United World Cuisine

There are well over six thousand languages around the world today, but only one is spoken across every national border, religion, and social class. The universal tongue of food has the power to elicit a memory or emotion, to cure, to warm and to cool, to bring people together. Mealtimes are unquestionably at the heart of every society, of all social relations, and are amongst the most intimate things people can share. In fact, the art of food making and sharing is an integral part of being human. No matter how different we may be, an empty stomach will always welcome a serving of freshly home-cooked food.

The United World Cuisine cookbook has been compiled, edited and put together by UWC students with contributions from the wider UWC family. 50 mouth-watering recipes from all around the world, with colour photos and original introductions to each world region by UWC alumni, lie within the 70 page hardcover book. All profits from this project will go directly to scholarships for UWC students.

The United World Cuisine cookbook, only £15, is now available for pre-ordering with worldwide delivery on Amazon and FREE shipping in the UK. If you buy 2 books or more, you’re eligible for Amazons free shipping to several other EU countries.

Click HERE to order your copy now.

THIMUN 2012

Roshan Melwani (Hong Kong, UWC Maastricht 2011-2013)

The Hague, or rather Den Haag in Dutch, home to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, is not only the judicial capital of the world but also one of the major UN hosting cities. With that in mind, The Hague rightfully and fittingly hosted the largest model United Nations conference in the world: THIMUN. Standing for “The Hague International Model United Nations”, THIMUN is a five-day conference situated in the World Forum, in which 4,000 student delegates from around the globe arrive and unite as one for a week. Luckily enough, two delegations from UWC Maastricht as well as one from UWC South East Asia had the opportunity to attend this simulation, where we represented Kenya, the DSCC and Pakistan respectively. And boy, to say we had an awesome time is a huge understatement.

Top Posts of the Year 2011

2011 is drawing to a close, and so too is this year at United Words. This has been the best year to date, with over 60,000 page views since January. 2011 also saw the most active month on United Words, were nearly 7,000 people visited the website in November 2011. We’re all geared up for another great year, and just before we turn the corner into 2012, lets look back at the most popular posts of 2011.

1. The UWC Lip Dubs
2. Hogwarts College
3. Some people are gay. Get over it!
4. UWC España
5. LGBT Rights at LPC UWC [UPDATED]
6. Answer Hate with Love – Response to the Norway terrorist attack
7. “Politicians are like diapers, they need to be changed often, and for the same reasons”
8. My Journey is about to begin
9. Global Citizenship in a New Age
10. A UWC experience in Atlantic College

Happy New Year!
United Words

More UWC AC Second Year Camp

This gallery contains 9 photos.

More images from UWC Atlantic College’s Second Year Camp was held from 23rd to 29th September 2011. Photo Credits: Simon Neenan

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UWC AC Second Year Camp

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Images from UWC Atlantic College’s Second Year Camp was held from 23rd to 29th September 2011. Photo Credits: Simon Neenan

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More UWC AC First Year Camp

This gallery contains 9 photos.

More images from UWC Atlantic College’s annual First Year Camp was held from 23rd to 29th August 2011. Photo Credits: Simon Neenan

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UWC AC First Year Camp

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Images from UWC Atlantic College’s annual First Year Camp was held from 23rd to 29th August 2011. Photo Credits: Simon Neenan

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Answer Hate with Love – Response to the Norway terrorist attack

Albert Andersen Øydvin (Norway, UWC AC 2010-2012)
A Norwegian student responds to the terrorist attack in Oslo and Utøya on 22 July, 2011.

“Behind everyone that was killed
stand thousands behind.

Stand thousands of others united
in proud and naked despite
Oh, dead comrades,
they will never beat us down”
- Inger Hagerup

Last week has been one of strangest and most painful in my life. Today it’s a week since my home country, Norway, was struck by two dreadful terrorist attacks. Being in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, at the moment for a summer project, two of my Norwegian second years, the rest of the UWC-people here and I have been following the news closely on the Internet. On the 22^nd of July a bomb exploded in the center of Oslo, in the middle of the most important governmental buildings, including the prime minister’s office, the ministry of energy and oil, the ministry of justice, etc. The bomb killed eight people and injured many more seriously. About an hour afterwards a man dressed as a police officer started shooting young people gathered at a holiday island for a political summer camp for the youth organization of the Norwegian Labour Party (AUF). 69 were killed and many many more heavily injured.

