United World Colleges

Last updated
UWC (United World Colleges)
United World Colleges logo.svg
TypeSchools, colleges, and short educational programmes
Established1962;62 years ago (1962)
Founder Kurt Hahn
President Queen Noor of Jordan
Executive DirectorFaith Abiodun
Location
Colleges in 18 countries

UWC International Office,
London and Berlin
Website uwc.org

United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." [1] The organization was founded on the principles of German educator Kurt Hahn in 1962 to promote intercultural understanding. [2]

Contents

Today, UWC consists of 18 colleges on four continents. Young people from more than 155 countries are selected through a system of national committees and pursue the International Baccalaureate Diploma; some of the schools are also open to younger years. UWC runs the world's largest scholarship programme in international secondary education, with over 80% of students selected by UWC national committees to attend one of the colleges receiving financial support. [3] To date, there are almost 60,000 UWC alumni from all over the world. [4]

The current President of UWC is Queen Noor of Jordan (1995–present). Former South African President Nelson Mandela was joint-President (1995–1999), alongside Queen Noor, and, subsequently, Honorary President of UWC (1999–2013). [5] Former UWC presidents are Louis Mountbatten (19681977) [4] and, when he was Prince of Wales, King Charles III (19781995). [6]

The movement, including the colleges and national committees, are linked and coordinated by UWC International, which consists of the UWC International Board, the UWC International Council, and the UWC International Office (UWCIO), based in London and Berlin. These entities work together to set the global strategy for the movement, oversee fundraising, and approve new colleges. [7] Faith Abiodun, who joined the movement in 2021, serves as executive director of the International Office, [8] and Musimbi Kanyoro has been the chair of the International Board since 2019. [9]

History

UWC Robert Bosch College in Freiburg, Pflastermosaik.jpg

UWC was originally founded in the early 1960s to bridge the social, national and cultural divides apparent during the Second World War, and exacerbated by the Cold War. The first college in the movement, UWC Atlantic College in Wales, United Kingdom, was founded in 1962 by Kurt Hahn, a German educator who had previously founded Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, Gordonstoun in Scotland, the Outward Bound movement, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. [10]

Hahn envisaged a college educating boys and girls aged 16 to 19. [4] He believed that schools should not simply be a means for preparing to enter university, but should help students prepare for life by developing resilience and the ability to experience both successes and failures. [11] The selection would be based on personal motivation and potential, regardless of any social, economic or cultural factors. A scholarship programme would facilitate the recruitment of young people from different socio-economic backgrounds. [12]

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was involved with Atlantic College from its early days, and encouraged the organization to adopt the name United World Colleges and to open an international office with operations distinct from that of Atlantic College, to indicate a global reach and ambition beyond a single college. [13] [14] In 1967, he became the first president of United World Colleges, a position he held until 1977. Lord Mountbatten supported the organization by gaining support from heads of state and politicians and in fundraising activities. [15] [16] [17] Under his presidency, the United World College of South East Asia was established in Singapore in 1971 (formally joining the UWC movement in 1975), followed by the United World College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1974.

During the tenure of Prince Charles (now King Charles III) as president, he supervised the rapid growth of the movement, until it encompassed nine schools around the globe. Of Charles, UWC said, "his work in raising the profile and vision of the UWC movement is still felt today". [18]

The Colleges

The United World Colleges, superimposed on the UWC emblem Uwc-colleges.svg
The United World Colleges, superimposed on the UWC emblem

There are currently 18 UWC schools and colleges in operation, [19] with an international office in London and Berlin. [4] [20] UWC Simón Bolivar was a member of the movement until its closing in 2012 by the Venezuelan government.

The location and opening date (and, for those that joined the UWC movement after being founded as an independent institution, their joining year) for each United World College is given below:

Academics

UWC values experiential learning alongside providing its 16–19-year-old students with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, an internationally recognised pre-university educational programme developed in close collaboration with UWC in the late 1960s. [22] [23] The IB Diploma Programme was co-developed by UWC Atlantic College, the Geneva International School and the United Nations School in New York in 1968 [24] and aims "to develop students who have excellent breadth and depth of knowledge – students who flourish physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically". [25] Today, UWC and the IB Organisation continue to work closely together to develop new curricula and shaping international education.

