Issuu

2020

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

WELCOME & THANK YOU

3 | Welcome & Thank You 4 | Looking Forward 6 | Goodbye & Thank You 8 | Student Profile - Sara

WELCOME & THANK YOU Thank you for taking the time to read our annual review for 2020/21.

10 | Donations Raised 12 | Time and Talent 16 | Volunteer Profiles 18 | Mentoring

In what was yet another challenging year for our community, it never ceases to amaze me how much you care about the college and our shared vision for education. On the occasions where things got tough, we felt reassured by your presence – wherever you were in the world – and it was always clear we could count on your support.

20 | InConversation

22 | The Atlantic Circle

As we begin to emerge from the past 18 months, we are excited about what we can create together. We have a new principal in Naheed Bardai who has brought some ambitious plans with him and an inspiring vision for the college. If you haven’t already seen the Q&A videos when he first joined, please feel free to check them out:

23 | Student Profile - Danielle

https://youtu.be/OnFGsuREAlA

21 | InTouch

https://youtu.be/Kuzwbw_UvWw As ever, we want to use this opportunity to celebrate the Time, the Treasure and the Talent you have generously given to the college. Thanks to the support of our alumni and friends, we have been able to offer even more scholarships compared to last year, and we have also been able to launch the second phase of the seafront programme. In the meantime, I will leave you with some of this year’s highlights and stories from students about the impact that a UWC education has had on their lives. Thank you again and we look forward to continuing our journey together over the coming year.

Andrea Diez de Sollano Director Philanthropy, Engagement and Partnerships

LOOKING FORWARD

LOOKING FORWARD Since the early days of my first teaching job in Kenya, leading a UWC school was a clear aspiration for me. Many years later when the opportunity at UWC Atlantic arose, I didn’t hesitate. The place this college holds in the global educational ecosystem is a special one. When it comes to the opportunity to influence the impact of education and all it can achieve, there is nowhere more significant to me than UWC Atlantic.

My plan will be to continue bolstering the rich deliberate diversity we are synonymous with, and look to ocean-based innovation and experiential learning to channel that diversity to its most positive.

Empowering young people to make good decisions for themselves, their families and their communities is why I made an about-turn on my plans for a business career, deciding instead to become a teacher. The power of education to ignite change is inestimable and I realised, thanks to the wisdom of my own teachers, it was through that I could most constructively contribute to the world around me.

The seafront plays a significant role in connecting that line from the past to the future. The founders of UWC Atlantic proved it: what better way to remove perceived differences and disputes and find your common humanity than by overcoming obstacles together, through teamwork, being ‘out there’ focussing solely on the challenge at hand?

As I work on my vision for the next chapter of our story here at UWC Atlantic, uppermost in my mind are the touchstones of its mission - peace, in all its forms, and sustainability - the most noble of ideals for humanity.

And, of course, it’s vital that line continues into the future; to secure the way for generations that follow so they can continue the work begun here 60 years ago - to have an impact, to be agile, flexible, critical, collaborative, maximising difference in order to have a sustained impact on the issues of our time, always with an eye to supporting and uplifting human dignity and care for our environments.

Our human systems are disparate, uneven and unfair, increasingly so in today’s world. And if we want to make significant strides in addressing the challenges facing our natural environment, we must at the same time address the unjust human systems that are responsible for our climate emergency. Equipping our students to handle the challenges their generation faces (thanks in no small part to the problem of our own generations) is everything. Meaningful and positive activism comes in many shapes and forms. Grounded in the transformational learning experiences our students have, I want to encourage them to find their voice through action. At the heart of that is advocacy for those less able to advocate for themselves, an essential component for the creation of greater peace and sustainability. It goes without saying that the Kurt Hahn way - personal challenge, the stretching of oneself, action-orientation and service to others remains at the heart of my vision to achieve that.

So my focus will be on drawing a clear, through-line connecting UWC Atlantic’s founding past - its important history, trail-blazing seafront, educational radicalism, innovation and experimentation firmly into the here and now.

And so I consider it a great honour to follow Peter T Howe as custodian of its continuing story, to build on its world-beating achievements and take the lead 60 years on from the realisation of Kurt Hahn’s vision and ideals here at St Donat’s Castle.

What I want to focus on is our understanding of the nexus of those two ideals. Too often we consider them in isolation; however, our human and natural systems are deeply interconnected.

It is only a few months since my family and I arrived in south Wales and I began my role as principal. The welcome we received from every part of the UWC community has been the warmest imaginable. The connections I’ve already made with students, staff, alumni, governors, families and volunteers, have been one of the biggest privileges of my life.

How can we not rise to that calling with renewed determination? This magnificent place, the castle, the seafront, the deliberate diversity of students and staff, when you bring all those things together we have a recipe for magic.

Over the months since I arrived, I have been excited to explore the castle. The more I discover about its history, the smaller I feel. Perhaps that’s inevitable given its 800 years of impact, importance and influence over countless lives, not least of all the 9,000-plus alumni who’ve passed through UWC Atlantic over the past 60 years. In that context, feeling small is a good thing. It’s humbling. The history of St Donat’s Castle makes it abundantly clear to me that my responsibility here is one of custodianship and stewardship. As we prepare to celebrate our 60th anniversary I want to say thank you to everyone who contributes so generously to our collective responsibility to ensure our connection to St Donat’s Castle today powers that through-line forward 60 years from now. A new chapter begins in the story of this very special place. I send my gratitude for your immense support of UWC Atlantic’s continuing mission so the might of radical education further empowers young lives and their impact on individuals and communities many miles from its historic shore. Naheed Bardai Principal, UWC Atlantic College

