On Thursday 12th March Arstein Vestre, the national leader of  Natur og Ungdom, the biggest youth environmental NGO in Norway, and one of their board members, Ida Louise Skylstad visited the College. Our guests had a meeting with Arne Osland, the Director of Development and Judit Dudás, the Sustainability Team Leader and they participated in Madulika Singh’s Environmental Systems and Societies class where, together with students, they attempted to solve – on paper – the problems of the Sahel region. After the class they had an introduction to the work of Ozonizers, the oldest environmental EAC action group at the College.

Finally, all the environmental EACs had the chance to meet them in a joint meeting when Arstein talked about the problems of mining waste disposal in Førde fjord – which is the biggest environmental threat in the Sogn og Fjordane region. Then Ida introduced the work of the Natur og Ungdom to the students. This was followed by a fruitful discussion about the possible cooperation between the College and the NU’s local and national organization.

On Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th we had a visit from the Education Sector of Malmø, as a return visit after our Board and management were received there last year. In the delegation were:

During her visit to RCN last year and in a discussion in the Physics lab on the northern lights phenomenon, H.M. Queen Sonja recommended we invite Dr. Pål Brekke to the College. The topic of Dr. Brekke’s work and his reputation as a skilled presenter was a perfect match for the inaugural RCN Thor Heyerdahl lecture on the environment. After completing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in astrophysics at the University of Oslo – his doctoral thesis explored UV radiation using data from rockets and the space shuttle Challenger – Pål worked with NASA and the European Space Agency and is currently Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Space Centre. Today’s lecture, replete with beautiful images, reviewed cultural-historical perspectives, and the work of scientists to explore and comprehend the northern lights phenomena. It became clear this required researching solar activity to understand how particles emitted from the sun interact with the earth’s magnetic field and molecules in the upper atmosphere to result in the aurora: these apparently complex scientific findings were made beautifully clear to us non-physicists! Pål then presented his newly completed film (with Fredrik Broms) “The Northern Lights. A Magic Experience”, and a shorter film (produced by Ørjan Berkelsen) taken with recently developed super-sensitive camera equipment. Many questions then provided some indication of students’ and teachers’ appreciation and interest in the lecture. Pål’s enthusiasm for the science and the magnitude of the phenomena was clearly infectious, the lecture a magnificent example of how scientific understanding of an apparently beautiful phenomenon makes it all the more beautiful and awe-inspiring. A group of students then toured campus with Pål, enjoying the opportunity to discuss their Physics EEs too! Conclusion: excellent recommendation, thankyou Pål Brekke!

Her Majesty Queen Sonja will visit UWC Red Cross Nordic on September 21st – 22nd for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the College and our work to use education as a uniting force. During the visit there will be a special focus on our co-operation with the Red Cross. Our new centre, run by UWC Connect, which makes it possible for nearly 100 visitors to take part in formative activities related to peace, will be officially opened by Her Majesty. Needless to say, we are looking forward to this with honour and great anticipation.