Agents for Behavioural Change

2018-10-16T09:32:59+01:00October 14th, 2015|

Avis Rolfe, RCN’s Chair of the Humanitarian Committee and Red Cross Coordinator, participated in the week-long course. These are her reflections:

Eliana and Reema

Eliana and Reema

During PBL week, we were fortunate enough to host two very special visitors: Reema Chopra from the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies office (Geneva) and Eliana Del Bianco from the Centre for Co-operation in the Mediterranean (Barcelona). Their work with us over the week was to strengthen the College’s ties with the Red Cross, and develop students’ understanding of our namesake organization, through the Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change (YABC) programme. Its aim is to empower young people from around the world to ‘be the change they want to see’, and to inspire others to also change their behaviour in a positive way.

During the course, students learnt more about the YABC initiative and how to use it to promote a culture of non-violence and peace, as well as acquiring the basic knowledge to be an effective peer-educator and ethical leader.The course was centred on the Seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, unity, universality and voluntary service. During the week, participants took part in a series of interactive tasks which encouraged self-reflection on their everyday behaviour and also wider changes which they would like to see take place in the world. Each activity had a real application to life here at UWC, and focused on topics such as active listening; non-violent communication; critical thinking and non-judgement; and collaboration, negotiation and mediation. The ‘heart to heart before mind to mind’ approach of this experiential learning enabled participants to gain a greater empathy, understanding and awareness of their own actions, mind-sets and behaviour, as well as some of the greater challenges faced by the Red Cross in responding to international situations.

The students who took part felt that they gained a deeper understanding of Red Cross values, and were able to recognise their worth and importance as part of the UWC experience. In response to this training, the participants have been motivated to found a YABC working party who will consider how to share this training with the wider school community to enrich the Red Cross Nordic experience for all.

Model European Parliament

2015-10-12T12:46:30+01:00October 12th, 2015|

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.

Neil Davis – In Memory

2018-10-16T09:32:59+01:00October 6th, 2015|

The Neil Davis Friluftsliv Project-Based Learning Week Jubilee Donation

Neil Davis (UK, UWC RCN 1999-2001) passed away in May 2015.  A member of Finland House, Neil was a particularly enthusiastic participant in outdoor activities, and fondly recalled his experiences of making a snow-cave whilst on a College trip.  Neil’s family have been in touch in the first part of this term to set up an annual financial contribution of £750 / circa NOK 9,540 to UWC RCN towards encouraging and enabling generations of RCN students to gain a similar kind of experience that so clearly made an impression on Neil. With this in mind, and following correspondence with Neil’s parents, Lee and Mike Davis, we are pleased to announce the start of the ‘Neil Davis Friluftsliv PBL’ programme.

Each year, the Director of Extra Academic Programme will nominate a planned outdoor project that will take place during either the winter Project-Based Learning (January PBL) week or Friluftsveka (formerly, Ski Week): this project will involve students overnighting outdoors (tent or snow-cave), experiencing Norwegian winter conditions, with at least one student participant communicating with the family and contributing to Neil’s blog (Neilo14@wordpress.com) on his / her experiences before and after the event.

We are extremely grateful to the Davis family for making this donation – as part of our wider Jubilee Fund – and we plan that this gift enables a group of students to benefit from an exciting annual outdoor challenge in Neil’s memory.

Richard D A Lamont
Rektor
UWC Red Cross Nordic
5th October 2015

UWC RCN Strategy 2020

2018-10-16T09:33:00+01:00October 4th, 2015|

‘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

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