Peace is central to UWC’s mission, bringing young people from diverse backgrounds together to foster understanding, collaboration, and global peace. In a world increasingly polarised, UWC’s model of shared learning is critical in nurturing a generation equipped with the skills, empathy, and courage to create a more peaceful future.
At UWC, diversity is at the heart of the educational model. Students live, learn, and do service with peers from across the world, often from very different socio-economic backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems. This daily experience of navigating diversity fosters empathy and collaboration, key skills for peacebuilding. UWC students come from over 150 countries, with 70-80 nationalities represented on each campus at any given time. This diversity enriches their learning environment and prepares them to address global challenges.
Our unique settings allow for a comprehensive approach to peace education, incorporating experiential learning in deliberately diverse communities and integrating our values of intercultural understanding and celebration of difference in all aspects of our curriculum.
More than 70 nationalities coexisting in peace, respect and love was a unique experience that expanded my horizons. Despite being a refugee, I never felt set apart. The atmosphere of respect for diverse backgrounds allowed me to thrive and be recognised for my potential rather than my status. This experience laid the foundation for my desire to work in the humanitarian sector, which I further developed through international voluntary work during my studies and after graduation.
Impact
UWC has a long history of fostering peace through education by uniting young people from conflict-affected regions and diverse communities. Key initiatives include:
- Offering peace curricula, such as the Initiative for Peace at UWC South East Asia (UWC SEA), focusing on conflict resolution, mediation, and personal action for peace.
- Establishing schools in post-conflict regions like UWC Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina, using a unique approach to promote reconciliation and peacebuilding.
- Bringing students from divided communities together through programmes like the EU Scholarship Programme for Cypriot Youth at UWC, which has brought together 64 students from Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities at UWC campuses and has benefited over 2,000 community members in Cyprus.
- Launching the UWC Refugee Initiative, which has supported over 300 refugee and internally displaced students since 2016, providing them with transformative educational opportunities.
- Responding to the crisis in Afghanistan with the Afghan Youth Appeal, UWC has supported over 150 Afghan students, including 139 girls, offering them life-changing educational opportunities through a combination of full UWC education and the Learning Bridge programme.
- Partnering with organisations like UNHCR, the Red Cross movement, Global Fund for Women and the European Commission to further advance access to quality education and provide training opportunities for educators.
UWC’s peace education efforts have earned recognition, including two nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Why and How to Support
UWC seeks support to expand its peace-focused initiatives, providing scholarships and educational experiences that prepare the next generation of leaders to work for peace.
Your support will:
- Expand peacebuilding programmes through co-curricular and classroom activities focused on conflict resolution and intercultural dialogue.
- Increase access to peace education by funding scholarships for students from conflict-affected regions and underrepresented backgrounds.
- Support Tandem Scholarships for Peace, creating opportunities for students from opposing sides of conflicts to study and engage in dialogue together.
- Help UWC schools share their peace education experiences and expertise with other institutions, training educators and supporting the adoption of peace curricula globally.