On 21st September 2017 (UWC Day), HM Queen Sonja, our patron, is coming to visit our campus. We are designing a programme, in tandem with our partners in education in Sogn og Fjordane, on the theme of ‘inclusion’.

As part of our anniversary celebrations, we are planning a photographic competition in Naustet open to current UWC RCN students (incoming first years and second years), alumni, our partner schools in SoF invited to participate in the event, UWC RCN staff and their children, week 38 Leirskule visitors, the staff and week 38 patients at the Rehabilitation Centre, and members of the Sogn og Fjordane Red Cross.

Once all entries are in, a team of Hana Le Cam (UWC RCN Visual Arts Teacher), Simon Ramsay (UWC RCN member of staff), Ragnhild Follevåg (RKHR member of staff) and Leon Muller (Chair of the UWC RCN Student Council) will decide on a short list based on the following criteria:

• creativity and originality;
• effective composition;
• artistic merit;
• content (relevance to the theme of ‘Inclusion’).

Hana and Simon will then mount and display between 12 to 15 shortlisted photographs as an exhibition on the theme of ‘Inclusion’ in Naustet. The exhibition will be formally opened by Majesty Queen Sonja as the first part of her tour of the campus – and the exhibition will turn, at a later stage, into a two-year exhibition in a different space at RCN.

Information:

Theme: ‘Inclusion’
We invite one submission of digital photography per person;
Please email your full-size image directly to Simon Ramsay at nc15sram@staff.rcnuwc.no between now and the 31st August with the subject line of ‘Exhibition on Inclusion’. Please include:

• Your full name and country/countries of origin;
• The title of your photograph;
• The location of the photograph;
• A maximum of 100 words in English explaining why you feel that your photograph captures the theme of ‘Inclusion’ – these will be included in the exhibition for those shortlisted.

Larry – on behalf of the competition organising committee
Rektor

Download these instructions, and the Norwegian translation, here.

The Red Cross refugee simulation På Flukt (on the run) has been held on the RCN campus many times over the years, and prompts students to reflect on the extreme challenges that refugees face through implementing a ‘heart-to-heart’ approach – i.e. – the students undergo a series of activities which simulate to a much lesser degree those which might be experienced by a refugee fleeing their country – with the aim to produce empathy and a deeper understanding.

It is understood that a 24-hour simulation, regardless of its intensity, cannot possibly replicate the real experience of running from your country in fear of your lives, encountering obstacles of many kinds throughout the journey to your final destination, only to be told you are not welcome, but through the different stages of the exercise many students passed through moments of hunger, exhaustion, fear, hopelessness, frustration, anger, and uncertainty, and these tiny tastes of discomfort may have prompted reflection on what it is like to be an asylum seeker. In order to enhance this awareness, each student belonged to a family and had time to create a personal and shared history within that grouping before the simulation began, in order to gain a deeper insight into some of the real reasons why a person might be forced to flee their home.

We wanted to focus this year on enabling the students to have a deeper level of political, cultural and emotional knowledge on the topic before they began the simulation, to enable them to create deeper reflections during the activity itself. Pre-simulation workshops helped to initiate thinking about some of the challenges of losing people and material possessions that are important to us in the desperate search for safety and the possibility of a future. Red Cross Youth Instructors assumed numerous roles in the role play, while RCN staff became guides for the duration. Once the role play was over, the Red Cross leader, Maren Helland carried out a debrief with the students to encourage them to connect their experiences with some real life stories.