The Rainforest

2018-10-16T09:32:57+01:00October 18th, 2015|

Before the lectures...Every term RCN students organize a special day on global topics – they are called Global Concerns Day. This term we decided to talk about the role and plight of the world’s rainforests, not just because it is an actual problem but because this year’s Norwegian TV Aksjonen (TV Action) – a day of enormous national cooperation – is being dedicated to this issue. TV Aksjonen is organized by the National TV, NRK, that broadcast programmes about this topic for months before the action day of 18th October. Last year TV Aksjonen collected more than 250 million NOK which was used to help supply healthy drinking water in several countries, not to mention its importance in raising awareness. This time the donations are going to be given to Regnskogfondet (Rainforest Foundation). All donations will go directly towards the protection and development of rainforest areas in Peru, Papua New Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil.

Our GC day was part of the county`s official TV Aksjon programme. Students explored the topic of rainforests in many different ways – in workshops looking at the issues from environmental, humanitarian, cultural and political standpoints. At the end of the day we had two guest lecturers: Johan Haffner Knagenhjelm, a former student of our College, from the Regnskogfondet,  and Pål Gran Kjelland from the Norwegian Glacier Museum. They gave lectures about climate change and the problems and possible solutions for the loss of rainforest.

After the lectures Kristin Sandal – another guest – and Johan Haffner Knagenhjelm met students from Brazil, Peru and Congo. In this fruitful discussion students shared their personal stories about rainforests and received advice from the the Regnskogfondet. The event was followed by a special auction on Saturday where items like special kayak trip, Italian dinner, real English tea for two or professional profile pictures were auctioned – and we are pleased to say that more than 8,000 NOK was raised! On Sunday about 20 of our students volunteered to collect money locally for the national TV Aksjonen campaign.

We are sure that these days have helped to raise awareness among our students and have given them useful information about the situation of the rainforests. We hope we can contribute to the important work of the Regnskogfondet.

Many thanks to all those who worked so hard to make the Global Concerns Day such a success.

Svein Sæter: Visiting lecturer

2018-10-16T09:32:58+01:00October 16th, 2015|

Welcoming Svein SæterThis afternoon we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to a lecture presented by the Norwegian writer and journalist Svein Sæter. Sæter is currently travelling to different parts of Norway as part of “Den kulturelle Skulesekken” / “The Cultural Schoolbag” and his presence at the school is thanks to the fact that UWC RCN is included in this initiative. Sæter spoke about his recently published book, ‘Operatøren’, which describes the fascinating life of Knut Haugland. Haugland was a soldier and adventurer who took part in both the Heavy Water operation during the Second World War and the Kon Tiki expedition which was led by his friend, and world famous adventurer Thor Heyerdahl.

Sæter’s presentation gave staff and students a humorous, interesting and personal insight into the life of Knut Haugland, revealing him to be a modest man who participated in great, historical events without ever being boastful. The lecture was genuinely appreciated and the audience was clearly moved, rewarding Svein Sæter with enthusiastic, sustained applause. We hope to see him back soon and hope that he will return with more stimulating lectures.

HAFS Meeting

2018-10-16T09:32:58+01:00October 16th, 2015|

BreakfastSparebanken Sogn og Fjordane hosted a joint breakfast meeting for businesses in the HAFS region (Hyllestad, Askvoll, Fjaler and Solund) at the Høegh centre on Friday morning. CEO Arvid Andenes has challenged our region to think about how we want to develop over the next 15 years. The reply has been to create an environment which puts inclusion as a top priority. Both the College and Haugland Rehabilitation have been invited to take an active role in the follow-up work together with other local key players.

Agents for Behavioural Change

2018-10-16T09:32:59+01:00October 14th, 2015|

Avis Rolfe, RCN’s Chair of the Humanitarian Committee and Red Cross Coordinator, participated in the week-long course. These are her reflections:

Eliana and Reema

Eliana and Reema

During PBL week, we were fortunate enough to host two very special visitors: Reema Chopra from the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies office (Geneva) and Eliana Del Bianco from the Centre for Co-operation in the Mediterranean (Barcelona). Their work with us over the week was to strengthen the College’s ties with the Red Cross, and develop students’ understanding of our namesake organization, through the Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change (YABC) programme. Its aim is to empower young people from around the world to ‘be the change they want to see’, and to inspire others to also change their behaviour in a positive way.

During the course, students learnt more about the YABC initiative and how to use it to promote a culture of non-violence and peace, as well as acquiring the basic knowledge to be an effective peer-educator and ethical leader.The course was centred on the Seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, unity, universality and voluntary service. During the week, participants took part in a series of interactive tasks which encouraged self-reflection on their everyday behaviour and also wider changes which they would like to see take place in the world. Each activity had a real application to life here at UWC, and focused on topics such as active listening; non-violent communication; critical thinking and non-judgement; and collaboration, negotiation and mediation. The ‘heart to heart before mind to mind’ approach of this experiential learning enabled participants to gain a greater empathy, understanding and awareness of their own actions, mind-sets and behaviour, as well as some of the greater challenges faced by the Red Cross in responding to international situations.

The students who took part felt that they gained a deeper understanding of Red Cross values, and were able to recognise their worth and importance as part of the UWC experience. In response to this training, the participants have been motivated to found a YABC working party who will consider how to share this training with the wider school community to enrich the Red Cross Nordic experience for all.

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