“How can there be peace in the world if we don’t understand each other, and how can we understand each other if we don’t know each other?” I could stop the blog here. There is so much wisdom in this simple sentence, pronounced in 1957 by Lester D. Pearson, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, which summarizes the entire philosophy of the United World Colleges (UWC) movement. This year, Edelman, through its Edelman Community Investment Grant, part of the broader Global Citizenship programme, has decided to support this movement.

United World Colleges (UWC) is the only global educational movement which brings together students from all over the world at pre-university level, regardless of their ability to pay. Students are selected on merit and live together in an environment designed to foster international understanding, tolerance and peace. Today, there are 12 UWCs in the Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Costa Rica, China, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway Singapore, Swaziland, UK and U.S..  This movement exponentially impacts the lives of 75,000 students every year.

Thanks to an Italian government-sponsored full scholarship, I was lucky enough to attend the United World College of the Adriatic (UWC Adriatic), between 2002 and 2004.

Imagine coming from a small provincial town of southern Italy and studying and living with peers from 85 different countries, from various socioeconomic backgrounds. My first roommate was a Bosnian student who suffered through the Yugoslavian war a few years before. I was able to see the 2003 war in Iraq, through the eyes of Iraqis and American students; I was able to understand the Israeli-Palestinian wars through the stories of Israeli and Palestinian students; I was able to appreciate the differences within the Arab world and within the African continent, that before was only a monolithic block of stereotypes. There is nothing more mind-opening and challenging.

This short lipdub, that the students of this year made, shows the touching multicultural atmosphere you can breathe at UWC Adriatic.

A crucial part of the UWC educational model is volunteering. As an alumnus, I continue to contribute to the UWC movement and today Edelman, with its Community Investment Grant, has decided to reward our efforts. Here are a few recent examples:

  • In 2011, I brought my photo exhibition on Israel & Palestine to the UWC Adriatic to bring together Israeli and Palestinian students along with their sponsor, to share their experiences.
  • Once a year, I participate in the Italian regional selections, where we assign scholarships to a select number of students and invite them to join one of the United World Colleges.
  • Every year, I go back to the College and join the “Service Orienteering Week” at the beginning of the year to share my experiences with volunteering at UWC including, visiting homes for the elderly, arranging afternoon activities for children from a cultural minority background and offering support to socially disadvantaged students.

Edelman has created the Community Investment Grant to support various communities in a special way. It recognizes the employees who spend time volunteering by awarding a grant of up to $2,500 to the organization they volunteer for. This year, UWC Adriatic was among the successful applicants.

Edelman’s Grant to UWC Adriatic will be used towards the Community Service Program which includes afternoon activities, which are part of the curriculum, where all students support underprivileged community members. Through the support, the volunteers engage in multicultural presentations and conflict transformation workshops to local primary schools aimed at fighting prejudice and racism, assist persons with mental or physical disabilities, offer companionship to elderly people, volunteer for the local Red Cross Ambulance Service and much more.

I firmly believe in the values that inspire the UWC movement. As Nelson Mandela, the United World Colleges honorary president, explains:

“The striking feature of the United World Colleges is that they embrace the entire world across all divides of race, history, culture, wealth, religion, economic status and political belief: they are unique.”

Edelman’s Community Grant supports these values and the educational model where students become active, involved and educated citizens, whose attitudes towards multicultural understanding and commitment to the community are a powerful catalyst for change.

Mario Sgarrella is a senior account manager in Abu Dhabi.