GOODBYE & THANK YOU

GOODBYE & THANK YOU In the last annual review, I said that the circumstances were unprecedented and challenging for us all. In many ways, this was the same in 2020/21. However, for me, it was also a great chance to give our students the trust, agency and authentic responsibility they deserve in navigating these challenges. After four years as principal, I was heartened to see the reforms we introduced were taking hold, resulting in student councils with independent budgets, a student disciplinary board, a co-curricular committee, and new initiatives such as a campus-based Project Week and a three week UWC mission and values focused period in lieu of the cancelled IB examinations. I hope that this approach continues to embed itself at UWC Atlantic long after I have left. When I arrived here, UWC Atlantic seemed to have drifted, somewhat disconnected from its roots, and far from the flagship College for the UWC movement. But as I left the college in the summer I was touched by the transformation, albeit challenging at times, that had taken place during my four-and-a-half-year tenure. These include a re-imagined timetable and calendar, the student conferences, the Changemaker Curriculum, the Head of Tutors and Student Affairs position, the Head of Wellbeing and Safeguarding position, increased staff diversity, a new approach to external relations, The Learning Centre (TLC), the vision of world-class philanthropy, and all the many high performing teams that were leading across the college. Over the last year, we have continued to invest in fostering innovation among our students through initiatives such as the Changemaker Curriculum and the Lighthouse Innovation Hub, towards which you, as alumni and friends, have generously given your time and talent. I am really excited about the promise for both initiatives and am convinced of the impact they will have in equipping our students for life after UWC Atlantic. This year, the Changemaker Curricula took big steps forward, with more than 100 students involved in various prototypes for future courses, including communication and mediation, and ocean systems and coastal management.

The Lighthouse has also continued to develop and find its home within the college, with increasing numbers of entrepreneurial projects undertaken by the students. In October 2020 we had just three projects in development and when I left there were close to 20. Your support has helped to underpin this success, and I know many of you have given your time to mentor the students and their projects. We hope to see more of you work with the Lighthouse Innovation Hub over the coming year. One thing we must not take for granted is the way that students have continued to embrace their responsibilities through various UWC Atlantic commitments. As a globally connected society, we face some major challenges over the coming years (to put it mildly), whether that’s supporting communities to thrive postpandemic, addressing racial injustices - and all injustices - around the world, or doing all that we can to ensure a habitable planet for future generations to come. The role of education and bringing people together from deliberately diverse backgrounds and viewpoints must not be underestimated. This is where I feel that the UWC movement can make an immeasurable difference. I have seen a strong foundation laid over the last four and a half years and we have to keep pushing to realise the potential that we all see in UWC Atlantic. Thankfully, we have a talented new addition to the college in Naheed Bardai to help steer this course, and I am excited to have him succeed me as principal of UWC Atlantic. I want to wish Naheed and the rest of my former colleagues all the best for the coming years. I would like to end by thanking you from the bottom of my heart for your support during my time as principal. As Andrea says in her introduction, it is amazing how much you care about this exceptional place we call The United World College of the Atlantic. We need to make sure that we don’t take this level of passion and commitment for granted, especially now when we need to count on your support more than ever before.

“I have seen a strong foundation laid over the last four and a half years and we have to keep pushing to realise the potential that we all see in UWC Atlantic.”

Warmest wishes, Peter T. Howe

SARA

STUDENT PROFILE

Sara Taha is a Palestinian refugee, born and raised in Lebanon. Before attending UWC Atlantic in 2019, Sara studied at the UN Relief and Works Agency, a school for Palestinian refugees. It was there that Sara was invited to a talk about UWC and in an instant she knew she was somehow going to be part of the movement. Here Sara talks about the challenges she faced, not only as a refugee, but as someone with a rare genetic disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a condition which makes people extremely sensitive to UV light from the sun often resulting in severe sunburn and increased risk of developing skin cancer.

To be a refugee was to always be something different; this is one of the reasons I applied to UWC. But despite being a refugee and despite being considered a minority for literally everything, I was never alone. I always had a friend who made me feel special and unique. Today I call it my life’s friend - a very rare genetic disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum or (XP). Many might think it would be impossible to live with XP in a place like Lebanon, but impossible is not a word in my dictionary. Despite all the challenges, the surgery, pain, and round of appointments I was determined to go to school because I always had hope; I always had that person inside who wanted to have dreams and not just pain. Over time XP made my life more meaningful. It made me a very strong person, it made me realise that the world would not be unique if we were all the same.. “It is Okay to be different!” On bright, sunny days (which means most of the year in Lebanon) I had to miss many lessons but would try to get information on the lessons I’d missed from any resource or friend. At times it was difficult, but the high grades were worth it. Studying and taking exams with an injured eye is not impossible. I was very hard on myself, and I cannot deny that it is still very hard to manage. However, seeing myself managing at the end makes me realise how unbreakable and strong I am. One day, some of the highest achieving students in my school were invited to a talk about the UWC movement. I began to cry when the presenter told us that our moms wouldn’t be there to wash our clothes. My friend sitting next to me was laughing and said: “You didn’t even apply. Why are you crying??”. But it was at that moment that I felt I was definitely going to make it to UWC. After a number of interviews, I found out that I had received a full scholarship sponsored by the Horizon Foundation to study at UWC Atlantic because the weather was more suitable for my health and the UV is really low. I still can’t describe how I felt, it was a mixture of excitement, happiness, sadness and a bit anxious because I was going to leave my family, friends, home and my other half - my youngest brother with whom I share the same condition. Going to UWC Atlantic meant that it was my first time to go out and face people alone, that for the first time in my life I would

be travelling outside of Lebanon, and that I would be without my family and be sleeping outside of my family home. In other words, I would be starting a completely independent journey for the first time in my life. Undertaking the International Baccalaureate was already very challenging, and on top of that I was still having a lot of issues with my XP. In the end, I managed to persuade my friend XP to understand that whatever problems he causes, I was not going to give up. Even when that meant I had to travel to London from Wales for eye appointments (which was helped by the fact that nurses from the college would travel with me). Even during Covid-19 when I had to isolate and miss a lot of lessons, which left me feeling overwhelmed about being behind my classmates. Even in those instances I never gave up. Studying with XP at UWC Atlantic was my chance to flourish by being different. I began to raise awareness of the disease among my international friends and among the teachers. I even used the opportunity to write about XP as part of my extended essay in the IB, something which made me extremely proud and happy about doing. It also gave my tutor, teacher and any IB teacher who assisted with my essay a chance to find out more about XP - a story that previously I had never felt brave enough to tell. My experience at UWC Atlantic has inspired me to talk about myself, rather than try to escape, and made me realise how much I want to be the cure for many people.

