My two years at UWCRCN has deeply affected the way I am and what I do today. Going to a university was not the obvious choice for me when I grew up as a refugee from Iran in a socially disadvantaged neighborhood. But after UWCRCN I chose to study Social Sciences, driven by a curiosity to better understand the world around me. Since then I have been working project-based for a range of private and public organizations and have always tried to spice up the projects with some UWC idealism. An example was in 2011-2012 when I was part of the team planning and organizing the Danish Presidency of the European Council. My team decided to add sustainability as the framework of the Presidency. This meant considering environmental, social and economic aspects of all decisions from choosing suppliers, the way we cooperated with other actors as well as in our communications. The Presidency ended up being nicknamed “The Tap Water Presidency” and was the first event to be certified as a sustainable event. But more importantly, the UWC experience has made a huge difference for me on a personal level. Being selected to represent Denmark at a UWC as a Danish student was a recognition of me as a new kind of Dane. It gave me the feeling of inclusion in society that no integration policy will ever be able to achieve.
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