A day to share stories & perspectives

by Lorenzo Del Prete (first year student journalist)

On September 22, staff and students of UWC Robert Bosch College (UWCRBC) invited the Freiburg community as well as guests from all over Germany and Europe to join them on campus for the annual Open Day, der Tag der offenen Tür, showing the diversity of the school and educating visitors about UWC.

Throughout the day, over 700 visitors joined the UWC “world” in a festive spirit and got to know the school by participating in a variety of activities, prepared in a collaborative effort by many staff members and students. They filled all areas on campus: the Kartaus, where lessons are happening, the Auditorium, where assemblies and presentations are conducted and the Klostergarten, our 500 years-old vegetable garden.

Welcomed by students and gathering in the Mensa courtyard, our guests enjoyed ethnic food cooked by the scholars and visited campus accompanied by student tour guides: they could learn more about the history of our school, a former monastery, known in Freiburg for its rich past. During the tour, they had the possibility to enter one of the student houses and experience what campus life means for each scholar as well as stroll through the rich garden, an essential link to involve the Freiburg locals who volunteer in the maintenance of the place.

In addition, visitors were invited to join a talk by our Sustainability Coordinator, who informed them about the approach towards sustainability and how this is integrated into college life, or to help making apple juice or pizza by themselves, in the fresh open air, surrounded by the Black Forest.

One of the highlights certainly was the Open Stage, a rich and colorful show, during  which students were invited to share aspects of their home countries with the guests: traditional dances from Cambodia, Africa, China, the Ukraine, Latin America or Turkey; a reading in daari, one of Afghanistan’s official languages; instrumentals and songs; everything was filled with a sense of belonging and sharing and the show became a symbol of the willingness to welcome the city and be welcomed by it.

Every single student was, in different ways, an ambassador both of their culture and of UWC values and principles: a colorful flux of flags and traditional costumes gave joy to the cheerful atmosphere, while interactions between visitors and hosts were a profitable scenario to exchange ideas and points of views, stories and perspectives, laughter and happiness.