“To be a refugee was to always be something different; this is one of the reasons I applied to UWC. ”

I’m looking to be a doctor, which I didn’t realise before UWC Atlantic. I had no idea that I was interested in medicine. I always thought that my requests to stay awake during my surgeries to see what was going on was just curiosity. My next step is to attend Lake Forest College in the US, where I am planning to study Optometry and later become an Eye Doctor. I know really well what it is like to be a patient and suffer. I would never have been here without the support of my family and my friends, and without the Horizon Foundation who sponsored me and gave me this amazing opportunity to study at UWC Atlantic. And I would never have been here without literally everyone who got to know me at the college, who in turn impacted me in one way or another. Finally, I wouldn’t be without XP, my forever education, which taught me so much and still teaches me a lot today.

Cash breakdown by audience

DONATIONS RAISED

Alumni

£2,759

£1,211,399

£8,766 Matching Gift Company

Former UWC Atlantic staff

£495,878 Other Donor (Not Alumni or Parent)

Total Cash

£186,342 £71,634 Former Parent

Current Parent

Organisation

£6,285

Trust/Foundation

£1,184,399

3,167, 513m

CASH RECEIVED

BREAKDOWN BY AUDIENCE

Cash breakdown by destination

£466,527

CASH RECEIVED BREAKDOWN BY AUDIENCE

Other Donor (Not Alumni or Parent)

Former Parent

Current Parent

Former UWC Atlantic Staff

Alumni

Organisation

Matching Gift Company

Trust/Foundation

£2,165,014

Scholarships

Atlantic Fund & Class Appeals

Seafront Development Programme Phase 2

£66,614

£270,360 £72,124 £126,874 Endowments

Other Donor (Not Alumni or Parent)

Former Parent

Current Parent

Former UWC Atlantic Staff

Alumni

Organisation

Matching Gift Company

Trust/Foundation

Other Projects

Lighthouse Initiative

TIME & TALENT

Figures representing non-financial contributions towards UWC Atlantic and the movement, donated by UWC Atlantic alumni and friends of the college.

Total number across 2020/21

GOVERNORS & CO-OPTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS The UWC Atlantic Board members are prominent individuals (business, industry and academic leaders & specialists) whose commitment to the future of UWC Atlantic is either expressed through their lived experience as an alumnus of UWC Atlantic or another UWC college or who are living mission-aligned UWC values through the nature of their careers in Wales, the UK or globally. Each UWC Atlantic Governor or Co-opted Committee Member (someone brought in to add their expertise to a specific committee) dedicates a significant number of volunteer hours to UWC Atlantic.

Hours dedicated in 2020/21

UWC Atlantic Governors

15 7 22

3,200 91 3,291

UWC Atlantic Co-opted Committee Members

TOTAL

TIME & TALENT

Figures representing non-financial contributions towards UWC Atlantic and the movement, donated by UWC Atlantic alumni and friends of the college.

Time & talent contribution

# Contributors # Volunteer hours - total Financial contribution equivalent

Advisor/Expert

100

£10,590

Class Year Reps play a pivotal role as a bridge builder between their Class and the college - connecting the cohort’s past with our shared future. They keep friends and classmates connected to build support for our various endeavours, celebrate our successes and help us shape our future. Year Reps invest their time and their talent to maximise the potential of this unique relationship - which is particularly needed to motivate and mobilise other UWC Atlantic classes ahead of reunions and also to spread the word about specific campaigns.

Alum-to-student Mentor

£1,310

Contributor: Changemaker Curriculum

£3,500

Contributor: Editorial

£2,320

Contributor: Other

£7,640

Digital Ambassador

5.5

£275

9,984 192

Driver/Chaperone

£400

Event Host

£735

Lighthouse Volunteer

£4,300

Speaker: Atlantic Circle - InConversation

TIME & TALENT Speaker: Friday Night Lecture (FNL)

£5,790

£900

Speaker: Other

£2,435

Other

£190

149

478.5

£40,295

CLASS YEAR REPS

Number of Class Year Reps

Minimum cumulative no. of hours dedicated to UWC Atlantic

Host families in 2020/21...

27 26 1,714 £34,280 students required host accommodation

alumni and friends of the college provided host accommodation

nights of host accommodation were provided in total

was the financial equivalent of host accommodation

Alumni & friends of UWC Atlantic - other time & talent contributions.

TOTAL

FIGURES AND ANALYSIS

2% | Other

3.4% | Driver/Chaperone

14.8% | Advisor/Expert

4% | Event Host

4.7% | Mentor

20.8% | Lighthouse Volunteer

7.4% | Contributor: CC

11.4% | Speaker. Atl. Circle

7.4% | Contributor: Editorial

2.7% | Speaker: FNL

5.4% | Contributor: Other

10.1% | Speaker: Other

TIME & TALENT FIGURES AND ANALYSIS

6% | Digital Ambassador

2% | Other

3.4% | Driver/Chaperone

14.8% | Advisor/Expert

4% | Event Host

4.7% | Mentor

20.8% | Lighthouse Volunteer

| Speaker. Atl. Circle In addition, during 2020-21, 97 UWC Atlantic alumni supported the wider UWC 11.4% movement 2.7% | Speaker: FNL 7.4% | Contributor: Editorial as volunteers, dedicating a total of 10,617 hours of their time,5.4%including 10.1%National | Speaker: Other | Contributor: Other serving on 6% | Digital Ambassador Committees globally, as well as by contributing to the UWC Unlocked series of informal online video conferences offered by UWCers for UWCers. 7.4% | Contributor: CC

VOLUNTEER PROFILES

Profiles of volunteers At UWC Atlantic we are lucky to have an extremely supportive and dedicated community of alumni and friends who donate their time and talent in a number of ways. Here are just a handful of examples of the types of contributions the college benefited from over the past year.

mentoring

MENTORING

Mentoring is a core element of the UWC education. In 2020-21 nearly a dozen Lighthouse projects benefited from alumni and supporter mentorship.

