The world turns its attention every year to the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and, given UWC’s mission for peace and a sustainable future, we are honoured that our students are invited to attend the ceremony. This year the College was represented at the Nobel Peace Prize Awards in Oslo with the following students and staff attending:

Lise-Lotte Lintervo (Finland), David Rios Torres (Bolivia), Noah Flarup (Denmark), Isabella Ying (China), Pema Dekyi Lama (Nepal) and Rektor Pelham Lindfield Roberts (UK). The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties for their relentless work speaking up for injustice and promoting democracy.

“The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.” – Nobel Peace Prize institute.

The awarding of the prize this year holds special significance for us as a College, given we currently have 3 Russian and 2 Ukrainian students on campus.  For the students attending, it brings inspiration and motivation to contribute to change.

“This year’s event was inspiring for me and for the movement I belong to; UWC. During the event, I got the chance to see and hear the powerful speeches from the winners on behalf of the organizations and relatives during the award ceremony as well as the Al Jazeera interview. It encouraged me to keep on working to make this world a better place. I feel honored to represent my roots, my family, my school, and my country at the ceremony award. I could not believe the magnitude and the prestige of such an important event for the Nobel laureates and for the world.” David Torres (Bolivia)

We are so grateful that Sparebanken Vest, through Ildsjelfondet, continues to support our work towards creating equal opportunities for children and youths in Vestland county!
Community interaction and service are at the heart of every UWC school. This requires the full and active participation of all members of the school or college. At UWC Red Cross Nordic, one of our guiding principles is the humanitarian pillar and as part of the extra academic program, a group of students has been involved in running this specific program focused on social sustainability.
More specifically, over the last 3 years, we have worked closely with Bergen Red Cross. Together, we provide opportunities for children and youths based in the city of Bergen. Through the project, we want to facilitate so that children and youth have equal opportunities for participation independent of social background. We aim to create a Meeting Place for Diversity where people are invited to our multicultural campus to interact with our students and enjoy experiential learning opportunities outdoors.
For our students it has also proven to be a good learning opportunity and a way of learning through hands-on work. It has also given us an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Norwegian society where they study and live.
Thanks to support from Agenda Vestland in the period 2020 -2022, we have had the opportunity to invite many 100 children and youths to our campus for weekend visits and overnight trips during holidays. We are proud that we have managed to keep the high activity level in a challenging time with covid and restrictions. However, experiencing the joy, interactions, skills acquired, and flourishing new friendships give proper meaning to cooperation.
We are so grateful that Sparebanken also sees the value of this project and early November we received the positive news from Jørgen Follevåg Mjelli, Bank Manager – Førde, Florø, Sogndal, that they are continually supporting our work with NOK 200 000.
From us, from the Bergen Red Cross, and not least from the children and youth that the money will be spent on, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!