World Youth Peace Summit 2011

Jamie Stagg (Scotland/France, UWC AC 2009-2011)

Left to Right: Jamie Stagg, Marina Dudina, Pjotr Sauer, Colin Powell

These Black Tables…

Rachel Tan Wei Fen  (UWCSEA, Singapore ’11-’13)

 

“And these tables, these black tables, these polished, slick black tables by the door of the main hall, they are only for the Grade 12s. Don’t ever sit there!”

Damini: A story that was destined to move an entire nation

Arjun Raina (UWCAC '11-'13)(India)

On 16^th December 2012, a medical science student pursuing physiotherapy in New Delhi, India was barbarically raped and beaten up by 6 young men in a public bus – An unfortunate incident that stirred the entire nation, alongside alarming the rest of the world. Nine days before Christmas, this female became a victim of what was one of the most brutal rape cases ever witnessed by a country where rapes are more pervasive than air – Also a country that, on better days, claims to worship women. “Damini”, as media decided to name this girl, was soon going to get married to her friend who was also travelling with her that night and was beaten by those six men after which Damini was raped.

St. Donats!

Location: St. Donats Castle, UWC Atlantic College
Artist: Maisie Brett

Ode to Bristol Channel

 

Fat, engorged

the beer foam flies

with a calm fury and

floats, drifting.

The froth, thick

on the lips,

the cusp, gathers a cloud

of child’s play,

of salt sea spray.

A cappuccino top, a storm

in a teacup

spilling over the edge.

- Karen Hui (UWC AC 11-13)

IMAGE: Location: Seafront, UWC Atlantic College    Photographer: Karen Hui

“IB TRIANGLE, CHOOSE TWO”

By David Widder UWC-SEA'13

At least within in our student body, there is a familiar phenomenon known as the IB Triangle. It postulates that there are three components necessary to have a healthy life; Sleep, Good Grades, and a Social Life, and that due to the nature of the IB, only two can be had at any one time.

Winter Journal of Yokoyama 2013

Erica Yokoyama (UWC AC ’11-13′)

2013 winter break; following the last winter break in Netherland, Italy and Turkey, I enjoyed one-month travel to Belgium, Norway, and Macedonia, visiting my friends. Here, welcome to my travel journals.

UWS Cambodia Summer Project 2013 (promo)

Contributed by: UWS Cambodia Summer Project Team 2013

UWS Summer Project in Cambodia is a great volunteering opportunity in the United World Schools located in Cambodia.

Role description for a UWS Volunteer Teacher:
UWS volunteering is a challenging and exceptionally rewarding experience for young people who want to test themselves, take part in an adventure and develop life-long skills, while making a real difference to and creating opportunities for children from some of the poorest parts of the world.

Desired skills and attributes of volunteers:
- Passion for helping others and taking action to improve the quality of life of people in post conflict and poverty stricken areas
- Self-motivated and resilient
- Proactive and prepared to take initiative in challenging situations, have a can-do, problem solving attitude
- Self-confidence and high level verbal and nonverbal communication skills
- Considerate, tolerant and compassionate for others

Responsibilities:
- Participate in the village school as a teacher
- Work alongside the village school teachers to promote learning
- Interact with the students, particularly to promote engagement and creativity
- Encourage creativity to develop thinking, and to teach literacy and numeracy
- Prepare for time spent in schools by creating resources and planning lessons
- To fully research and develop cultural awareness of the individual villages
- To liaise and follow the direction of the country educational manager

Relayed by Neha Sharma (UWC AC ’12-’14, India) (United Words Team)

India Summer Project 2013 (promo)

Contributed by: India Summer Project Team 2013.

