View a video of their contributions here.
Ungt Entreprenørskap Sogn og Fjordane / JA-YE Sogn og Fjordane invited UWC RCN to the national ENOVA Renewable Energy Competition for high school students. The teams from the schools had to choose a task from four options and work out a project with the most creative and feasible solutions for reducing energy loss and using renewable energy. They then had to present their solution in 5 minutes. Our team had chosen to work on the example of our College as a possible energy efficient community. The project idea was very diverse and educationally interesting, but the main strength of it was the holistic approach to reach sustainability. The students were working on the topic for weeks with the help of subject teachers István Poór, Economics and Chris Hamper, Physics and the sustainability team leader, Judit Dudás.
After a very successful presentation the UWC RCN team won the Competition for Fjaler Kommune! Later that day they also won in the final for Sogn og Fjordane County. So a colourful, international team of our students will represent the County in the three-day long national renewable energy championship in Trondhein in February 2015.
The winning team students were: Arnold Boros (Hungary), Brandon Mok (Hong Kong), Karma Choedak (Tibet), Muxuan Yan (China), Thalia Viranda (Indonesia), Ricardo Montalvo Guzman (Mexico)
An article appeared to announce the winners. Read it here.
Congratulation to the team and good luck in the finals!
The Nordic National Committees held their Annual General Meeting here at UWC Red Cross Nordic over the weekend of 21st to 23rd November. We hosted representatives from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland and put together a programme which consisted of the November bonfire and Christmas lights, meetings, the Asian Cultural Show, gatherings of Nordic groups, and a reception at the Rektor’s House. We look forward to welcoming them back in 2015.
A group of RCN students led by history teacher Erik Pedersen was granted the privilege to attend the annual Rafto Conference preceding the Rafto Prize 2014 Award Ceremony. Dedicated to the global promotion of human rights, the Rafto Foundation acknowledged the efforts of Russian human rights organisation Agora. Chaired by lawyer Pavel Chikov, Agora now consists of 35 devoted lawyers, who on a daily basis deal with cases connected to the abuse of power by authorities across Russia. Their arguably best-known defendant is Pussy Riot, whose provocative ‘guerrilla’ performances challenged the government of President Putin. However, the Rafto Conference did not only focus on Agora, but also concentrated on the challenges for Russian civil society. Participants explored the restrictions put on freedom of speech and journalists. Olya Kurachyova a queer-activist, journalist and artist shed some light on the struggles of the LGBT community in Russia by revealing her personal stories. When the conference was drawing to a close, presenters shared some more positive thoughts, underscoring that Putin and Moscow are not solely representative of Russia and that human rights ideas are penetrating into society.
The conference was beautifully summed up by Olya Kurachyova’s answer to a question “What would you say to Putin if you had a chance to meet him in person?” Without a second of hesitation, Olya grasped a microphone and firmly proclaimed: “It’s okay to be queer.”
Justina Čižinauskaitė (Lithuania) – RCN 2016
