UWC’s Innovation for Impact Forums brought alumni together in New York in May 2025 and London in September 2025. Alumni working across education, climate, technology, finance and social change came together to share their work, learn from one another and reconnect with the wider UWC community.
Read the full storyUWC Day reflects the strength of our global community. Across continents and generations, it brings together national committees, short courses, schools, city groups, alumni, students and supporters to reconnect around the values and experiences they continue to carry with them.
Under the global theme ‘Voices for Peace’, the UWC community marked the day through locally led initiatives around the world. UWC El Salvador organised a toy collection to celebrate Children’s Day, while UWC Mostar hosted its Peace Conference 2025: Stories of the Past, Visions of the Future.
At Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, the day opened with a keynote from a social activist working with ethnic minority and refugee communities, followed by student-led sessions on activism and collective action. At Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa, the community gathered for its annual celebration, including a Parade of Nations assembly and student performances reflecting the diversity of the campus.
In Piazza Transalpina, a square that bridges Italy and Slovenia, UWC Adriatic students filled a shared public space with music, poetry and messages of peace. In New York, the UWC NYC alumni network hosted the second Annual Convocation, welcoming new Davis UWC Scholars and featuring UWC-USA alumni speakers as part of the programme.
Community at UWC begins long before students arrive on campus. It starts with UWC national committees (NCs), most of them volunteer-led, who identify and select the majority of UWC students worldwide.
Across the movement, more than 150 UWC national committees and over 5,000 volunteers make access possible. Their local knowledge and long-term commitment help widen access to UWC.
In Sweden, alumni volunteers, Fanny Skarin and Emmy Wahlström noticed that very few applicants were coming from the northern parts of the country. Students from Arctic minority groups were especially underrepresented.
With support from an NC grant, they formed a working group to start focused outreach across Swedish Sápmi and Meänmaa. They visited more than 50 schools and community venues in over 20 locations, building relationships with Sámi and Tornedalian organisations and municipal minority coordinators.
The work led to a permanent selection location in Ubmeje/Umeå, internal volunteer training, and a dedicated scholarship at UWC Red Cross Nordic for a student identifying as Sámi or Tornedalian.
