Sunita Gomes is the Chairwoman of the United World Colleges GCC National Committee and Member of the UWC Council; the UWC Council elects the International Board. She is a Former Member of the British School Muscat Board of Governors and is currently Member of the Mowgli Mentoring initiative, Qatar. Sunita is also the Commercial Director of Hertz, Middle East and Africa.
is required for the International Baccalaureate programme, students must show that they have engaged in extracurricular activities and service in their communities.
founded a youth group that wishes to set a positive example for leaders and prevent further violence. In 2006, Dalal was selected by the Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s 100 “Most Powerful Women”.
We also consider the following personal characteristics – integrity, honesty, personal responsibility, compassion and service, respect for the environment, tolerance and mutual respect.
I hope that I can tell you a remarkable story about a UWC student from the GCC soon.
To be eligible you must meet the following criteria: ■■ Applicants must be between 16 and 17 years of age by September 2014 ■■ Applicants should be citizens of, or expatriate students resident and studying in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE or Oman ■■ Students must be enrolled in a secondary school in one of the above countries We encourage them to visit our website, www.uae.uwc.org, and apply online as soon as possible, since the process can take several weeks. Can you give us some examples of successful alumni from the region? How do you recognise future leaders? Bassem El-Remesh grew up as the youngest of six children in an underprivileged family in Lebanon. He was determined to find a way to pay for his schooling and started working in a shop at 13. When he was 15, he was working six hours or more each day, which enabled him to help his family, while he attended high school in a neighboring town. Bassem was selected to attend UWC Red Cross Nordic, which he describes as “a dream come true”. Following his graduation, Bassem was offered a Davis scholarship to study at Macalester College in the USA, where he plans to major in economics. He says that UWC is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Dalal al-Waheidi, from Palestine, witnessed the terrible impact war and conflict has on children. At 17, Dalal was selected by the Ministries of Education of Norway and Palestine to attend UWC. Today, she is the Chief Operations Director at Free the Children and has
There are numerous pathways for private sector involvement in Qatar – endow a scholarship, volunteer to promote UWC, serve on the committee and participate in events.
How has UWC adapted to changes in today’s world? When UWC was first established in 1962, during the Cold War, it was intended to promote world peace by bringing together bright young people with high potential from different national backgrounds. However, the world has changed dramatically within the last half century. Faced with old and new tensions and uncertainties, we can see even more clearly that we need future leaders who know and understand one another and who are inspired and equipped to make a positive difference. While there is an incredible amount to be gained from bringing together young people from different parts of the world and with different lived realities, at UWC we strive within schooling and with honest discourse, a deep commitment to explore sustainable ways to live and contribute to the communities our schools operate in. It is in probing deeply and living consequentially that UWC schools and students make a profound impact in the world. How can the private sector help you reach your goals in Qatar and across the region? We seek support of the private sector for our scholarship system. The widespread provision of scholarship support is fundamental to the UWC model, not the exception or a token gesture. Overall, 60% of our National Committee selected students receive some scholarship funding and our schools also offer a scholarship/bursary programme for younger students. Our scholarship model is one of the key elements that differentiates us from a growing number of international schools. Our two-year unique residential programme, serving students between 16-19 years who typically represent more than 100 different countries, combines academic challenge with an experiential, hands-on approach to learning. We are a non-profit educational movement. Our donor and alumni base is spread worldwide and we rely on their generosity to provide needs-based scholarships and financial sustainability. There are numerous pathways for private sector involvement in Qatar – endow a scholarship, volunteer to promote UWC, serve on the committee and participate in events.
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