Mission:

The LEAF (Living Environment and Future) EAC is promoting a sustainable future through raising awareness of environmental issues around the world and seeking solutions to them.

Aims:

• Learn about environmental concerns outside of campus, in our home regions and around the world.
• Discuss and propose solutions to the environmental challenges we face and implement them.
• Raise awareness about these issues on campus and in the local community.
• Work in joint actions with other UWCs.

Actions:

• Presentations and discussions of contemporary environmental issues  based on these we will establish the Case Study Book, which will contain different environmental issues, related case studies and conclusions,advices and concens for a better management in the future·
• Seeking solutions to them.
• Implementing projects that could contribute to solving some environmental issues.

Raising awareness through:

a.       Short films that inform or call for action.
b.      Campaigns.
c.       Fundraising actions for projects.

Before carrying on, it is necessary to explain a little bit about the Vagina Monologues, and our motives behind staging the play. The Vagina Monologues is a play by Eve Ensler, and is entirely based on real interviews she conducted with women about the ‘vagina issues’ which affected them – issues of the body, mind and spirit, and often issues that are seldom discussed on a general, or public scale. We bring this play to you on International Women’s Day (as part of Gender Week) because, as well as being very entertaining, it is a wonderful way to enlighten our community about these, often taboo, vagina issues, and how they affect not just the play’s characters, but the women of RCN, too.

It all started out in January, with workshops run by 7 second year students – by females only, and for females only. These workshops were threefold, and open to all of RCN’s women regardless of viewpoint, theatre experience or anything else for that matter. The workshops started with the very basics, introducing the concept of the vagina and discussing the attitudes that our participants have to issues surrounding the vagina, which are the issues the play deals with, such as body confidence, sex and sexual abuse, childbirth, puberty and the like. We used this wonderfully enlightening opportunity to build towards the final production, and our workshops became more theatrically-based, as we moved towards the audition date.

We were delighted with the audition phase, as the vast majority of our 32 workshop participants decided to show for the auditions, even though they had never acted before. It was incredibly difficult to deliberate and decide who would get what role. We spent three hours one evening grappling over who suited what part, and as a result we ended up adjusting the format of many monologues from last year’s.

Next came the production phase. It was our responsibility to edit the script and cut it down to a suitable length, as well as divide the monologues that were to be shared. After that was done, we then each assigned ourselves to working with a group and rehearsing with them regularly. Group rehearsals followed, and by March 8^th, it was showtime!

We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of our actresses and workshop participants for their immense enthusiasm and diligence, as well as to Kåre Sandvik, Asger, and all those who helped us with logistical and technical things. Most of all, though, it is necessary to thank those of you who came to see the play, to share the message both it and International Women’s Day brought to RCN:

“To speak of them out loud, to speak of their hunger and pain and loneliness and humour, to make them visible so they cannot be ravaged in the dark without great consequence, so that our  centre,  our  point,  our motor, our dream, is no longer detached, mutilated, numb, broken, invisible, or ashamed.” – Excerpt from Interview with a lesbian, performed by Rabail and Claudia.

Thank you!

-Jana Fox

The Project:
The idea is to create a collection of articles on the issue. These articles should come from as many perspectives and have as many formats as possible. In this way, Accessibility @ UWC can be used as a database of stories and experiences from people with different lives, different roles and different opinions regarding how to create live-study communities that are accessible to disabled students.

Work Done So Far:
A simple blog has been set up at www.accessibility-uwc.blogspot.com. The articles on the blog are all labeled by theme, and can browsed in that way or from a list of all articles. The website is very basic but does encompass the necessary functions for the project at this stage.

Some articles have started to come in from various sources. They are all being translated or proof-read and uploaded to the blog in order of submission date.

Much work has gone into creating a network around the project. Some important steps have been:

• Promoting the project within UWC Red Cross Nordic and attracting support and attention.
• Establishing a connection with UWC International in London.
• Incorporating the project into the GC Conference. See www.gc-discrimination.blogspot.com.
• Contacting FAAE boarding school for disabled and non-disabled students in Denmark and establishing a permanent cooperation about the project.
• Networking with the UWC Germany group to attract attention to disability accessibility.

