UWC Day is the annual global celebration of the UWC mission and values, which takes place on 21 September every year, to coincide with the UN International Day of Peace. Each year, UWC Day is celebrated by thousands of people worldwide, including students and staff at UWC schools and colleges, national committees, UWC alumni and friends.

UWC Day is a moment to celebrate the strength and diversity of the UWC movement and our mission for a more peaceful and sustainable future through connecting and mobilizing UWCers globally. It serves as a chance to spread the word about UWC, our work, and values. But it is also an opportunity to reflect on what we do as a movement, to determine how to be more effective changemakers, and continue to challenge ourselves.

Celebrations at UWC Red Cross Nordic

This year we celebrated under the theme “Peace Begins With Us” to reflect on our collective responsibility toward building a more peaceful future for us all. At RCN we put together a program focusing on peace on different levels from personal, interpersonal, social, and global, with 3 different guest lecturers and a wide range of workshops throughout the day. Setting aside a whole day for this important topic allowed us to focus our time, and we appreciate all the external guests who used their time and spent the day with us. A special thank you to NOREC and county mayor of Vestland, Jon Askeland, for inspiring presentations on the topic.

We also want to thank everyone who run workshops for our students, staff and guests;

• Jakob Sande Center for narrative art: Creative storytelling
• Catherine Hårsaker: Humanitarian consequence of climate change
• Norec: Diversity Ice breaker
• Fjaler Municipality: Refugee coordinator Florence Hamper
• Lesley Robertson: Peace at Mind
• Nikki De Marco: Expression of Peace
• Nati Betran: Non-violent communication
• Our students led by Alberto, Dima, Alima and Keisha: Dodgeball, Sustainability, Anti-racism and inclusive flag

The day ended with an amazing show put together by our students consisting of dance performances and songs – all around, the topic of Peace and Peace begins with us!

Photos by RCN Media Crew

At the end of his engagement for the Fjaler Theatre Festival, Dag Hareide visited our college to engage with our students. Dag Hareide is an author, organizational leader, and interdisciplinary thinker. He has been, among other positions, director of the Rainforest Foundation, one of the largest rainforest organizations in the world, and director of the Nansen Academy, a leading institution for mediation and conflict management. He visited Global Politics, Environmental Systems and Societies, and Norwegian classes to talk about development for human beings and other living creatures, focusing both on remarkable historical achievements and the seriousness of the crises we face today. “The root cause for all of them is that we as human beings are spreading ourselves at an unprecedented speed” he said.  He also delivered an open lecture on the influence of big tech on our daily life based on his recently released book. Our students met a doer and a thinker, a dialogue partner who challenged and inspired them.