Global education movement for change celebrates 60 years

A global education movement, responsible for bringing young people together to enact positive change in the world, celebrated its 60th anniversary this month.

Campaign client United World Colleges (UWC) was founded with the sole purpose of educating young people from deliberately diverse backgrounds together to help build a more peaceful and sustainable future.

The anniversary was marked with a special event at UWC Atlantic in South Wales, with guest speakers including First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford and HM Queen Noor of Jordan, UWC’s President.

Campaign Collective helped to produce and coordinate a number of assets for the launch event, including a video on the history of UWC Atlantic and the wider movement.

Atlantic College (as it was then known) first opened its doors to 54 pupils from around the world at the height of the Cold War in 1962. The college later expanded to form the United World Colleges movement, with schools launching in Canada, Singapore, China and Germany, among others. 

UWC, which was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year, now educates 11,000 pupils a year in 18 schools and colleges across four continents. More than 150 nationalities are represented across its campuses.

Naheed Bardai, Principal of UWC Atlantic, said:

“In such uncertain times, movements like UWC are perhaps needed more than ever before. It is our job to help young people realise that there is more to them than they know, not only for their individual benefit but for the collective too.”

UWC Atlantic will soon announce exciting plans for a new education prototype, which will focus on bringing about systems change to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including the environment and tackling inequality.

“As the college looks forward to the next decade and beyond, it will continue to transform the lives of young people, empowering them to have a disproportionate positive impact in the world by sparking systems transformations where needed,” said Naheed.