Nikole Montero (UWCA ‘22) – WE SEE CEO

Oumoul-kaïrou Moussa Karimoune (UWCA ‘22), OOCancer Project Leader

TESTIMONIAL 1 Eco City received mentorship from Murtaza Hussain. Because of his experience in software development and tech startups, we were able to learn from him and apply his advice to our project, an app which promotes sustainability. The tips he gave us on marketing also gave us the opportunity to pitch and launch the app to the whole school.

TESTIMONIAL 5

We are very grateful for all the support from Lighthouse this year! Above: The Eco City team proudly presents: AC’s first sustainable bench (made from eco-bricks)

TESTIMONIAL 2

Left: Murtaza Hussain, UWCA ‘04

TESTIMONIAL 3

Our new Lighthouse project AILEM has gained immensely from the UWC Atlantic alumni network. Through this network we connected with Tobias Busemann (UWCA ‘98), Polly Akhurst (UWCA ‘06) and Rebecca Dibb (UWCA ‘98) as our mentors. The strength of this diverse network allowed us to gain insight from experts representing different industries and backgrounds. This includes but is not limited to curriculum development, practicing our project pitch, further connections to other experts, technical advice etc. The mentorship began at the early stages of our project taking shape, and throughout the process it has been the catalyst for its development The advice and guidance helped us to turn our vision into reality. We are extremely grateful to our mentors for donating their time and talent to provide us with crucial expertise.

Polly Akhurst, UWCA ‘06

Tobias Busemann, UWCA ‘98

WE SEE (Women Empowerment through Society, Education and Economics) has been working on training our volunteers for the mentoring process, gaining skills such as responsibility, commitment and teamwork. The mentorship has helped many girls with different backgrounds, supporting them to develop confidence and leadership skills. The support from Lighthouse has enriched the positive progress of WE SEE to continue the efficient and passionate work within our community. We are currently working on more curricular plans to support the girls. WE SEE looks forward to receiving more volunteers and to expanding our community all over the world.

TESTIMONIAL 4

The main objective of OOCancer - which stands for Objectif 0 Cancer - is to reduce, or even eradicate, women’s cancer through technology. The project aims to provide a mobile application for women to find out everything about cancer - its causes, its consequences, its treatment and prevention. Women also have the opportunity to talk to doctors through the application and get answers to their inquiries. I have recently had the opportunity to talk to Quique Bassat (UWCA ‘93) who has the experience of working in Africa, specifically in the health sector. Our meeting was very helpful. Quique helped me to brainstorm the project ideas again and to identify new solutions, such as the idea of self-exploration. I am currently reviewing all the lessons learned over the past term, in order to get started again at the beginning of the new academic year.

Quique Bassat (UWCA ‘93) Photo credit: UWC

Eshrat Waris, UWCA ‘06

At the Solar Energy Project, we are very lucky to have been paired with a mentor experienced in the sustainable technology sector. Eshrat Waris (UWCA ‘06) taught us how to better approach our project by focusing and narrowing down the problem before coming up with a solution. The alumna is very inspiring and the conversation we had motivated us to rethink and try to thoroughly strategise our plan before we got other people to join. We look forward to working on this project in the third term with the continued support from Lighthouse. Devi Yuliarti (UWCA ‘22) and Qingyue Zhang (UWCA ‘22) The AILEM team

Rebecca Dibb, UWCA ‘98

Atlantic Circle – InConversation

InTouch – Unravelling UWC Atlantic

InConversation

InTouch

The Atlantic Circle - InConversation series offers all community members the chance to tune into interesting topics and connect with fellow UWC alumni and friends of UWC Atlantic across the globe. Through this initiative we aim to bring the global UWC community closer together - enabling participants to learn from each other, share their time and talent, and continue living the UWC values.

lectures

lectures DATE

Through our InTouch series of talks we explore what UWC Atlantic is, what it means to be both students and alumni, and share what life is like at UWC Atlantic. We host this series of talks throughout the year, discovering different aspects of UWC Atlantic, its values and student life and experiences.

SESSION TITLE

SPEAKER(S)/PANELLIST(S)

DATE 01/10/2020

Inaugural InTouch Event

Jill Longson, Peter T. Howe, Kate Vincze, Andrea Diez de Sollano, Alan Fleming

26/11/2020 & 02/12/2020

“Introducing the Changemaker Curriculum to alumni and friends of UWC Atlantic”

Changemaker Curriculum staff; the Nov event moderated by Lutfey Siddiqi (UWCA ‘94)

11/02/2021

“Dimensions of Meaningful Changemaking: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus”

Professor Muhammad Yunus

25/03/2021

“The Changing Nature of a UWC Atlantic Education. Reflections on the Past, Present & Future”

Peter T. Howe, Andrew Maclehose and Gareth Rees, moderated by Rhian-Anwen Hamill (UWCA ‘85)

24/06/2021

“The Learning Centre – The Heart of our Student Support System”

Jane Wyatt – College Counsellor, Emma Gaze – Additional Learning Needs Coordinator, Maite Sandoval-Inglada – EAL & Spanish Teacher

09/10/2020

“Philanthropy in the World Today, How Might that Benefit UWC?”

Jan Petit (UWCA ‘77)

22/10/2020

“In Search of Super-Sized Swarms: Why Krill Are Important to Us All”

Geraint Tarling (UWCA ‘88)

05/11/2020

“Systems Revisited - How Do We Educate for the 21st Century?”

