Neil Davis Friluftsliv PBL

2018-10-16T09:32:18+01:00February 1st, 2017|

We drove into the mountains looking for snow to build a snow cave. Our little international band of students, headed by a South African (who really can ski) scanned the landscape excitedly. The five of us came from Belarus, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and the US and have various experience with skiing and this diversity in nationality, skiing ability and personality, made for a wonderfully positive working – and playing – dynamic.

As soon as we arrived in the snow, many small challenges arose. Firstly, how do we carry all the sticks and branches we’d brought with us to build a shelter? And how do we use them to make a solid home for the next two days? The less-than-ideal conditions called for us to create unconventional solutions given our limited resources. We found that the ingenuity that came forth, especially in our roof and the overall design for our snow cave-ish structure, to be a big part of the learning experience. We even had time to make the most epic snow slide in Norway.

Building the shelter took all of our hands, but eventually we had a new temporary home. It was a great feeling! Then came the problem of finding drinkable water. Alistair enjoyed pointing out the irony of this situation, as we were surrounded by frozen water. Once even Nik was full of noodles and soup, we fell asleep awaiting the next day of skiing.

SunsetIt was a long day of skiing. The wind stung our faces and Nikita gave us perspective on the beautiful, harsh landscape, remarking that the wind was like smoke flying through the valley. The icy conditions made for plenty of humbling falls. Although Alistair’s ski decided to break, we still made the best of the day exploring and jumping around the snow cave.

Certainly something we will remember from this trip are Alistair’s long tales of Norwegian epics in the outdoors, as well as personal stories of adventure. We would like to make it clear that the imperfect circumstances we experienced by no means made this PBL any less meaningful or enjoyable! It was a trip which cleared our minds, giving us greater perspective on the daily hustle and bustle. In an entirely different context to the usual classroom: we learnt by doing, about teamwork, practical skills and the philosophies of friluftsliv. All in all we are thankful for the opportunity to connect with nature through friluftsliv!

(Report written by Nik Schelling and Faith Isham ’15 – ’17)

UWC International statement

2017-02-01T07:03:42+01:00January 31st, 2017|

UWC International statement about US Executive Order

The following is the announcement from the UWC International Office about the US Executive Order.
A change.org petition, drafted by many alums from across the UWC movement, can be found here.

UWC – a global education movement with secondary schools in 17 countries hosting students from 155 nations and with over 2400 graduates currently studying at 94 of the most prestigious US universities and colleges – is deeply concerned about the Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” and its effects on current and former students and on education in the US as a whole.

Founded in 1962 to combat the effects of the Cold War, the UWC (United World Colleges) movement is committed to bringing young people from around the world together to learn to live in peace and mutual respect. All UWC students are selected independent of their nationality, religious background or socio-economic means and the UWC student body includes a number of refugees – including at UWC-USA in New Mexico. Living in a deliberately diverse community and celebrating diversity as a strength to build mutual understanding and combat intolerance and extremism of any kind is at the centre of UWC’s educational model.

UWC is committed to preparing young people to work towards a peaceful and more just world with a view to stopping terrorism and violence. We firmly believe that this can best be done by building bridges and engaging in an education which is based on respect, tolerance and shared humanity. It is our firm conviction that the indiscriminate exclusion of refugees and nationals of certain countries will be counterproductive and potentially fuel further conflict.

UWC therefore urges US authorities to ensure that students can safely continue their education in the US independent of their nationality or their refugee status. UWC community members have been exemplary members of US universities, research institutions, NGOs, companies and US society – we hope that they will be able to continue to play this role in the future.

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UWC (United World Colleges) is a global education movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. It comprises a network of 17 international schools and colleges on 4 continents, a system of voluntary-run national committees in over 155 countries and over 60,000 alumni. Today, 9,500 students from over 155 countries are studying on one of the UWC campuses, including at UWC-USA in New Mexico. Through the Davis UWC Scholars Program, over 2,400 UWC alumni are currently studying at universities across the US.

UWC offers a challenging educational experience to a deliberately diverse group of young people and places a high value on experiential learning, community service and outdoor activities, which complement high academic standards delivered through the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

In line with the belief that education should be independent of the student’s socio-economic background and means, 70% of students in their IB Diploma years receive either full or partial financial assistance, based on their needs. UWC International also runs a global Refugee Initiative to enable students with refugee or displaced background a world-class education.

For more information visit www.uwc.org or follow us on social media: facebook (@UWCIO), twitter (@UWC_IO) and instagram (@UWC_IO).

Model United Nations 2017

2018-10-16T09:32:18+01:00January 31st, 2017|

Our Model United Nations has, since the early years of the College, been a significant event and an integral part of the UWC experience. On January 26th the event commenced with Arne Øi from the UN Association West delivering the introductory presentation to the delegates. This was followed by engaging discussions in the eight respective committees, ranging from Counter-Terrorism Committee to the World Health Organization. In addition to our first year students, there were eight delegates from Nordahl Grieg VGS and two from the UN Association West. In order to make the experience more exciting, several surprises were planned including drug plants, bomb alert, terrorist attacks and kidnappings.

Some of the delegates who received certificatesOn day two, the committees resolved the first agenda and introduced the second one. The MUN Party was held the following evening. On the final day the General Assembly was held for all delegates representing 59 countries. The agenda was “The world community’s response to extraterrestrial contact”. After hours of stimulating debates, the assembly did come up with a final resolution. Awards were presented and finally a talk show was held to wrap up Red Cross Nordic Model United Nations. There was much to learn about how the UN operates – and it was lots of fun.

Some pictures from the event can be found here.

Book Book Tuk Tuk – Cambodia

2018-10-16T09:32:19+01:00January 11th, 2017|

The employees at Red Cross Haugland Rehabilitation Centre decided that this year their Christmas presents from their workplace – with a total sum of 30,000 kroner – would go to the project ‘Book Book Tuk Tuk‘ in Cambodia:

Playing a central role in the project are our current Cambodian students Pring Mean and Sreythai Seng. Being part of the Survivors Of Conflict Programme they are also having much co-operation with the Rehabilitation Centre. On behalf of RCHR staff Kirsti Hellesøy handed over the gift to these two and fellow RCN student Helen Pörtner (Germany). Director Inger Johanne Osland said that they had been impressed by the presentation our student group had made for the project submitted to the Aurora competiton saying, “It is a well-organised project that is realistic to carry out for the benefit of many.”

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