Youth Teamwork & Leadership

2018-10-16T09:32:12+01:00April 7th, 2017|

Youth Training and Leadership WorkshopThis week the first year students of RCN have started their Leirskule training week, an opportunity for our students to develop a skill set leading and guiding Norwegian school children in outdoor adventures. Leirskule is an essential UWC mission-related part of RCN’s community service and local outreach. We began the week with a series of workshops under the title ‘Youth Teamwork & Leadership’, an afternoon which aimed to deepen the understanding of what it takes to be successful in groups.

Leirskule is an essential UWC mission-related part of RCN’s community service and  local outreach.

The workshops were contributed by students, designed by students and led by students from the Youth Teamwork & Leadership EAC. They focused on understanding leadership styles, recognising the role of communication in successful/unsuccessful teams and the importance of compromise and how it works practically. As well as these workshops there were discussions on personal motivation within a team setting and a fantastic set of Red Cross workshops on effective communication between colleagues.

We ran 15 workshops over the course of the afternoon – hopefully it has helped inform our first years and given them some points to think about as we embark on another exciting Leirskule season!

Training for Leirskule

2017-04-07T05:17:39+01:00April 7th, 2017|

The training for the students’ Leirskule service has begun. First year students are taking over from the second year students and are, during an intensive week, learning the necessary skills in different activities to be able to lead the activities for the visiting children from Norwegian schools. The group learning kayaking, for example, have to not only master kayaking skills but also learn how to lead the activities in a safe and engaging way. It is April but the fjord is still icy cold – even so they still have to challenge themselves and sometimes they fall in. It sounds hard, but it is enjoyable!

RCN at Ridderrennet

2018-10-16T09:32:13+01:00April 5th, 2017|

Ridderrennet is a huge winter sports event for people with various disabilities that takes place at Beitostølen every year. A group of twelve RCN students went together with Hilde, a teacher from the College, and Guro, a physiotherapist from Red Cross Haugland Rehabilitation Centre from March 26th to April 2nd.

The participants come from many different countries, such as Canada, Denmark, Czech Republic, Norway and the U.K. Two RCN students from Cambodia, Mean and Sreythai, were participants in the competition, while the other RCN students worked as volunteers in the restaurant.

Mean in action

Mean participated at Ridderrennet last year. He said that the programme this year was more fun than last year, but the condition for skiing was worse. Yet he was glad to be able to compete with other disabled people, and explore his potential.

On Tuesday, Mean and Sreythai participated in the biathlon, a 5km cross-country skiing and shooting competition. Guro, the physiotherapist from Haugland, was Sreythai’s guide, and RCN student Steinar was Mean’s guide. In the Biathlon, both Mean and Sreythai won Gold Medals! On Thursday, Mean participated in an 8km cross-country skiing race and Sreythai did the 4 km race where she won a Silver Medal. On Saturday, it was the main ski competition, Ridderrennet. Normally, the participants can choose to do either 5, 10, or 20km cross-country skiing. However, due to the lack of the snow this year, everyone did only 4km.

After the competition, Sreythai said, “I really liked this programme because I have had the chance to try snowboarding, and to take part in ski competitions with other people. I come from Cambodia, a country without snow, so I didn’t expect to win any competition. When I got the Golden Medal in the Biathlon, it made me feel very confident. Because of this competition, I have become more willing to try new things. This programme has been important to me.”

At Ridderrennet, some of the participants lived in the same hotel and had meals in the restaurant where the volunteers worked. In the restaurant, the volunteers assisted the people who needed help to take food from the buffet or find a seat.

This was challenging for the volunteers. A student in RCN from Hong Kong, Vanessa, said, “We should respect their dignity when we try to serve them. For some people, it is very important that they are self-reliant, so sometimes they won’t appreciate too much help if they think they can manage on their own.”

When it comes to the feelings about Ridderrennet, Vanessa felt that Ridderrennet empowers people by showing that disabilities don’t limit people from doing what they love. RCN student Tonje, from Norway, who has been working with people with disabilities before said, “This time, at Ridderrennet, I have been so inspired by their motivation for life. I’m reminded that we should never give up on the ‘impossible’.”

Sarah, a student from Denmark, mentioned that some participants from Denmark told her that they enjoy coming here and doing all these things that might seem to be too difficult for them. Pushing their limits. In addition to the lessons learned and inspiration gained, she said, “I felt that in this EAC group, Ridderne – The Knights, we bonded more closely to each other because of this week and the experience we have had together.”

Ridderrennet not only encourages people with disabilities, but also inspires people who work as guides and volunteers. It reminds us of the main idea of this event, “Make the impossible possible.”

Written by Peiyu Shih (RCN ’16-’18)

For some more photos from the event click here.

UWC Costa Rica Anniversary

2018-10-16T09:32:14+01:00April 3rd, 2017|

On Friday 31st March, our sister college UWC Costa Rica celebrated its 10th anniversary and its journey from a school within SOS Children’s Villages to a UWC College.

The College over the years has had a strong partnership with Norway – with Per Grieg Sr of the Grieg Foundation as the founding patron.

On the Friday evening, the UWC Costa Rica family – staff, students, alumni, parents, friends, board members and other key partners – as well as the UWC International community (including the Heads of all the schools and colleges) gathered to renew their dedication and determination to continue with UWC’s mission to help young people bridge the differences of nations, religions, ideas, and gender in order to be leaders for peace in this fragile world for many years to come.

An art exhibition was followed by speeches and a cultural show. The evening was also an opportunity for Larry, as Rektor, to connect with the RCN community in Costa Rica – including alumni, parents and current students from across the Nordic region.

The following morning, a memorandum of understanding was signed between UWC Costa Rica and the UN University for Peace – an exciting opportunity for students and staff.

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