Between the 7th and the 13th of November, we continued with what has become a tradition at RCN: World Religion Week. This week we offered many different sessions, such as formal, philosophical lectures, open classroom Q&As, and student-led workshops and discussion groups. Some of the highlights included a panel discussion on faith in the face of tremendous evil like the holocaust, an online class visit from Mr. Huge Rice (who has attended all World Religion Weeks since it became a regular part of our programme), and an interfaith prayer for peace as the conclusion of our week.

In previous years we have been able to welcome fantastic speakers and this year was not an exception since we had the privilege of listening to two online lectures with subsequent Q&As. On Wednesday the 9th, we welcomed Swami Medhananda. He is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order as well as appointed as both Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Vedanta Society of Southern California and as Hindu Religious Director at the University of Southern California. Swami Medhananda delivered a fantastic lecture on the religious pluralism of Sri Ramakrishna and contrasted these thoughts with the pluralism of John Hick. The session developed into a stimulating discussion. We recorded this session and it will soon be available on the Youtube-channel of the John Hick Centenary Conference, a channel with several recordings from the conference that was organized by our teacher Dan Silfwerin to celebrate the 100th year jubilee of John Hick in March this year.

On Friday the 11th, we were privileged to welcome Dr. Mohammad Saleh Zarepour, Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Manchester. His topic was the Persian philosopher Avicenna and one of his arguments for God’s existence. This lecture was also followed by a great discussion and gave our students a rare insight into Islamic philosophy of religion and the real force and originality of Avicenna’s thoughts on God and God’s attributes. We extend a massive thank you to both of these speakers! You can see more details on our special Hick Centenary website and in the recordings on the YouTube channel.

We also want to thank the student organizing team (Sean Zhang, Sandy Tan, and Ismail Ismail) and the organizing teacher, Dan Silfwerin, for putting all of this together.

We also want to thank the student organizing team (Sean Zhang, Sandy Tan, and Ismail Ismail) and the organizing teacher, Dan Silfwerin, for putting all of this together.

We also want to thank the student organizing team (Sean Zhang, Sandy Tan, and Ismail Ismail) and the organizing teacher, Dan Silfwerin, for putting all of this together.

The world turns its attention every year to the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and, given UWC’s mission for peace and a sustainable future, we are honoured that our students are invited to attend the ceremony. This year the College was represented at the Nobel Peace Prize Awards in Oslo with the following students and staff attending:

Lise-Lotte Lintervo (Finland), David Rios Torres (Bolivia), Noah Flarup (Denmark), Isabella Ying (China), Pema Dekyi Lama (Nepal) and Rektor Pelham Lindfield Roberts (UK). The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties for their relentless work speaking up for injustice and promoting democracy.

“The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.” – Nobel Peace Prize institute.

The awarding of the prize this year holds special significance for us as a College, given we currently have 3 Russian and 2 Ukrainian students on campus.  For the students attending, it brings inspiration and motivation to contribute to change.

“This year’s event was inspiring for me and for the movement I belong to; UWC. During the event, I got the chance to see and hear the powerful speeches from the winners on behalf of the organizations and relatives during the award ceremony as well as the Al Jazeera interview. It encouraged me to keep on working to make this world a better place. I feel honored to represent my roots, my family, my school, and my country at the ceremony award. I could not believe the magnitude and the prestige of such an important event for the Nobel laureates and for the world.” David Torres (Bolivia)