Laski Cooperation

RCN and Laski students

Initiated by Queen Sonja, the College established contact with the Laski School for the Blind outside Warsaw in Poland and, in the 1990’s the College sent groups of staff and students to visit Laski for Project-Based Learning Weeks.

Biology teacher Jelena Belamaric

Biology teacher Jelena Belamaric with two friends – one from Laski

In 2007, the College – in partnership with Laski – successfully obtained funding through the EU Youth Exchange programme to enable exchange visits of both institutions. The theme of the exchanges have been to increase awareness of what it is like to be blind and of how the needs of blind students are met in different societies. UWC Red Cross Nordic students and staff attend classes and other programmes with our host students at Laski; in exchange, the blind students from Laski pay reciprocal visits to the College. 

Through the exchanges, our students have learned much about personal independence and perseverance. Recently we have been granted funding from the Comenius Programme as a ‘Bilateral School Partnership’ and tasked to develop an ‘integration game’ which blind and sighted people can play together.

 

A student voice

Being woken early in the morning by a Swiss, brushing your teeth standing next to a Dane, hurrying to class in the morning rush hour with an Uzbek, sitting next to an Angolan in class, being taught Economics by a Guatemalan, going to a Ghanaian to clear confusions in Maths, going for a run with a Brazilian; all these are little things that make this place beautiful. This place is special.