International understanding and peace in the heart of Freiburg
Freiburg’s Lord Mayor, Martin Horn, contributed this piece to our Annual Report. As the Chair of our school’s advisory board, he is actively involved in the school’s development:
UWC Robert Bosch College (RBC) has been enriching city life in Freiburg for over ten years. Based on the values of international understanding, peace and solidarity, the United World College has been building bridges in the world and in our city for years: be it through weekly service learning, in which students volunteer to support over 20 institutions in Freiburg and contribute to a fairer and more social city, be it through the host family program, which brings citizens and RBC students together and often creates friendships for life, or be it through teaching units such as the theme day on faith and religion with many religious representatives from Freiburg.
UWC Robert Bosch College was founded over ten years ago with a curriculum focus on sustainability. It is no coincidence that Freiburg was chosen as the location: even in the founding phase, the focus was on the idea of networking and thus cooperation with municipal environmental institutions, companies and start-ups in our “green” city. One example of this is the interdisciplinary project week “Liveable Cities”, in which students develop models for sustainable cities of the future in collaboration with municipal institutions.
As Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UWC Robert Bosch College, I am moved after every meeting by the young people who apply from all over the world for a place at one of the 18 United World Colleges to live together for two years and gain the IB Diploma – an international baccalaureate. Not only do they bring a great deal of commitment and motivation to work for a better world, they are also willing to learn from and with each other. 96 percent of students at RBC receive scholarships – three of which are funded by the city of Freiburg each year. This system enables young people from 90 countries to receive an education that would often be denied to them in their home countries.
The city of Freiburg is also committed to values such as international understanding, peace and solidarity. We maintain close ties with our twelve partner cities and are proud to be an open, social and committed city.
We are all the more pleased to have a school like the UWC Robert Bosch College with its international orientation in Freiburg. Many thanks for the school’s great commitment and work in our city and beyond.