Please visit the blog to learn more about this fabulous project. The blog is designed and Managed by Oliver.

On Saturday afternoon the students held a bazaar set up in the K building showcasing food, music and other aspects of the cultures on American nations.

Later that night the entire college gathered in the Leif Hoegh center to view a show put on with comedy, musical and dance performances from the represented nations. The show was the culmination of weeks of preparation for the celebration of an important part of the great diversity at UWC Red Cross Nordic.

-As reported by Jonah, pictures courtesy Jelena

Ridderrennet is the largest disabled skiing competition in the world.  Red Cross Nordic has been giving the opportunity to send a delegation of students to volunteer at this competition for the past couple years.

This is a great opportunity for students to interact with a Nordic community and also persons with disabilities.

At the event students are volunteers in the kitchen.  Students learn skills on how to interact with persons with disabilities and how to accommodate those persons needs.  The students guide the competitors and help them with their food.

This year we were also given the opportunity to have some students guide competitors in the downhill skiing competition.  Overall students are immersed in an experience that teaches them about disabilities in everyday life and sports competition. When students are not in the kitchen, they are generally helping out with the competition or other events.

This year the students put on a performance during the opening ceremony and also a cultural evening.  The students also had some free time to enjoy the atmosphere of the competition.

All students came back exhausted but so glad they went.  They all made new friends and were extremely inspired.

This experience caused them to challenge their views of what is possible and pushed them to explore their boundaries.  Some students were so inspired that they have begun personal initiatives or are planning such.

- Scott

After these fruitful conferences, the participants will now be producing articles and sharing other relevant material through a blog.

CLICK HERE to reach the blog.

The conferences focussed on the discrimination issues related to religion, disabilities, ethnic minorities and women’s rights.

DIVING in APNEA

or…………

diving by holding breath or pool diving or skin diving or fridykking

Last week Diving in apnea course (winter season) was completed.

It had to be squeezed between Nordic studies and “bite” into dinner time on Wednesdays. That irritation was completely neutralized by a great spirit of an energetic group of students; Alma, Arnesto, Felipe, James, Jimmy, Ma Juan, Max, Rodrigo, Scott, Tesfa and Åse who picked up the basic diving skills in a few “sweeps”.

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In our pool we practiced various ways of diving and trained extending time of diving.

For the last session, in order to learn and practice Valsalva maneuver (neutralizing pressure in middle ears to avoid pain and damage of ear drum) we had to dip into the deep Førde pool.

Seeing the video and pictures, you will get an idea what it was all about.                                  - Jele

Click here for an interesting slide show : Apnea slideshow

YAA is about raising awareness and funds: awareness of issues related to HIV and AIDS and funds to support people who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. We currently sponsor 3 young people through two organisations:

• Children of the Dawn in South Africa (http://www.childrenofthedawn.org.za/)
• Young Heroes in Swaziland (http://youngheroes.org.sz/index_home.php)

One of our aims is to expand our sponsorships, and we are always eager to hear suggestions from RCN students. This year we have also supported an organisation called Kidz Positive (http://www.kidzpositive.org/beads/) by selling badges especially made for us, based on an initiative by the UWC in Hong Kong.

What else have we done this year? Last term we arranged for Morten Skovdal, an RCN graduate, to present at the World Today, and the World Film Club showed Philadelphia, a movie about the early days of AIDS in the US. On 1 December, World AIDS Day, we had discussions and activities related to HIV and AIDS. We have held cafes and other fund-raising ventures. Many thanks to those who have sent business our way!

As YAA returns to EAC status, we hope for enthusiastic new members who will bring with them ideas for future projects and curious minds that are eager to learn more about HIV and AIDS, which are now facts of life for many people on our planet.

Our focus this time was mainly on the Middle- East, but we also had actions from other parts of the world.