On the weekend of 1st – 2nd October the UWC RCN Outdoor Leader Programme had its second overnight trip. After packing and loading canoes on the trailer on Saturday morning we left for the river to paddle down Guddalsvassdraget back to the college. The focus on the trip was to practice canoeing on flat water and in running water with easy whitewater and rapids as well as learning how to manage a group on the water. We also had time for general personal skills for being outdoors.

On the rapids

On the first day we started out by the Hovland bridge and started practicing in the currents coming into the lake to get a feel for the movement of the currents and how they effect the canoe. One canoe team also had the opportunity to learn to get rescued if you fall in. After lunch we continued with practising different paddle strokes as we paddled over the lake to the next short section of rapids. After assessing the rapids from land at Hellebust it was decided that those who were keen could paddle part of the rapids. A huge water flow after the recent rains made the bottom part of the rapids too dangerous to paddle in a canoe. So after a short portage we continued partway over the lake to then arrive at our camp spot in a sheltered cove. We put up tents and started cooking and eating our dinner. The evening was spent around a small fire – talking and having tea and hot chocolate.

Sunday morning was foggy and slightly chilly but with the promise of a beautiful day. After packing up and eating breakfast we set out over the lake down to the next set of rapids by Rennestraum. Here it was decided that the rapid was possible to paddle after an assessment on land and most paddle teams tried it. Everyone managed well down the rapids and after a short paddle over the next lake we arrived at Trollefossen. We had lunch and started the trip’s longest portage down to the fjord that would lead us back to the College. We then paddled back to the college in beautiful weather and no wind.

Click here for a collection of pictures.

‘Education in times of Turmoil’ was the title for the symposium hosted for students and staff in celebration of UWC Day and Peace One Day on September 21st. The Ambassadors to Norway from all the other Nordic countries were in the panel for the event. There was a focus on how a whole generation in war-torn areas are now at the risk of missing out on education entirely. The Nordic countries are providers of substantial funding for schooling in conflict regions as part of their foreign aid.

‘It is essential that we contribute with what we can for this work’, was a message from the ambassadors.

“Education is a long term investment towards creating resilient communities and democratic societies”, says Development Director Arne Osland. “The ambassadors tell me that they will leave our campus with much joy from having met our students and staff – and are hopeful about the impact that these young people will have on their respective home communities.”

In the evening of UWC Day, Axel Wernhoff (Swedish Ambassador to Norway and formerly Swedish Consul General based in Jerusalem) gave the RCN Nelson Mandela Annual Humanitarian Pillar Lecture – on the title “Can the Middle East be Fixed?”

We hold this annual lecture, in celebration of UWC’s former Honorary President. Mandela’s life was an inspiration for the UWC movement and its values of peace and sustainability – and indeed he was, in many ways, the embodiment of our mission statement – perceptively and memorably reminding us all that ‘education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.

For Rektor Richard Lamont’s  welcome address to the Ambassadors and introduction to the lecture, please click here. This was followed by two student performances – a Scandinavian folk song and a Bollywood dance.

Ambassador Axel Wernhoff delivered a highly stimulating and thought-provoking lecture which, in turn, initiated a series of perceptive and thoughtful questions from students in the audience.

For some photos from the day, click here.