Johanne Hansen (Norway), Marit Bick (Denmark), Sara-Estelle Gösswein (Germany) and Teo Kettunen (Finland), 1st years at RCN, participated last week along with 80 other young students in the 22nd session of the Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region, MEP-BSR.

Twice a year the organization has a session in one of the member countries around the Baltic Sea and in the North as well as guest nations. In the spring this year it was in Helsinki and this time in Oslo for the first time. The participating countries were Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Austria and Belgium.

On Wednesday morning, the opening session took place in Asker Town Hall – Asker is a community in the western part of Oslo. Wednesday and Thursday the delegates worked in six committees. Each committee had its own political issue. It was hard work and each committee produced a resolution which was very much debated the following day. Amendments were made and a lot of lobbying was seen. This took place in Næringslivets Hus, NHO. After having lunch the delegates went on sightseeing in the beautiful city of Oslo.

Saturday it was time for the big debate in the General Assembly. It took place in a hall in the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget. All the delegates took part in the debates about the resolutions and after each resolution they voted for or against it. It is indeed rewarding to act as a politician and speak to so many people.

The delegates of the Model European Parliament always say that it is something special to participate. It gives you an experience you never forget. You work together, you learn, you make friends and new networks and you have fun.

There is more about the Model European Parliament – Baltic Sea Region on this website.

‘Here is where we have students who are truly interesting and interested, staff who are really inspiring and inspired, and together we create an engaged and engaging community that actively cares and supports each other’s dreams and ambitions, for ourselves and for the world’

[student in the graduating class of 2015]

This is perhaps the finest articulation we have come across of the strength of this College and which stands at the heart of UWC RCN’s Strategy 2020 which we launched at our Jubilee on the 21st September 2015.

We are a unique college within the UWC, with our Nordic heritage and partnership with the Red Cross – and, through a nine month consultation phase, we have worked alongside all constituencies to establish a strategic plan which preserves the values, traditions and spirit that distinguish the place but, at the same time, prepares the College and the students for the demands of a new world. At the heart of the new design for the strategic plan is financial sustainability. As the College moves into its third decade, we need to lay important foundations for the future development of this College.

Our aim has, in the end, been to produce a concise and meaningful articulation of the strategic plan which we can use both internally and share with pride with external stakeholders / cooperation partners. It seeks to give a direction for how we approach the mission of making education a uniting force – development and action plans will follow to ensure the implementation of UWC RCN Strategy 2020.

Please click here for the full edition of  UWC RCN Strategy 2020.

Larry Lamont – Rektor
Arne Osland – Director of Development