Five UWC schools (UWC Thailand, UWC South East Asia in Singapore, UWC Maastricht in the Netherlands, UWC East Africa in Tanzania and Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa in Eswatini) also offer non-residential educational programmes for younger students aged between 18 months and 15 years. [26]

Meanwhile, some UWC schools and colleges offer a Pre-IB Year, as a preparation year for students before they begin their IB Diploma Programme. UWC schools and colleges that offer the Pre-IB Programme include, UWC Changshu in China, UWC South East Asia in Singapore, Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa in Eswatini, UWC Thailand, UWC ISAK Japan and UWC East Africa in Tanzania. [27]

Co-curricular Activities

The UWC education nurtures students' whole person development by having the 'Creativity, Activity, Service' Programme (CAS) at its core. Each UWC school and college offers CAS activities under different names but similarly offers a wide range of both faculty and student led activities. [28]

Short courses

In addition to its colleges, UWC organizes short courses on a range of topics. Short courses are hosted by UWC colleges, national committees in their home regions and UWC alumni groups. [29] They embody the same experiential learning philosophy as the colleges, but without the academic programme, and usually have a duration of 1 - 4 weeks. Short courses were wholly in-person programs until 2020 when the coordinators of Transforming Identity and Building a Sustainable Future short courses created the first online versions. [30] Since then, online short courses have multiplied and become a core offering of UWC. The longest continuous running short course is the afforementioned Building a Sustainable Future, run by the National Committee of Germany, which has happened every year since 2016. [31] In 2022, 889 participants between 14 and 20 years old attended 23 short courses (15 residential and 8 online) worldwide. [32]

Funding

The UWC model relies heavily on funding support of different philanthropists as well as national governments. In its early years, the United World College of the Atlantic and the UWC International Office were funded by the donations and grants from the Ford Foundation, the Dulverton Trust, and the Bernard Sunley trust, in addition to the British and West German governments, and many smaller funders; the site for Atlantic College, St Donat's Castle, was donated for the college by Antonin Besse II. The colleges in Italy and Canada, in particular, receive significant support and funding from their national and local governments. [33]

More recently, the Davis-UWC Scholars Program was launched by Shelby M.C. Davis in 2000 and now supports UWC graduates to study at 99 selected US colleges and universities, and has grown to become the world's largest, privately funded, international scholarship program. [34] In 2018, the Davis-UWC Dare to Dream Programme was launched with the support of Shelby M. C. Davis. [35] [36] In 2020, UWC announced a partnership with the Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, the Rise Programme, [37] through which 15 students with refugee backgrounds will receive all-inclusive scholarships to attend across 3 years from 2021 to 2023, and further educational programmes will be delivered at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. [38]

Notable alumni

Politics and government

Business

Arts and media

Academics

Other fields

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearson College UWC</span> School in Metchosin, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific is one of eighteen schools and colleges around the world in the United World Colleges movement, located on Vancouver Island, Canada. It is named after the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson, winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize, and an early champion of the college. The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to "make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future".

UWC Atlantic is an independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Founded in 1962, it was the first of the United World Colleges and was among the first educational institutions in the world to follow an international curriculum; it helped create the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in the 1960s.

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Diploma Programme and the IB Career-related Programme for students aged 15 to 19, the IB Middle Years Programme for students aged 11 to 16, and the IB Primary Years Programme for children aged three to 12. To teach these programmes, schools must be authorized by the International Baccalaureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Po Chun United World College</span> IB world school in Hong Kong

The Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong, established in 1992, is an International Baccalaureate boarding school in Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong. It is the eighth member of the 18-member United World Colleges movement.

The United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) is an independent international school in Singapore, and is a member of the United World College (UWC) movement which includes 18 schools worldwide. UWCSEA provides a K–12 education consisting of five interlinking elements: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education, and service. The UWCSEA learning program leads to the IGCSE in Grades 9 and 10 and the IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.