The warm sun falls through the curtains upon your face, urging you to rise. You sigh deeply, inhaling the air: Indian air. For as long as you can remember, you have been waking up to the view of blue, grey and green, the crisp water, the imposing castle and the glimmering jade grass: a-topped with morning dew. The memory floods back of the long flight and the impossible visa application, yet it was all worth it. The daily morning assembly with the children initiates the day, they will sing their national anthem, reaffirm their promise of striving to better themselves, as well as their usual morning exercises. It is the final day of the weeklong summer camp for the children of Sneha Care Home and Shining Star School, before their term starts of which you shall be teaching a class for two weeks. These children amaze you, they are some of the most lively people that the world has known- sometimes as a leader you find them a bit too lively! They have come from some of the worst walks of life, utter poverty that has prevented them from having their condition being attended to: HIV or HIV/AIDS. Coming to volunteer at Sneha, you have been given an insight into the best possible help for children with this condition and you’re proud to be a part of it. You are a student of the United World College of the Atlantic, and you really are making a difference. You smile; today is going to be a good day.

Relayed by Neha Sharma (UWC AC ’12-’14) (United Words Team)

The jade seal of a Chinese emperor

Ruyi Shen (UWC AC’11-’13)

Victor Hugo wrote a letter to a lieutenant named Bartlette, condemning the invasion of China in 1860: “…one brigand named France and the other named Great Britain…Against both I protest…” He also suggested: “France…quite naively … thinks herself the rightful owner of the property…I can only hope that…France…will cleanse herself of the crime by returning to China all the spoils taken from the Winter Palace. ” All these can be related to a recent auction of a Chinese seal.

Arab Unity – still relevant?

Emily Cunniffe (UWC-AC ’11-’13)

Arab nationalism, an ideology born in the 19^th century among Arab intellectuals, aims for the creation of an Arab national identity. Today, the Arab League can be seen as a result of such nationalism. The Arab Spring launched a new phase of Arab unity and also discord; the domino effect which was witnessed throughout the Middle East shows a common discontent among the Arab peoples. In today’s political climate, is Arab unity, such as that intended by the Arab League, as relevant?

Cricket this Christmas

Tariq Abid (UWC-AC ’11-’13)

There are few international sporting events that create as much hype as that created by Pakistan versus India cricket matches. Well, at least for the almost billion people living in the subcontinent.
Starting from Christmas this year, the national rivalry shall materialize in the form of 20-over and 50-over matches (cricketing jargon) played in India. The significance to this is not just the thrilling sports that this event promises, but also its political significance.

CRISIS

 Ioannis Alexiou (Greece) (UWC-AC ’12-’14)

CRISIS: comes from the Greek word κρίνω (verb)(judge) -> κρίσις (noun)(crisis) –> crisis (Latin) –> crisis (English) –> crises (French) –> Krise (German)

Any crisis in the world economical, social, political and any other form of crisis is creating problems in everyone’s life. In the past few years we can easily see all around the world political, economical and social crises, sometimes even together.

In 2008 we saw the crisis in the U.S.A. with the bank system collapsing on its own dept and many people becoming homeless.

By the end of 2009 we saw a similar type of crisis appearing, in Greece, which forced Greece to enter the IMF in 2010.

In the beginning, with the entrance of Greece in the IMF, the whole EU had serious reasons to believe that Greece was a huge drawback in the whole EU’s economy. After Greece there were many countries entering the IMF, like Ireland and Portugal, and simultaneously there were many countries which were about to enter the IMF and go into the deep waters of an economic crisis.

The famous UWC experience

Itamar Carrillo, UWCSEA (Mexico, ’13)

“I came here to enjoy the UWC experience” I remember that those were my first few words when I arrived to UWCSEA. At that time I did not realize how much those words truly meant.  Now, after 1 year of living in Singapore, I am going to try to ‘evaluate’ what I have learnt.

The “UWC experience” is a phrase that is often repeated among UWCers and often generates discussions and conversations about the significance of the time spent throughout this experience. We have 12 United World Colleges on the face of this planet and as an individual undergoing this ‘UWC Experience’ I can say that it will be hard to find anything as great as that. They are not just another international schools.  They are not just part of the Round Square Movement (even though the Round Square Organization was founded by Kurt Hahn as well). They are not just other school that offer the IB program … so what are they exactly?