Polly Akhurst (UWCA ‘06), Luis Benveniste (UWCA ‘85), Peter T. Howe, Andria Zafirakou; moderated by Lutfey Siddiqi (UWCA ‘94)

19/11/2020

“Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem and Russia’s Remaking of the West”

Luke Harding (UWCA ‘86)

03/12/2020

“Leading a Social Enterprise: A Personal Journey with Burn Out and Blast Off!”

Jen Baughan (UWCA ‘04)

10/12/2020

“Can You Make a Difference?”

Nick Danziger (UWCA Parent ‘21)

21/01/2021

“Women in Business”

Blanca Juti (UWCA ‘86); moderated by Rhian-Anwen Hamill (UWCA ‘85)

04/02/2021

“Human Rights in a Troubled World”

Baroness Helena Kennedy (UWCA Parent ’05)

11/03/2021

“Island Life in Two Hemispheres”

Eleuthera du Breuil (UWCA ‘04)

08/04/2021

“How to be Better Off Working Wild”

Sara Turnbull (UWCA ‘99)

22/04/2021

“Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation: Core Skills for Changemakers”

Lydiah Kemunto Bosire (UWCA ‘98) and Murtaza Hussain (UWCA ‘04)

13/05/2021

“How to Organise Medicine: Tax and/or Private Money?”

Willem van Tets (UWCA ‘77)

20/05/2021

“Making an Impact in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education”

Elsie Effah Kaufmann (UWCA ‘88)

17/06/2021

“Global Challenges in Land Use”

Jo Price (UWCA ‘77)

SESSION TITLE

SPEAKER(S)/PANELLIST(S)

STUDENT PROFILE

DANIELLE The Atlantic Circle 20/21 Annual Review

£651,193 donated to The Atlantic Circle in 2020-2021

The Atlantic Circle is a vibrant group of like-minded individuals driven by a shared passion for UWC Atlantic and its mission. The Circle is made up by a community of patrons who believe in the power of a transformative educational experience to make a better world. Together, they support the students, teachers, and programmes at UWC Atlantic, as well as experiences that extend beyond the classroom. Patrons of the Atlantic Circle fuel innovation, expand opportunity and create the transformative experiences that are hallmarks of a UWC Atlantic education, playing a key role in shaping its future. This year, our incredible patrons have helped support a range of scholarships and projects at UWC Atlantic, ensuring that we continue to support a deliberately diverse range of students. Thanks to their support, students have been able to enjoy a number of experiences, including the Search and Rescue at Sea programme in partnership with Atlantic Pacific and the National Coastwatch Institution station. Generous gifts that go towards the Atlantic Circle Patron programmes have a significant impact at the college, helping to shape the future of our students’ lives. The support of our patrons is vital to UWC Atlantic’s continued development and success. We don’t see them as simply our supporters, but as integral members of our close-knit community.

My name is Danielle Leah Weiss. I was born in New York but have lived my entire life in Jerusalem, Israel. About two and a half years ago, a nice lady visited my chemistry class and told us about a wonderful program named United World Colleges. Half a year later, after countless exams and thanks to the support of the Eyal & Marilyn Ofer Family Foundation (one of the most generous Israeli families in the world), I was ready to start my two-year journey at UWC Atlantic. Leaving my family behind was not easy, but the amazing people at college helped me adjust to the new environment and soon I started to enjoy all the diverse activities UWC Atlantic has to offer. I joined council meetings, woke up at 6.30am to go running in the woods, helped break a Guinness World Record (the hug with the most nationalities) and studied Global Politics with people from all around the world. All of those taught me to see the world from a richer perspective. My favourite aspect of being in the college was how students run everything. Before coming to Wales, I volunteered as a first aid responder in the national ambulance service and took a part of a few IsraeliPalestinian peace programs. Those were great but they were always run by adults. At UWC Atlantic, a group of seven teenagers (the picture of most of us is below - I am the second from the right) was able to plan and execute a two-day conference that allowed students and staff to explore the culture, conflicts and food of the Middle East and North Africa. This conference not only provided me with soft skills such as time management and work ethic, it also allowed me to learn about different views and opinions on the situation back home. In addition, the college gave me the chance to contribute to the new change maker unit and improve the IB for the next generations, which taught me we can always strive for a better future.

After leaving the college and travelling for a while with my close friends, I returned home to Jerusalem. However, I am not the same person I was on August 18th two years ago. I care more about the world around me and look for ways to change the way I and how my family lives. One of those changes is becoming almost completely vegetarian as a way to reduce climate change and my CO2 emission (I still can’t resist grandma’s food but I am trying my best!). In a month, I will enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces for three years. Afterwards, I hope to accomplish my childhood dream of going to medical school.

Danielle Leah Weiss (CENTRE).

LIGHTHOUSE INNOVATION

Lighthouse

Innovation Hub

mentorship sessions per month. We have received some really positive feedback in recent months and we hope to see more alumni and friends of UWC Atlantic work with us in the future.

The academic year saw the continued growth of Lighthouse - our on-campus centre supporting inspirational student ideas and projects for meaningful changemaking. The year also saw the further roll-out of the Lighthouse Project Grant to support student-led innovation, with eight projects benefiting.

Lighthouse unites young people at UWC Atlantic around a shared mission and values to enact positive change in the world and their communities. The centre also gives us a great opportunity to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Lighthouse Prize was also launched, which aims to support initiatives demonstrating entrepreneurial promise and a lasting positive impact on sustainable development. Each project can be awarded up to £10,000. Applications were assessed by a panel which included three UWC Atlantic alumni - Ari Lahti (UWCA ‘82), Elsie Effah Kaufmann (UWCA ‘88), Lydiah Kemunto Bosire (UWCA ‘98) - alongside the then Principal Peter T. Howe. A total of four groups successfully secured funding for their projects.

