Extra-Academics
Local Arenas - old and new
RCNUWC is an institution that not only finds itself situated in Fjaler, but also consists of people who want to be a part of what goes on locally. Since the beginning, the Host Family Scheme has been a cornerstone in giving our students access to local homes. We are also fortunate that resourceful people around us make themselves available with time and expertise in the Nordic Workshops programme which, for a 3 week period, involves all first-year students. Annually the so-called “Samanristingsdag” is arranged– a day when our students take a day off school and do activities with the local youngsters: Take it and Shake it!
The Community Service Programme is set up to maintain weekly participation for our students in local arenas. A total of 50 students take part in this.The Service ethos is at the centre of it all, in line with the UWC tradition. At the same time a remarkably strong voluntary sector for such a small community allows us to be participants on an equal level. Since the early years, visits at the homes for the elderly and work with local children through the School Leisure Time Arrangements have been central to the programme. Likewise we bring the children of refugees out of their homes and to the College to learn English, how to swim or just be with our students. Through the Community Service our students are also represented in the Fjaler Municipality Youth Council, which gives young people real influence in local politics.
Two notable additions have been made to the Service programme this year: through Svint Sport’s Club, students take responsibility for athletics training and an activity programme for the young ones in Flekke. In this way our students make their contribution to activities which have been up and running for years. The Drama Activity that has been set up for children in Dale is a totally new addition to what is on offer locally. 15 children of ages 11 to 15 have come to weekly sessions led by our students. The response from the local kids has been overwhelmingly positive.
Ridderrennet – an eye opener?
Ridderrennet is a ski event for physically challenged participants from all over the world held in Beitostølen. The number of participants has now surpassed 500.The Friends of Ridderrennet get help from The Army, the Norwegian Sports University and Beitostølen Health Sport Centre as their largest co-arrangers. RCNUWC students make their contribution in line with numerous other organisations.
Over the recent years the event has annually been attended by 12 of our students from the Haugland Rehabilitation Service who go to Beitostølen and stay for the full week to do voluntary work. They share apartments with the young participants who are blind or visually impaired and assist them in their daily lives away from the tracks. Daily duties in the restaurant are both a rewarding and challenging task.How do you label a dish that you never have seen before? Our students get on with their task in spite of not being culinary experts on Norwegian cuisine; and every year they win new friends. As Yunior from Cuba said after his stay last year, “This week really has been an eye opener for me”.
The show makes its public debut each year at Beitostølen, as a finale to the week's events. The show involves about 25 students who combine song, dance and drama into a performance reflecting the cultural diversity of the college.The show is then performed at numerous venues and events around western Norway throughout the year as a way of publicising the college, including special events such as the UN's International Week in Bergen.
In October, 2004, a meeting with the Red Cross brought about the inception of a new project with an asylum seeker centre located in Førde, and since then students and staff have been visiting Bergum Mottak on a regular basis, laying the groundwork for future cooperation and a wide variety of projects. Students have visited individuals and families, assisted with English and Norwegian lessons, helped children with homework, run playgroups for the younger children, and gradually built up a foundation of trust on which we hope to build for many years to come.The UWC students cannot change their situation, but they can bring positive energy into the lives of the residents now and then by offering activities, care and attention, motivated by nothing more than our common humanity. Many connections have been forged between the members of our two international communities, and the relationship is symbiotic; everyone gains from the shared experiences.
Human Rights Forum in Oslo December 2004
Every year, the Nobel Peace Prize is given out in Oslo and students from the RCNUWC attend the prestigious ceremony. A group of students from RCN decided to expand upon this annual visit, to become more proactive and to be more involved in the greater Norwegian community. Another vital ambition, proposed by the UWC link group, was to bring together students from the different UWCs, to share experiences, and try to create more of a movement.
In order to bridge these two goals, a core group of students and one staff member got together to organize the first annual Human Rights Forum, linked to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of that year. We invited students from high schools in Oslo and all UWCs to attend the forum and participate.The Red Cross donated their building in Oslo to be used as the venue. RCN students planned and organized the entire conference.
On December 9, 2004, students from RCN, SEA, Mahindra, AD and LPC met up with ninety Oslo high school students to participate in a day-long conference related to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2004,Wangari Maathai. The three key focuses of the day were deforestation, linking environmentalism to peace, and the empowerment of women, as all three aspects linked to Maathai’s career. There were nine workshops, each choosing a particular aspect.
The conference gave people a chance to share personal stories and experiences related to the topic.An overall goal that the organizers set for themselves was to focus on the positive and on actions, and at the end of the day, even after a heated debate about women’s empowerment, they were successful. Students left the forum optimistic and quite positive, one remarking on an evaluation sheet that “this is the way we can change the world.”
