Frivannsliv Project Based Learning

2018-10-16T09:31:49+01:00October 12th, 2017|

Diving

Fri-vanns-liv means something like, ‘living free in open water’ – in other words diving in the sea by holding breath (apnea). For this project there were seven of us – six students: Chisato, Pei-Yu, Fabiana, Vicky, Leon, Steinar; and teacher Jelena. Part of the project was that the students were in charge of organising the daily schedule and meals – tasks that they took on with enthusiasm!

On the first day we worked with basic equipment and spent three hours in our swimming pool mastering the necessary apnea diving skills, plus some important theory. On the following day we were welcomed on island of Mjømna by an old friend of RCN, a leader of Norwegian Frivannsliv, Hans Martin Martinussen, who brought with him the diving suits, weights, long fins and other equipment. Everyone was literally soaped into those tight, fancy, camouflage wet suits! The first attempts at diving in seawater were challenging. For safety reasons the students were diving in pairs, connected by a long string and a red buoy. We dove for about three hours each time.

On the second day we were altogether six hours in the sea. Down to the bottom and up to the surface, down-up, down-up, a hundred times. We got better and better, and went deeper and deeper. Algal ‘scrubland’, various fish, starfish, large sea anemonies, sea urchins, crabs, scallops … Some of those were taken to be our ‘frutti di mare’ dinners – including an attempted dish of sushi and a sugarkelp soup. It must be pointed out that the most enthusiasm for this kind of gourmet experience was displayed by our Japanese and Taiwanese participants! In the evenings we discussed diving technique and theory, commented on the underwater photos taken by students and watched the cult movie for divers, The Big Blue.

Thank you again, Hans Martin, for making this experience possible for us!

Tutti Fratelli! Tutti Sorelle!

2018-10-16T09:31:49+01:00October 7th, 2017|

UWC Red Cross Nordic was invited to send two representatives – Larry Lamont as Rektor and Arne Osland as Director of Development – to the Norwegian Red Cross’ Landsmøtet (annual general assembly) 2017 in Haugesund (the 40th anniversary of this event).

Alongside representation from all the Red Cross districts in Norway, the Norwegian Red Cross had also extended an invitation to the Presidents and other representatives of their partner Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies including: Burundi, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Macedonia, Mali, South-Sudan, Sweden, Syria.

Arne Osland and Odd Grann

Arne Osland and Odd Grann, former General Secretary of the Norwegian Red Cross (instrumental in establishing the partnership between the College and the Red Cross)

Khaled Hboubati of the Syrian Red Cross and Red Crescent gave an opening address to provide an insight into the role of the Red Cross in Syria and to thank the Norwegian Red Cross for its support on the eve of signing a partnership agreement.

Prime Minister, Erna Sølberg, gave a powerful address on the value of volunteering. Margareta Wahlstrøm of the Swedish NC – one of the candidates for the Presidency of the IFRC – gave an insight into the refugee crisis in Europe.

During the course of the assembly, Robert Mood was elected to be the new President of the Norwegian Red Cross. He is the former head of the United Nations’ Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). He was previously Inspector General of the Norwegian Army and Chief of the United Nations truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

Our region Sogn og Fjordane was represented by 40 delegates and Mawra Mahmood, the leader of Red Cross Youth and a visitor to RCN last April, was one of the keynote speakers.

The conference was a reminder of the the importance and potential of our College’s partnership with the Red Cross.

(The main photo shows: Sven Mollekleiv (President of Norwegian Red Cross); Åsne Havnelid (former Sec General of Norwegian Red Cross); M. Pamphile Kantabaze (President of Burundi Red Cross); M. Abdourah Mane Cisse (President of Mali Red Cross)

Nobel Peace Prize 2017

2017-10-06T14:55:40+01:00October 6th, 2017|

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced at 1100 on Friday 6th October 2017 that it has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

For the full press release on the Nobel Prize website, please click here.

Given UWC’s commitment to ‘peace and a sustainable future’, please join us here at UWC Red Cross Nordic in congratulating ICAN for its ongoing commitment to a world without nuclear weapons – and in celebrating the award of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

We have again received the honour of being invited by the Nobel Committee to send a delegation of students to the Award Ceremony at Oslo City Hall in December.

Changemaker Schools

2018-10-16T09:31:50+01:00October 6th, 2017|

Ashoka Scandinavia is proud to announce the selection of three Norwegian schools to be part of Ashoka’s global network of innovative schools. Nordahl Grieg Videregående Skole, Ung Invest Arbeidsinstituttet Buskerud and UWC Red Cross Nordic have officially become Ashoka Changemaker Schools after a thorough evaluation.

Each school’s work with what Ashoka calls changemaker skills such as empathy, creativity, leadership and team work has been explored by Ashoka and the experts within our network throughout the selection process. The schools’ different approaches towards incorporating problem-solving into education and strengthening students’ ability to develop ideas have also been assessed.

For the full press release, please click here.

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