November 21rst, 23 teams from around the world gathered at the impressive G20 Secretariat to compete on stage. Divided into 3 groups, they had to collect enough points in various question formats to reach the final. The questions consisted largely of useless general knowledge, but pop culture and events from the past few years were also integrated in order to make it suitable for students aged between 14 and 18. Together with my team partner Justin Bessadi, we came first in our group and qualified for the final. Unfortunately, he had to fly to Switzerland late in the evening to visit a university. He introduced me to his classmate and my partner for the final - Emilie - and left me with the assurance that she was at least as smart as he was.
The final took place on November 23rd in front of the India Gate. All finalists had to wear traditional custom-made Indian clothing. Fortunately, Justin turned out to be right and Emilie and I managed to secure the third place. The students from Singapore emerged as the winners.
The quiz not only served as a knowledge competition but also aimed to promote cultural exchange, following the theme of the Indian G20 Presidency (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future). Plenty of opportunities were provided to fulfil this purpose by the generous Indian Navy. This included a visit to the Taj Mahal, chit-chats during various bus rides, dinners and banquets and sharing accommodation at the 5 star hotel The Grand.
