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Te Peace Motive
THE PEACE MOTIVE
Whether studying at UWC Atlantic College (AC), at UWC Pearson College in Canada or one of the 13 other UWCs in Tanzania, Armenia, Costa Rica or Singapore, the core values remain the same. Central to UWC’s modus operandi is that adolescents from all over the world already at the early age of sixteen, meet each other to live together to study and to exchange experiences. Beyond that, each school has its respective profle. Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland has been an important voice of opposition during the Apartheid era while UWC Adriatic College in renowned for its solid music program. AC has many extracurricular activities taking place outdoors and at sea. Tis has to do with Kurt Hahn’s idea that adolescents can also save a person in distress. For UWC RCN the distinctive humanistic tradition ties in with the Red Cross. On a purely academic note, the humanities play a signifcant role at the College. Philosophy, history, language, and literature are among the subjects ofered at higher level. Te subject known today as Global Politics, started out as a special school-based syllabus in human rights at RKN. Te College is involved with international projects that are initiated either by students or teachers. Tat is how the school started their year-long engagement in Western Sahara. Trough the student’s organizations LEAF (an ecological organization), DROP (Do remember other people) and SaFuGe, (Save the Future Generations) students at RKN work together on small, site-specifc developmental projects in their homelands and other places around the globe. SaFuGe has to date, followed through with over 50 diferent projects in thirty countries, on three continents.
1. Alumni Impact. Susanne Gabrielsenb returned to the College in 2015 for interviews, as part of her PhD research on the multicultural dimension of UWC, for the University of Minnesota.
2. Model United Nations is an annual event a the college. On a few occasions we also send delegates to other schools for similar events. Here fom 2016.
3. Tony Macoun outside the Bekker House.
When the perennial secretary of the Nobel institute, Geir Lundestad retired, he came to UWC RCN to give what has become the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture at the College. In the spirit of the many others who have contributed voluntarily to the College’s peace-work, he has been inspired by meetings with younger generations who ask the big questions and are joined in a common effort to find answers.
After the initial peace ceremony, students have in recent years been invited to ask questions to Nobel prize winners via, for example Al Jazeera’s TV coverage of the event. Students were able to meet and talk face to face with prize winners like Terumi Tanaka and Toshiki Fuimori (2017)and Abdesattar Ben Moussa(2015).
Peace- in Teory and Practice Many students at UWC have themselves experienced war or conflict, in one form or another. But not Edda, the one dressed in her traditional costume, the bunad, who is from Norway. There has not been a war in the country since the German occupation in 1940-1945. In her Extended Essay she wrote about Malala. Edda’s awareness of conflicts and challenges in society has increased after starting here. – I come from this country that has been in a war, Elin begins: – but it is rarely spoken of. At RCN I meet people who give me more detailed accounts of what war and peace might mean. We learn about it at school, but in many ways it stays on a theoretical level. Today, Germany is peaceful and democratic.
What about the right-wing extremists in Germany?
– Right-wingers in Germany feed off hate. If I belonged to a minority group, I would certainly feel more threatened by them. But right-wing extremism in Germany has disguised itself. Their rhetoric makes them difficult to criticize. They will admit to being far right politically, but no more. And they present themselves as patriots. Discussions about this must be seen in conjunction with Germany’s history. One must keep a clear head and discern what has been from what is. All in all, I would say that Germany is a peaceful country with little organized violence or crime.
Ghulam had to personally experience the consequences of extremism.
– I grew up on the dividing line between South Asia and the Middle East, where radicalism is tied to religion and the extremist fundamentalists.
Iceland House - the last student residence hall to be completed.
They keep finding new ways and methods that are tricky to figure out. Once their main objective was converting Afghanistan into an Islamic state. Now it seems that their objective is the continuation of the conflicts themselves, says Ghulam. After many years of conflict in the Indian-ruled region Kashmir, the prime minister of Pakistan compared the Indian government with the Nazi regime in a tweet: “They are attempting to change the demography of Kashmir through ethnic cleansing.” Ghulam’s story has Leanne, who is half German, half Malay, nodding in recognition with regards to what she has experienced.
– Malaysia is also an Islamic country where two laws coexist- the civil law alongside the Sharia laws. This has led to many problems in recent years. There was the case of a man who was tried before the civil law for raping a child. He was able to appeal to the Sharia law and get permission to marry that child, recounts Leanne.
– Peace is an ideal to strive for, adds Manuel. I have experienced that countries who see themselves as most democratic and tolerant, really do not fully put these ideals into practice. I came to Italy from my homeland in Uruguay at the age of twelve. Since then, it has been an issue in my family that we were brown in a country of white Italians. Multicultural Europe faces many challenges. There are many marginalized groups who suffer social and economic inequality. And Italy is seeing a rise of right-wing extremism, homophobia and so on. And at home in Latin America, we face a lot of challenges. The indigenous people are discriminated against, they are not allowed to speak their native tongue or even practice in their own cultural practices. Also from a societal perspective, they suffer. But at UWC, this small, living utopia exists. With regards to the rest of the world, surely, we must strive to come as close to peace as possible, Manuel says and adds:
– Not everyone can be Malala. But we can all make small changes. Peace is attained through actions.
1. Even at a peace school there is a place for a Maori War Dance.
2. Together for Sweden House - in friendly competition
3. Our delegation the the Nobel Peace Award in 2103.
Gradually, our contributions can make the world a better place. At the same time, one must be realistic. I can see how Uruguay and Brazil are trying to get rid of their more progressive laws. They are trying to ban abortion and homosexual marriage. This means a step back for democracy. And then there is the issue of nature preservation. Take the Amazonas, for example. At RCN we have a framework that keep questions related to this issue in focus. Then we have hands-on projects where we can join in and create positive change around the world. Talking about the concept of peace is easier when it also includes concrete examples, says Manuel.
Edda from Norway adds from her own experiences:
– UWC RCN is like a bubble and a world of its own. But for me, coming here was also sort of like coming out of a bubble. Here, I learned of and did research on conflicts that I would not have elsewhere. Western Sahara is one such example. Now I have a better understanding of how the Nobel Prize can help the relations between Ethiopia and its neighboring countries.
The prize ceremony marks the highpoint of an Oslo trip that goes over several days. The UWC students have visited the Parliament and been introduced to the Norwegian form of government. They were at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), SOS Children’s Village, the national team for Norwegian youth organizations and the Norwegian Red Cross. The director of TV 2, Olav Terjeson Sandnes, used to study at AC. He put aside more than an hour for a meeting to talk to them. Now they have participated at the peace ceremony in the city hall and take a debriefing with me.
What are your lasting impressions?
– I was impressed that the winner of the prize revealed some of his personal background, admits Elin:
– He told us about being a soldier and what ghting in a war was like. That gave us a deeper understanding of peace 6.”
Summer has come to campus.
6 e con ict between the Ethiopian, central leadership and the regional party Tigray Peoples Front (TPLF) escalated toward the end of 2020. e president Ahmed was at that point already under a lot of critique and was now also accused of not being a worthy Nobel Prize winner. At the moment of writing this it seems di cult to draw any conclusions about the critiques. e author chooses to include this part of the story to show some of the complexities involved in trying to contribute towards peace.