Lighthouse aims to connect students with a range of resources to ensure the success of their projects, including 1:1s, training, personal coaching, physical workspace, events, mentors and access to alumni support. Over the academic year 2020-21, two dedicated Lighthouse Coordinator Interns - Ula Adamska (MUWCI ‘16) and Lochlann Atack (UWCM ‘16) worked together to help develop the Lighthouse centre and integrate it further within the college. The Lighthouse Space now includes a working area for students, a meeting room, the Creativity Lab (used for informal gatherings), and a classroom. Anyone entering the centre is also now greeted by the Lighthouse mural, which was created by two 2nd year students, featuring the original RIB boat built at UWC Atlantic.

As a result of the efforts of the Lighthouse team, the centre has seen a huge increase in projects - from three in October 2020 to 18 in May 2021! Projects include a game based app which encourages sustainability, a scheme to empower indigenous farmers around the world, and an initiative which aims to build a small-scale solar charger. Throughout the year, each project was able to call on the support of one of 13 mentors currently working with the Lighthouse Innovation Hub, with each one estimated to have received at least two

In addition to the weekly Lighthouse sessions and other drop-in sessions, a number of events were hosted for students. Highlights include a social business entrepreneurship event featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, a workshop co-hosted with the student Wellbeing Council (WellCo) called “From Social Activism to Social Change - the Social Response Cycle” and a design thinking workshop. In April the Lighthouse also played host to a weekend event called the InLightenment Festival, which featured a 24-hour Hackathon and a fair showcasing many of the Lighthouse projects.

THE ART OF GIVING

Project Week embroidery lesson

the ART of giving Project Week 2021 Students organised an on-campus art fair and online alumni art auction this year, supported by Carissa Bardsley from the Philanthropy, Engagement and Partnerships team. The events formed part of Project Week, which aims to inspire first and second year students about the importance of philanthropy for the college. Students were responsible for organising the on-campus event, and designing and producing the art for sale. The students had lessons in embroidery and were also mentored by alumna Bianca Gidwani (UWCA ‘08) on event planning, project management and delivery. A range of materials were produced by the students, including tote bags, t-shirts, stones, face masks and jewellery.

Art Fair (T-shirt modeling)

The art fair on 11 April proved to be a great success, attended by more than 200 students, who bought the hand-made items, watched performances and took part in creative art activities! The event raised £741.12 with all profits going towards Hideout, an initiative which aims to support the wellbeing of the community by offering students a place to relax and take time out.

Back row – left to right: Michelle Strong (AC21), Giulia Rosa Flores Brykowicz (AC21), Micaela Corvera Vargas (AC21), Alexandra Hanson (AC22) Front row – left to right: Yotam Ben Gera (AC21), Robin Kaikull (AC22), Julie Janssen (AC22), Liam Tang (AC22), Amar Aqel (AC22), Alexandra Klein (AC22)

The Art of Giving online auction took place from 21 June - 11 July, where a range of high quality artwork by current students, parents, alumni and staff went up for sale among the UWC Atlantic community. The auction raised £2,195, which will be used to help fund scholarships for 2021 entry students. A huge thank you to Yotam Ben Gera (UWCA ’21) who designed and managed the art auction online platform and to all those that participated.

A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER 2020-2021

NEW DEVELOPMENTS Find out how UWC Atlantic successfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic. What activities were held across the year? What tools were used? And how we did it all successfully! ENROLMENT

362

LIFE ON CAMPUS

Students learning remotely at the start of the academic year

Percentage of timetabled sessions lost directly due to Covid-19 (isolating when no online facilities or ill with symptoms)

704

Covid-19 tests administered after the winter break

Weeks of Spring Programme, student-led and student organised, so that second-year students could engage with the college and with each other during the time between the end of codes and their graduation.

LIFE ON CAMPUS

8 47

Volunteers put on activities and provided pastoral support to the students who stayed on campus throughout the winter holidays

LIFE ON CAMPUS All on c amp to a norus - as opposed mal yea r Project Week projects delivered

Student conferences held

85 28

Co-curricular sessions per week available to the students despite being confined to the campus space only.

Second-year students and gap year students who applied for university

1,500

1:24

Changemaker Curriculum unit prototypes

36.2

167

IB results points average for the class of 2021 the highest in 10 years!

Higher education applications filed by second-year students

Countries applied

Students who in early 2021 moved into the new houses

Houseparent-per-student ratio in the new houses

Weeks of Hideout, a new Wellbeing Council initiative aimed at supporting the wellbeing of the community

Coursework pieces uploaded for the IB in 2020 and 2021. Unlike in any other year, the teachers had to submit criteria marks and teacher comments for every piece of coursework submitted. 2,000

1,500

Uploads

Interviews recorded and edited during Project Week using the newly-opened on-campus recording studio

State-of-the-art brand-new student houses

PROGRESSION ONTO HIGHER EDUCATION

ENROLMENT

‘Ways of Life’ programmes, each harnessing the potential of the students and the campus

Total enrolled students for 2020/21 entry

UWC Atlantic transfer students unable to get to their chosen UWC due to Covid-19 restrictions

students who attended trial sessions of the brand-new ‘Ways of Life’ initiative

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

1,000

500

Years

1,043

1,047

1,512

1,516

May 2018

May 2019

May 2020

May 2021

STUDENT PROFILE

“I managed to create safe spaces where we could talk about anything, without feeling judged, or try different things with my friends. This was a truly enriching experience for me, and I got to have serious conversations about race, sustainability and gender.”

RUFARO I am Rufaro Russell Gamariel, a UWC Atlantic Class of 2021 alum. I am currently studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester in New York. I come from the City of Kings and Queens (Kontuthu Ziyathunqa) which is the city of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

I applied to the UWC movement through my National Committee in Zimbabwe because I wanted an education that would explore and support my different capabilities. I thought that the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program was a very rigorous curriculum which, combined with the holistic experience that UWC offers, would shape me into a much more all-round individual. I am very proud to say that I graduated from the college after being challenged in ways that had me grow me into a responsible, aware and confident individual.

