UWC International provides the UWC Common Standards for Safeguarding to support the wellbeing and safety of all members of the UWC community in reflection of UWC’s core values of personal responsibility and integrity, autonomy and mutual responsibility, respect, and compassion.
Statement from UWC International Board
The Trustees of UWC International affirm their commitment to the wellbeing and safety of all members of the UWC community in reflection of UWC’s core values of personal responsibility and integrity, autonomy and mutual responsibility, respect and compassion. They also affirm their full commitment to safeguarding and to promoting the wellbeing of all children and young people in the care of UWC schools, colleges, national committees, projects and educational programmes. The Trustees confirm their belief in the right of all children to be protected from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Statement from UWC ARDEI Committee
Embedding Anti-Racist, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ARDEI) in Safeguarding
We are committed to an anti-racist, equal, diverse, and inclusive UWC movement, ensuring that everyone who currently is or seeks to be involved with the UWC community can do so safely and is treated with respect and dignity. We aim for an environment where all people, regardless of their background and characteristics, can feel welcome, safe, and heard.
Anti-racism, equality, diversity, and inclusion (ARDEI) play a key role in this vision. We recognize that harm, abuse, prejudice and discrimination can occur, and we look at safeguarding through an intersectional approach. This means that we acknowledge that some people are more at risk than others of discrimination and marginalisation, and that not everyone experiences harm, abuse, or prejudice in the same way, sometimes accumulating multiple layers of discrimination.
ARDEI and safeguarding are interconnected. They belong to the same continuous effort to challenge power imbalances, safeguard people, and guarantee that communities feel safe to speak up. We are dedicated to ensuring that everyone can access safeguarding mechanisms to begin with and to treating all safeguarding concerns with fairness and consistency.
UWC International is in the process of developing further policies and practices in the ARDEI area. For more information, please visit this page.