What makes these colleges special? Does UWC actually have an impact on you? More specifically: What is the UWC experience?

Lets compare it to love. It is something abstract that people talk about. Nobody can see but everyone thinks that they know what love is. No one knows how the UWC experience should be; there is no  “10 things to do in UWC” list, no guidelines or mark schemes to follow. Hearts from different backgrounds represent ideas, traditions, and ways to face problems. They all meet in this utopic place to share their stories at UWC. Although we do not choose our classmates, or teachers and the people that we live with; they are strangers in the beginning, and end up as part of our lives. This makes the years at UWC the great experience it is.

UWC is for example, going to geography class, where there is at least one person per continent, and where one discusses the sustainability of the cities, from different points of view. The amazing thing about UWC is that it is not necessary to attend a lesson in order to learn; little talks at lunchtime, during activities, during the rehearsal for a dance, these are just some simple examples. 
For some of us it is a great opportunity to become aware about global issues; for example to know what is happening in the country where your roommate comes from; to be critical in terms of global concerns through the simple bonds that UWC is able to make. Indeed UWC is the place where great friends are made, and where there are endless chances to broaden your horizons.

UWC could be different for each one of us: “It is a life changing experience”, “My time here has been the best of my life”, “I have been studying in UWC for 5 years. I’ve been here since middle school”, “UWC changed my perception of life”, ”UWC keeps me apart from my family”, “UWC is asking me to commit and I just want to study for my SAT’s”. There are many more examples that can be given to represent how UWC could different for everyone.

The UWC experience is the result of our work. We choose how to manage our relations with the annoying classmate or how to deal with the adversities of your college (whatever they are). We adopt how to appreciate our colleges; for example the sunset in Costa Rica, the castle behind the mist in the Atlantic, the bicycles lined up in Maastricht, the contact with the nature in New Mexico, the aurora borealis in Norway, the sustainable campus in Singapore, the amazing view in Li Po Chun, the tree house in Mahindra… and so much more.

Every single college is unique their needs and their facilities are different; hence the UWC movement becomes extremely diverse. Students and staff should reflect and appreciate the great opportunities that are given; but do not conform! I agree (until certain extent) that we should commit to the movement as a whole, stick to the values and forge the UWC experience.

Instead of asking: What experience is UWC giving me? I suppose we should ask: What am I doing to make UWC a worthwhile experience?

-United Words Team-

Student Perspective American Election 2013

Lukas Hager (USA) (UWC-AC ’11-’13)

2008 was a simpler time.

On the first Tuesday in November four years ago, I stayed up late to watch the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, get elected. As a liberal from a very liberal family, the future seemed incredibly bright with the young, energetic senator from Illinois promising change and a new direction for a country that had been a source of embarrassment me for eight years under George Bush now in office. To boot, Obama had an unprecedented democratic majority in Congress, thus ostensibly making it easier for him to pass new laws. As a 13 year old, I envisioned a huge upswing for America in all respects. I bought into his message of hope, like many of my peers.

Four years later, I found myself sitting in the library watching coverage of President Obama’s race against Mitt Romney at three in the morning. The last four years hadn’t turned out exactly the way I’d expected them to. While managing to pass a monumental healthcare bill, Obama’s perhaps naïve insistence on bipartisan cooperation resulted in much less progress than many anticipated at the beginning of his term. I sat in that library, still an Obama supporter, but much less hopeful than I had previously been.

“I am in pain…”

Jason Georgiadis (Greece) (UWC-AC ’12-’14)

A lot of people today speak of Greece and the on-going crisis. Even those who admire Greece’s contribution to Europe’s history in terms of political institutions, philosophy, theatre, poetry, sciences and mathematics think today that Greece has become the black sheep or one of the P.I.G.S.* (a term that insults the one who says it rather than the one who is targeted). A while ago it has become obvious that the whole Europe is in crisis. Countries like France and Italy are already in the middle of deep crisis.