I managed to create safe spaces where we could talk about anything, without feeling judged, or try different things with my friends. This was a truly enriching experience for me, and I got to have serious conversations about race, sustainability and gender. Being around the Afro-Caribbean community at UWC Atlantic was a particular highlight during my time there - we danced, we questioned many things, we listened to music, and we cooked together. All in all, I got to make some really meaningful connections with friends from all over the world.

My time at UWC Atlantic College was a very transformative experience. I liked how diverse the community was - the stories other students shared were enriching and the different foods we had there were delicious. My time as the Wellbeing Council co-chair challenged my leadership and organisational skills like never before. I worked with a range of people - from the students to staff members - and I got to learn about the different aspects of wellbeing. I come from a place where mental health does not exist and disabilities are often seen as inabilities, but the community at the college changed that for me.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Pestalozzi International Foundation and the UWC Atlantic supporters who have worked to make my time, and that of the other students at UWC, an amazing one. I would also like to encourage other people who can donate to do so and help make education, as the UWC mission says, “a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”

Right: Rufaro Gamariel and Dechen Chokey, Pestalozzi International Foundation supported students

SEAFRONT

SEAFRONT - our achievements in 2020/21 and current programmes

Another exciting development has been the establishment of a National Coastwatch Institution Station on campus (NCI St Donat’s) which is based at the old BP lab at the seafront. The NCI is a voluntary organisation that exists to assist in the protection and preservation of life at sea and along the United Kingdom coastline. NCI watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. The station is manned by members of the local community, and supported by students who can now choose to be trained and participate in watches.

Over the past year we have continued to put the seafront at the heart of the student experience at UWC Atlantic, increasing the number of activities and advancing our seafront development programme. It was this year that our experiential Ways of Life programme was launched, with the Lifesaving, Paddlesports and National Coastwatch Institution programmes starting and the Kurt Hahn Core being absorbed into the ‘Ways of Life’. To be included in these programmes, students had to demonstrate their commitment to the seafront through a number of trial sessions. In keeping with UWC Atlantic tradition, the programmes were designed for students to learn about themselves and their peers experientially.

We are now in the second phase of our fundraising efforts for the seafront development programme, having reached two-thirds of our target. We would like to thank our incredible supporters (including the names below) whose generosity has allowed us to implement our plans. We are not able to list everybody in the UWC Atlantic community who has supported us, but we thank you for your contribution.

The Waterloo Foundation Priscilla Rattazzi Willem de Vogel Anonymous Donor form UWCA ‘93 UWC Atlantic Class of 1970

There have been significant capital improvements at the seafront too, aided by the appointment of a new seafront co-ordinator Richard Carpenter. One of the biggest improvements was the refurbishment of the indoor and outdoor swimming pools. These refurbishments will allow the college to vastly expand the activities it offers for students, course participants and local community members in years to come.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Curriculum Development

What was achieved and what are our ambitions for next year

2020/21 was a big year for the development of UWC Atlantic’s Changemaker Curriculum. As part of our co-curricular testing, more than 100 students got involved in joining various prototypes for future courses, working with teachers on diverse subjects such as communication and mediation, ocean and coastal monitoring, data analysis and public speaking. The Ocean Systems and Coastal Management (OSCM) unit has always been a great believer that fieldwork should be a fundamental part of the course, but due to travel restrictions over the past 18 months, this proved to be quite challenging. According to one of the unit’s leaders, however, this didn’t stop the team from their efforts. Dr Martin Groves, Head of Group 4 and Teacher of Physics and Mathematics, told us that they used the college slipway area by mapping it out and looking at its potential for tidal energy and the management of coastal erosion at the slipway. Doing so has helped to lay the foundations for 2021/22 when the team plans to offer students the chance to develop their practical and academic skills by conducting experiments out at sea. This year saw the Taking a Stance: Oral Communication team pilot a new programme to support students with skills and confidence building. The programme was a success and has given Yordan Demirov (Head of Year and Teacher of History) a foundation to build on for 2021/22. Yordan commented that he was particularly proud to see his students grow personally, including the confidence to feel more comfortable about public speaking in front of large audiences.

Four of the Changemaker Curriculum units also had very successful Project Weeks. The team behind the OSCM unit managed to run a few field trips to a local sand dune system and actually get out on the college boats to test recently developed GPS tidal tracker systems. The systems had been developed in Sustainable Technology co-curricular sessions and built during the Project Week. Other creations from the unit team included a pop-up museum, documentary films, Big Data projects and college-wide sessions on respectful community, gender norms and mental health. We hope that with an improving Covid situation, we can have more opportunities for community outreach in 2021/22. The Taking a Stance unit has already set its eyes on taking students to observe speakers in a public setting, such as the Senedd or the Crown Court in Cardiff, in order to support their oral skills. There are other exciting developments in the coming year. The OSCM team wants to develop equipment to conduct experiments at sea, such as deep water sampling equipment, microplastic filtration systems and improving the GPS tidal trackers, which Dr Groves claims will help move away from the educational status quo. Following an upgrade of the fleet of college boats, OSCM also plans to work more closely with seafront coordinator Richard Carpenter to support his work. Growth is a key priority this year for all the Changemaker Curriculum teams, working with students to build on the seven prototype units and establishing a common framework across the entire UWC movement.