Alexander Duncan Campbell Peterson OBE was a British teacher and headmaster, greatly responsible for the birth of the International Baccalaureate educational system. He was instrumental in the formation of the International Baccalaureate Organisation in 1968, and served as the organisation's first director-general until 1977. He was also the first honorary member of the organisation's Council of Foundation from 1983 until his death in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UWC Red Cross Nordic</span> School in Norway

The school UWC Red Cross Nordic, formerly known as Red Cross Nordic United World College, was founded in 1995, located in Norway. It is the ninth member of the today 18 United World Colleges, others having been established in Wales, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Singapore, Swaziland, United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Germany, Armenia, China, Thailand, Japan, and Tanzania. Patrons of the college and the movement include Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor of Jordan and Queen Sonja of Norway. The first college, UWC Atlantic College, was established by the German educationalist Kurt Hahn to promote international understanding and peace. Students are selected by UWC National Committees or selection contacts in over 150 countries on merit and many receive full scholarships. After the two-year education following the guidelines of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program students usually go on to higher education. UWC students are eligible to participate in the Shelby Davis Scholarship program, which funds undergraduate studies for UWC students at many US universities. The school is led by the Rektor, Pelham Lindfield Roberts, Deputy Rektor, Natasha Lambert and the Board of Governors, currently chaired by Elizabeth Sellevold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United World College of the Adriatic</span> An International Baccalaureate program at the United World Colleges in Italy

The United World College of the Adriatic is an international school in Italy, and a member of the United World Colleges, a global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world with the aim to foster peace and international understanding. The college is attended by around 180 students aged between 16 and 19, from around 80 countries, who live at the college for two years and study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

UWC Mahindra College is a pre-university international boarding school, located 40 km (25 mi) west of Pune in Maharashtra, India. The college is a two-year programme with about 250 full-time boarders, and follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP). It is one of the 18 United World Colleges. The school was established in 1997 with the support of Harish Mahindra and Anand Mahindra of the Mahindra Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schule Schloss Salem</span> Private school in Salem, Germany

Schule Schloss Salem is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United World College East Africa</span> Private school in Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

United World College East Africa (UWCEA) is an independent international school in Tanzania, and a member of the United World Colleges movement. Established in 1969 as International School Moshi, the school is based on two campuses on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru near the city of Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro region in north eastern Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford Kamhlaba</span> School in Eswatini

Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (WKUWCSA) is an educational institution outside Mbabane, Eswatini. It is one of 18 international schools and colleges in the United World Colleges educational movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United World College in Mostar</span> International baccalaureate school in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The United World College in Mostar is a part of the United World College, founded by Elisabeth Rehn and Lamija Tanović in 2006 and officially opened by Queen Noor of Jordan. UWC Mostar is the first UWC with an explicit aim to contribute to the reconstruction of a post-conflict society and also the first to be housed within an existing public school. UWC Mostar is the twelfth college in the United World Colleges family, and the fourth college in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United World College Maastricht</span> Ib world school in Maastricht, Netherlands

The United World College Maastricht (UWCM) is a United World College located in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The school was established in 2009 and moved to a new campus in the Maastricht neighbourhood of Amby in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UWC Dilijan</span> School in Dilijan, Armenia

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UWC ISAK Japan (ISAK) (Japanese: ユナイテッド・ワールド・カレッジISAKジャパン) is a pre-university international boarding school located in Karuizawa, Japan. UWC ISAK Japan is the 17th member of the United World Colleges movement. The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to "make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future". UWC ISAK Japan is accredited by Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT), and teaches the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program years one and two. Additionally, the school offers a pre-IB diploma year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United World College Thailand</span> School

United World College Thailand is an independent, non-profit, international day and boarding school located at the foothills of Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary, in Phuket province, Thailand. The school is the 16th member of the United World Colleges, and was officially opened in 2016 by Queen Noor of Jordan, the organization's President.

Conrad Lawrence Marquard Hughes is a South African-British-Swiss author, lecturer, teacher and international educator. In 2023 he became Director General of the International School of Geneva the world's oldest and largest international school.

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