Dear friends of UWC, 

As we reach the end of another year at UWC, we wanted to take a moment to look back at all that we overcame, experienced and achieved as a global community, by sharing just a few of the highlights from each month in 2021 with you. 

Thank you for standing by UWC's side through it all; for challenging our global movement to keep moving forward and for supporting us as we do. 

We look forward to leaping into a new year together with you all, and seeing where 2021 will take us with new leadership in place at UWC International and at several UWC schools and colleges, with the 60th anniversary of UWC coming up and with plenty of work to do as we continue to pursue our mission of making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. 

Until then, we wish you a peaceful end to your 2021. 

UWC Unlocked Community Village Meetings kick off the year with an opportunity for all UWC community members to connect with and pose questions to the UWC International leadership: Musimbi Kanyoro, Quique Bassat and Jens Waltermann. 


We welcome two new Heads of College to the UWC movement: Dr Dale Taylor as the new Head of College at UWC Mahindra College and Naheed Bardai as the next Principal of UWC Atlantic. This followed the news in December, that Sonia Rawat had been appointed as the new Head of UWC Mostar.

We meet the members of the UWC Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the UWC International Board - who were chosen from a pool of more than 160 applicants from across generations, schools, national committees, short courses and more. 


The UWC International Communications team launches the UWC Community Communications Survey to find out the answer to a central question: how can we at the UWC International Office communicate and engage better with the rest of the UWC community in 2021? 571 community members gave feedback, from students to short course alumni, from staff members to volunteers. 


UWC Changshu China confirms that they will not be able to welcome international students to their campus in 2021, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in China. The school continues to deliver a transformational in-person UWC education to students from or resident in China.

Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa is finally able to reopen its campus for in-person learning after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted in eSwatini. 


Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, Musimbi Kanyoro, Chair of the UWC International Board, Victoria Mora, President of UWC-USA and Bertha Tobias, recent UWC Changshu China graduate, join UWC at an online event in the wake of International Women’s Day to talk about the importance of education in empowering women changemakers. 


A change in leadership is announced at UWC International, as Jens Waltermann tenders his resignation as Executive Director after serving the UWC movement in this role for the past six years. 

GoMakeADifference announces the 13 UWC student projects successfully awarded project grants worth a total of USD 13,000. Pictured here is grant winner Peter Makuei (UWC East Africa, 2019-2021) who aims to solve the problem of poor waste disposal through the construction of latrines in the refugee settlement that is his home in Uganda. 


We welcome Lural Ramirez to the UWC movement as the new Head of UWC Thailand. 

All Heads of UWC schools and colleges sign the Six Months to COP26 Statement, recognising their role in tackling the threat of global climate change and making their specific contributions to a resilient, net-zero economy that protects, values and rebuilds the natural world.


The Class of 2021 ‘COVID-19’ generation graduates! 17 of the UWC schools and colleges say goodbye to their 2021 graduates, after perhaps the most exceptional and challenging journey of any UWC class that came before them. 

UWC patron Shelby Davis doubles annual Dare to Dream pledge from USD 5 Million to USD 10 Million through global match-funding initiative with the ultimate aim of reaching up to 300 Dare to Dream scholarships per year.



Hannah Tümpel is appointed Interim Executive Lead of UWC International while the search for the next Executive Director continued. Hannah leads a collaborative interim leadership team during this time of transition consisting of Philine Nau, Matthias Rosenberg, Semra O’Reilly and Mary Stannard. 

In-person classes are suspended until the end of term at Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA as a result of the unrest in eSwatini, rising COVID-19 cases and government regulations. 


The first cohort of UWC-Amala Changemaker Foundation Programme refugee students graduate at Kakuma Camp in Kenya. 

UWC South East Asia, UWC Costa Rica and UWC Mostar start off their year of celebrations as they mark their 50th and 15th anniversary years respectively. 


The UWC for Afghan Youth Appeal is launched in response to events in Afghanistan in order to raise 20 additional scholarships for Afghan students to attend UWC. This followed the evacuation of many UWC alums, incoming students and their families from Kabul through the united efforts of the UWC network.

We celebrate UWC Day 2021 with actions and events taking place in over 40 locations around the world in line with this year’s theme: Reimagine Tomorrow. 

The final of Young Aurora takes place with teams from UWC Atlantic, UWC East Africa and Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA. The Waterford ‘Seed of Hope’ team wins the USD 5,000 project grant to implement their plans to create a youth hub at Malindza Refugee Camp.


The first cohort of 100 Rise Global Winners is announced, with 10 UWC community members - mostly current students - among them! Selected from tens of thousands of applicants, these young people will have access to lifelong benefits in the form of generous scholarships, mentorship, funding and career development opportunities to help scale their sphere of impact in the world. At least 27 additional UWC members are among the 500 Rise Finalists and will participate in educational and leadership courses, and will gain access to other funding opportunities.

UWC schools are featured as part of the CNN Call to Earth Day. UWCers also hold a strong presence at COP26, with over 70 alumni and a number of students attending as activists, delegates or journalists.



We celebrate the graduation of the Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA Class of 2021, who demonstrated an enormous amount of resilience and solidarity during a turbulent year. 

International first-year UWC ISAK Japan students are successfully transferred to UWC Thailand, UWC Robert Bosch College, UWC-USA, UWC Mahindra College, UWC South East Asia and UWC Atlantic, after the Japanese government confirms that the country will remain closed to international students. We celebrate a moment of true UWC movement-wide solidarity and support.  


We welcome Faith Abiodun as he joins the UWC International Office team in London, ready to take up his role as Executive Director of UWC International. The community already had a chance to meet Faith at UWC SEA's 'Reimagining Learning' Speaker Series event where he spoke to the UWC SEA President, Carma Elliot, about the UWC mission and the future of education.



UWC Adriatic announces Khalid El-Metaal as their next Rettore from August 2022. Welcome to the UWC movement, Khalid!