7 9

Unit prototypes

116

150

Students

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

From right to left: students Hanxi Qin, Josephine Beckfeld, Gregorio Alcoba, Lorenza Giovannetti, Alexander Cox and Emma Pilling, Geography and ESS Teacher

Co-curricular sessions

Project Weeks

Teachers, many supporters

90 26 IB1

IB2

600+

1 105 17 Pop-up museum

Collective work hours

Student almanacs

Speeches

UWC Dialogues

40+

Hours of seafront fieldwork

315gb

Documentaries

of NASA Data, 3 crashed PCs

STUDENT WELLBEING

Student Wellbeing at UWC Atlantic

Mental health and wellbeing have been the words on everyone’s lips this year and as a counselling service we knew we had to be prepared to meet the challenge. Fortunately, our strength comes from the fact that we are a fully integrated part of college life and part of several multidisciplinary teams. We all take responsibility for the wellbeing of our students and benefit from good communication between the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Centre, as well academic staff. We also have an absolutely lovely team of student Peer Listeners and Queer Listeners who we train to provide support, mediation and a friendly ear to their fellow students. Our close partnership with the Wellbeing Council (Wellco), which delivers studentled wellbeing initiatives throughout college, is also key. By having these multiple layers of support in place, students are less likely to slip through the cracks or go unnoticed. We sit nestled in The Learning Centre at the heart of the castle - a warm, nurturing space where students come to sit, work and get some support from a variety of professionals. Downstairs sits Maite SandovalInglada who provides English as an Additional Language (EAL) support and Emma Gaze, the coordinator for Additional Learning Needs (ALN). Issues around EAL and ALN will often overlap so having a shared space enables us to work together to support students in a proactive and holistic way. Upstairs is the private oasis of the counselling room which students describe as a retreat away from the bustle of college life, and a space to reflect and process their myriad of experiences at UWC Atlantic. Our counselling service is supported by the Moondance Foundation, a generous college sponsor over many years, and we are eternally grateful to them for their commitment to our work. Having such a discreet, dedicated space normalises students seeking support, and it provides them with a variety of professionals they can access. It is in this space that we deliver the compulsory life skills sessions to all first year students in their first term and where we hold our wellbeing drop-in session on a Thursday evening. Recognising the challenges that students were facing after the pandemic, we wanted to help build a more resilient and emotionally literate community where we could encourage students to stretch their comfort zone as well as recognise when they don’t feel safe. The Protective Behaviours program, funded by a former parent, helped us to achieve this, offering tools and strategies for diffusing conflict, empowering people and preventing harm. We also used the first term to explore in detail the issue of consent. In such a diverse community as ours, the issue of consent can be quite contentious as we all bring with us a different understanding of what a consenting culture looks like. As counsellors we work closely with the safeguarding team to educate students and are quick to respond to any reports from staff and students when support, mediation and guidance is needed.

Thanks to the support of the same parent who funded our Protective Behaviours programme, we were also able to produce a short film that explored consent from the perspective of a young person at an international boarding school. The film was a huge success and we hope to be able to share this as a learning resource with other UWCs and future students so they have an awareness of what a consent culture at UWC looks like before they arrive on campus. Physical wellbeing is as important as emotional wellbeing and as a service we are responsible for providing education around sexual health, drug and alcohol awareness and internet safety. We were able to deliver all of these in-house thanks to the help of our peer listeners and queer listeners who supported sessions delivered by staff and specially trained students. RESOLVEit (a personal safety and self-defence organisation) also delivered an exciting self defence workshop to second years which aimed to prepare them for life beyond UWC Atlantic. We feel proud to provide such an accessible and well used service, which has seen increasing numbers of students access it each year, indicating that stigma around mental health continues to decrease. Next year we look forward to piloting some therapeutic/psychoeducational groups so that we can work effectively with students who may be experiencing common mental health issues. Sincerest thanks to all of you who have supported us this year - it means a lot to us but most importantly to our students. Jess Rees

Jane Wyatt

We began the term with a workshop which encouraged discussion of what consent is and what it is not, and outlined the UK law on consent. In order to address consent from all angles, we also trained a group of second year students to facilitate in-house discussions alongside the workshop. This was really valuable for new students who respond well to peer led discussions in a relaxed setting.

Jess Rees and Jane Wyatt (Student Counsellors) on behalf of the Wellbeing Team.

UWC ATLANTIC DONOR LIST 2021-2022 KURT HAHN CIRCLE Benefactors £100k+

ATLANTIC CIRCLE Tower Patrons £15k+

Anonymous Donor

Adrian de Mol van Otterlo and Fleur Meijs

Enrico Bonatti

Anonymous Donor

Eyal & Marilyn Ofer Family Foundation

Ase & Hans Torp Trust

Horizon Foundation (UK)

Bunge Philanthropic Foundation - Jose Eduardo Born and Jorge Born

Pestalozzi International Foundation

Garfield Weston Foundation

Remon and Carolien Vos

Gunhild & Michael Bostelmann

Shelby Davis

Nikolai Nedkov

The Marquise de Amodio, CBE, MA

Paul & Anne Donovan

The Moondance Foundation

Prosegur Foundation

The Mousetrap Settlement Trust

Stephanie Hui The Waterloo Foundation

donors

ATLANTIC CIRCLE Bradenstoke Patrons £30k+

Whitaker Charitable Trust Wilhelm and Marianne Mohn

Anonymous Donor Anonymous donor from the UWCA’93 Ari Lahti Imogen and Haakon Overli Izabela & John Chaplin Jill Longson & Colin Habgood Hanson Family Foundation Martin Downey & Mary Downey

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our Patron members at the Courtyard and Portcullis levels for their generous support, as well as to regular donors to the UWC Atlantic Fund; to the Canadian Foundation for the United World College of the Atlantic; to our US donors who give via the British Schools and Universities Foundation (BSUF) and to the Willem Alexander Scholarship Fund, the Dorothy Burns Charity and the AC77 Endowment funds for their continued support. We would also like to thank all donors who give directly to their National Committee to support our much needed scholarship provision at UWC Atlantic.

Pears Foundation Priscilla Rattazzi Quadstar Foundation Rogier Frederiks Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research Simen Opsal Mrs Sybil Longson The Greendale Charitable Foundation The John Laing Charitable Trust The RANK Foundation Vesa-Matti Vanha-Honko Winnie Kwan & Mark Shuper

Philanthropy, Engagement and Partnerships (PEP) UWC Atlantic St Donat’s Castle St Donat’s CF61 1WF Wales UK philanthropy@uwcatlantic.org Patron: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II United World College of the Atlantic Ltd. Registered in England No. 673076. Charity No. 525761