Going Dutch -UWC's 13th College approved

UWC’s 13th College is set to open in the Netherlands next year, embracing core UWC values but also breaking new educational ground.

In February this year, the International Board made the decision to go ahead with a new UWC in the Netherlands. “We are so delighted,” says Jaap Mos of the Project Team UWC Maastricht. He believes that “UWC is in many ways the model for what education in general, and international education in particular, should be”.

Jan Petit (AC 75-77), also of the Project team says: “The UWC experience is not just about academics and internationalism; it also instils the importance of serving society and fighting for a more equal world. Ever since I left Atlantic College I have felt this experience as ...a responsibility that carries me forward. My conviction is that a UWC experience is even more relevant today than in the 1970s.”

Although UWC’s wishes to takes a strategic, long-term view about where to open new Colleges, concentrating on areas of the world in which it is under-represented, the support of the co-partners and the Dutch government, combined with the enthusiasm and obvious commitment of the Project team presented a great opportunity. The college plans to open temporary premises in August 2009 and have a fully operational Campus College by 2011-2012.

The latest College will break new educational ground in terms of national government recognition of the UWC movement, and also through exploiting the ‘outreach’ potential of the UWC concept. The Dutch government expects UWC Maastricht to be a model for other educational establishments, as it will be introducing compulsory community service in all Dutch high schools next year. The college will be integrated with two other international schools on one campus with one principal, accepting students aged between two and 18 years. It expects to have 200 UWC boarding students selected by UWC National Committees and on scholarships.

The experience of other UWCs has greatly informed the Maastricht model. "While visiting Swaziland and Singapore, I was deeply impressed to see how powerful UWC values such as compassion and service,
the sense of idealism, personal responsibility and integrity are tangible while working with younger students”, says Jaap.

The University of Maastricht also reacted enthusiastically to the prospective arrival of UWC, seeing opportunities for synergy – in particular, through links with the University College with its many UWC graduates. 

The advantages of choosing Maastricht as the location of the new school are clear. The city enjoys an international location, being close to Aachen in Germany and Liège in Belgium, and an international atmosphere with almost 1/3 foreign students at the university. As a compact city, it will be able to host UWC within the concept of an ‘urban campus’. There is also a vibrant local culture and is a home to a number of educational institutions.

There is still much to do before UWC Maastricht opens, including deciding on the final location and continuing to raise funds, but the Project Team are positive for the future. “There is a strong sense of idealism that
education can be a force to unite people, not just outside, but also inside, the Netherlands, with its issues of a multicultural society.”