Svein Harberg, leader of the Family and Culture Committee in the Norwegian Parliament, visited the College today, together with a group of local politicians and professionals within the cultural sector. His visit to Fjaler is about ongoing work to establish a professional support system for artists in our region. Mr Harberg visited our art class and engaged in a dialogue about creative learning and production. He also took an interest in the Nordic dimension of the College.
The Postal Walk is a well-attended annual event locally, hosted by Svint Sports Club in Flekke. This year it was held on Sunday 7th and approximately 50 students and staff took part. The walk follows the old postal route from Bergen to Trondheim, the part from Rennestraum to Hovland. The terrain is relatively flat, along lakes and in woodland and was enjoyed by all who took part. After the rigours of the walk, the participants were treated to food and drink prepared by the local supporters of the event.
Takk for turen!
Saye-Maye Cole was one of the victims of a Liberian civil war and, at an early age, he ended up in a SOS Childrens Village where he found the stable family that he so needed. At that time there were many abductions of children taking place for the recruitment of child soldiers. Saye-Maye was almost a victim of this but luckily his SOS mother had been able to intervene and announced that if Saye-Maye was to be taken then the recruiters have to take her too! And the soldiers gave up. Later, due to the ongoing violence and instability in Liberia, SOS children with academic potential were taken to Gambia to continue studying as the instability in Liberia had resulted in many schools having to close. Saye-Maye was one of the fortunate students who were taken to live in an SOS village in Gambia.
Saye Maye described the reason behind his motivation being in following way: “I wanted to show that their money was not wasted”. Saye-Maye received a full scholarship to UWC Red Cross Nordic, for the two years which he described as “…the best years of my life’’.
Saye-Maye now works for the government of Liberia coordinating the aid received from the IMF and various other organizations. He says that the two years spent at RCN helped him a lot in his life and especially in his work now, where cultural sensitivity and careful communication is required. Saye-Maye gave a presentation about his life and told that the volunteering aspect that he learnt during his time at RCN had continued ever since he left and, even at the moment, he works at the University in Liberia as a volunteer teacher of Economics. He reminded us that it is good not be only on the receiving end of generosity and kindness, but also to give. In his visit we could see the UWC mission statement being brought to life as he is now helping to build his country with tools developed from his UWC education.
For more in English, see here.
As part of our commitment to students’ futures, we strive during the course of each academic year to incorporate not only visits from university admissions counsellors but also workshops on careers. For example, In April each year, we invite members of the UWC RCN Council to deliver workshops on their areas of professional expertise.
On Monday 25th August, the College invited two visitors to our campus to run workshops on journalism and humanitarian work.
James Lamont, Managing Editor of London’s Financial Times, kindly interrupted his family holiday to talk to students about the world of journalism. Drawing on more than 20 years experience of reporting around the world, he told us of the great shift that is happening in newsrooms around the world as urgent accommodations are having to be made as news is being consumed at an accelerating rate on mobile devices. In the face of a demand for free digital content, James spoke optimistically of how quality, and news reported ‘without fear or favour’ (in the motto of the Financial Times), will always attract a readership willing to subscribe. While acknowledging himself as being somewhat resistant to change, it wasn’t hard to hear the quiet excitement in his voice as he reminded us that news is no longer exclusively delivered by the daily newspaper, but is an immediate global conversation we can all participate in.
For those of our students interested in a career in journalism, he spoke about the qualities a journalist in his world must possess – integrity, curiosity, a willingness to ask questions that don’t always have simple answers, and a love of truth. Could that be a shorthand description of a UWC student?
Many thanks to James for his inspiring talk, and to Larry for persuading his brother to speak to us.
On Monday evening, Paul Bloomfield (Managing Director of Rosetta Consulting) gave an introduction to his career path which has taken him from the position of lawyer in both the music and the insurance industries to presently responsible for global communications and public relations for a selection of Foundations. He has a strong commitment to charitable and humanitarian projects – he is a governor of the Sir John Cass Foundation, one of the oldest and largest independent educational charities in Europe and is an active supporter of the St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital. He has organised a number of events for Prem Rawat events across the world including two at the European Parliament and the visit of Prem Rawat to RCN in May 2013. As part of his presentation, Paul showed the recently released film which both charts the visit of Prem Rawat to this College and explores the role of peace in today’s world.
