A force to unite people

Questions answered by Valentina Bach, United World College of the Adriatic Director of Development and Communications.

Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign

– Where are you based? Duino (TS).

– What are you called? United World College of the Adriatic.

– What are you doing and why? UWC of the Adriatic brings together 180 students from around the world for the final two years of their high school education. Students attend on a full scholarship covering tuition and board. Inspired by the ideas of the German educationalist Kurt Hahn, the UWC movement aspires to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

– Do you have a website/email? Website: www.uwcad.it; e-mail: development@uwcad.it

– Do you have a Twitter/facebook link/name? Not yet.

– What makes you so special? UWC is the only global educational NGO that brings students together from all over the world, selected from within their own countries, on merit and regardless of their ability to pay. All students at the UWC of the Adriatic attend on a full scholarship.

 

The turning point

– How did you start? The UWC concept was conceived in the 1950s at the height of the Cold War. It was a bold plan, the realisation of German educationalist Kurt Hahn.

Hahn believed that much could be done to overcome religious, cultural and racial misunderstanding and avoid conflict if young people from all over the world could be brought together. It was felt that students aged 16 to 18 would be grounded in their own cultures but still impressionable enough to learn from each other.

The first UWC opened in 1962 in the UK and today there are thirteen United World Colleges across five continents. The UWC of the Adriatic was founded in 1982 and was the first UWC outside the English-speaking world.

Almost 40,000 students from over 180 countries have studied at UWC and there are over 120 National Committees.

– What keeps you going every day? Our students: realizing how much they change, they grow, the way they build their friendship and become a family, the way they cooperate one with the other to work for our common ideals (understanding among different cultures, peace, sustainable future). Watching the video in the first page of our website http://www.uwcad.it/

– Who is your target? Students from 16 to 19 years old.

– How are you financed? We are financed thanks to the ongoing generous support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, National Committees and other public and private sponsors.

 

The challenge

– A proud moment? Students’ initiatives to help Haiti. After the earthquake they invented many different ways to raise money and worked for it with all their passion. Within two weeks they had organised: a poetry event, various cake sales, a street performance in Trieste Main Square, a fund raising swim raising more than 1700 Euro in a very short time. Our students from Haiti felt the support of all the students’ community.

– A problem you face? Financial stability. Our public funds are decreasing every year and we need to find more private sponsors for our organisation.

– Your personal motto when things get hard? Try again, and again, and again.

Another cool project/organisation/campaign you would like to recommend? Our professional development programs for teachers in the Adriatic region. At the moment we are involved in two projects:

The first one is PACE (“peace” in Italian) which aims to foster the potential of education as a vehicle for promoting institution building and as an instrument of reconciliation in post-conflict societies and in those facing challenges of social and cultural change. Specifically, the project:

• organizes professional development opportunities for secondary school teachers from the Adriatic countries;

• helps to re-establish cooperation and dialogue among teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Italy;

• aims to raise the quality of education according to “European standards” in the whole Adriatic area;

• aims to build a network among school authorities of the whole Adriatic area.

PACE is led by the UnitedWorldCollege of the Adriatic and is being developed within the framework of the Adriatic New Neighbourhood Programme INTERREG-CARDS/PHARE (EU Funds) in collaboration with a wide range of partners throughout the Adriatic region: in Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Naturally, teachers are central to such an ambitious undertaking. They work together in PACE with educational institutions and agencies in partner countries to foster innovation within the respective national educational systems.

The second one is called CHERI (Challenging Education for Roma Inclusion) and is funded with European funds too (EU Delegation to Montenegro, Support to Civil Society).

The project has just started (the first reports are on line:

http://www.uwcad.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=262:todays-focus&catid=48:highlights&Itemid=167).

The project has an overarching objective which is to increase the participation of Roma students in the educational process in Montenegro. This objective is being pursued in two ways: one involving Roma students directly in various activities organised by UWCAD students in cooperation with students of the Gymnasium in Podgorica and the other involving their teachers. Specifically teachers will develop concrete examples of education which is both challenging and inclusive during training workshops facilitated by UWCAD staff. Teachers will then introduce these new methods in their classes and work on a publication giving practical examples of the teaching models they will have introduced and describing the impact of those changes.

www.uwcad.it

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