On May 27, UWC Dilijan celebrated the graduation of its second generation of students, bidding farewell to 87 students from 50 countries who are leaving the college to explore the world.
“You are ready to change the world,” said Ruben Vardanyan, cofounder of UWC Dilijan wishing good luck to the graduates in his welcoming speech.
In parting with the Class of ‘17, all 700 guests at the event-packed Graduation Day were united with the UWC spirit.
The morning began with “UWC Dilijan Experiences”, a series of activities created to engage the parents, guests and donors in order to demonstrate the inspirational and experiential learning process that the college employs. The students and teachers presented activities based around English, Spanish, Physics, History, Economics, Science and Maths, installed a Visual Arts exhibition, held a theatre performance and a fashion show designed by one of the graduates, put on a martial arts display and a game of football.
The Graduation Day continued with the Aurora Dialogues, which is part of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Events taking place in Yerevan and Dilijan on 26-28 May. Under the title “Galvanising the World”, the entire UWC Dilijan community and all the visitors were invited to attend a series of panel discussions and breakout sessions during which leading international humanitarians, academics and philanthropists tackled the problems of ensuring education for all, positioning the role of the media in raising the world’s humanitarian issues, protecting human rights, creating role models, overcoming adversity and empowering refugees.
The United World Colleges movement and the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative share much in common in terms of their drive to raise public awareness of the most pressing humanitarian problems, and at the same time seeking to generate practical action which can help to resolve these problems.
Among the inspiring panel speakers were Marguerite Barankitse, 2016 Aurora Prize Laureate and Founder of Maison Shalom and REMA Hospital; Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Laureate, Liberian Peace Activist, Women’s Rights Advocate and Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member; Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, Director of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford; Haifa Dia Al-Attia, CEO, Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development; Narine Abgaryan, writer and philanthropist and others.
Speaking on the “Education for all” panel, Jens Waltermann, Executive Director of UWC International, explained that the UWC’s approach is about providing the most talented students, irrespective of their social and financial circumstances, with a high quality education capable of not only directly benefiting them and their families, but also having a positive impact on the entire community. “The UWC mission is to inspire young people to become community leaders, to realise this potential and to move into action. No pressure on any graduates today, but this what we are looking for in you”, he said.
The programme also included presentations by student teams from three of UWC Dilijan’s sister colleges, namely UWC Mahindra College from India, Waterford Kamhlaba UWC, a pan-African school from Swaziland, and UWC Robert Bosch College from Germany. The proposals were part of the Aurora Humanitarian Project for UWC Schools and Colleges, which called on current UWC students worldwide to develop initiatives that could address some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues. The winner of the prize was the team from UWC Robert Bosch College for their DoGood project, which focused on providing an online platform on which refugees can sell their own upcycled, handmade products and helping them to gain education, qualifications and job training.
At the same time, according to the decision of the jury, voiced by Nubar Afeyan, co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and founding partner of UWC Dilijan, all three teams of students received €4,000 for the further development of their projects. President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Vartan Gregorian handed the prizes to the students.
With the renowned academic among the distinguished guests of the Graduation Day, UWC Dilijan took the opportunity to pay tribute to him for donating four dozen books to the UWC Dilijan library. Veronika Zonabend announced that the Boards of Governors and Trustees of UWC Dilijan had decided that the college library will from now on be known as “The Vartan Gregorian Learning Center”.
The Graduation Day ceremony ended with some beautiful performances by UWC Dilijan students, all united with the idea of parting and transferring the legacy, for example a group of students performed the song “History” by the band One Direction.
“I hope to see you back here in Dilijan as alumni, as guests and one day as parents, who continue the cycle”, said Veronika Zonabend in her address to the graduates. The ceremony also included inspiring and touching speeches from the Head of College Denise Davidson, representatives of the staff, the first and second years.
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About UWC Dilijan
UWC Dilijan is the first international boarding school using the UWC education model in the post-Soviet space. The college opened in 2014 in the Armenian town of Dilijan and currently has around 200 students enrolled from over 70 countries and 40 academic staff members from 17 countries.
UWC Dilijan represents an exciting extension of the UWC movement into the Caucasus region at the junction of Asia and Europe. Established in 1962, the UWC educational movement now comprises 17 international schools and colleges, national committees in more than 150 countries, and a series of short educational programmes.
UWC Dilijan was conceived and founded by impact investors and entrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend with the support of more than 300 benefactors from all over the world. The college’s admissions policy supports the aim making education available to all, regardless of the student’s socio-economic background, through the provision of need-based grants and scholarships.
The UWC Dilijan academic program – the IB Diploma – is recognized by universities worldwide. The school is a full member of UWC International and an International Baccalaureate World School (Diploma). The school also offers students a wide range of programs to engage with the local Dilijan community and environment. For more information visit: http://uwcdilijan.org/
About the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid and thus continue the cycle of giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) to support people and promote projects that tackle the needs of the most helpless and destitute, and do so at great personal risk. This is achieved through the Initiative’s various programs: The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have, already in the second year, been joined by several dozen new donors and partners. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our shared humanity.
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is represented by three organizations – Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation, Inc. (New York, USA), the 100 Lives Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the IDeA Foundation (Yerevan, Armenia).
About the Aurora Dialogues
The Aurora Dialogues is an international platform for discussion among leading experts from across the international humanitarian community, business, philanthropy and media on the most pressing challenges facing the world today. The Dialogues are held annually in Armenia as part of a weekend of events culminating with the presentation of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
Further information is available at www.auroraprize.com.
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