ALUMNI NEWSLETTER Issue 2 - January 2011

6 MARCH 2011
1st UWC Adriatic
Alumni Action day
pag. 3

REUNION 2011 with a new format

will take place in Duino
from 16th to 21st JUNE 2011
pag. 4

| New DoS | Alumni events | News | Music Masterclass | Pagine Italiane|

 What is it that makes a UWC education so special?
A personal perspective.
It was a great privilege for me to be offered the chance to be the Deputy Head and Director of Studies at
UWC Adriatic. Before I arrived at UWC Adriatic I worked at UWCSEA in Singapore for 8 years in total and
as Deputy Head of College for 4 years. I believe in experiential learning and I wanted to find out how two
such contrasting establishments could be members of the same umbrella organization, with the same
mission statement and International Board.
UWC Adriatic differs considerably from UWCSEA in respect of the nature of experience that contributes
to the richer lessons of life, although the underlying values are the same and embraced with equal
enthusiasm. UWCSEA is more like a ‘global village’ international school, working with students who
already have had considerable exposure to other nationalities and cultures as they travel the globe with
their parents. This is a significant difference when considering UWC Adriatic where the college offers
students with predominantly home nation experiences the opportunity to get to know students from
other nationalities; however the outcomes are broadly comparable.
It is possible at first sight to imagine that an educational philosophy originating from the 1950s has
passed its ‘use by date’. Add to this the fact that it is hard to find any written rationale other than a
selection of anecdotes in the transcripts of a few speeches offered by its founding exponent. However,
the fundamental challenges and solutions identified by Kurt Hahn can be interpreted in this century as
easily as they were in the last. The failure to appreciate that the common ground of humanity within
individuals is so much more substantial than the superficial differences between people is as much a
risk as it ever was. We can now add ‘generations’ to the list of differences, along with races, cultures, and
nationalities, as increasing numbers of older people whose experiential learning was mainly in a different
technological paradigm to the one in which they now find themselves . The nature of technological
communication developments unfortunately compounds this problem further as young people
communicate increasingly remotely and impersonally with each other. Will the ‘IT native’ generation
of today be significantly less empathetic than their parents? A recent piece of research from the US
indicates that there may indeed be a decrease in our capacity to understand the emotions of others,
although the cause can only be speculated. The emphasis within a UWC education on understanding of
the needs of others is, I would argue, more important than ever. At the core of a UWC education is the
diversity of challenges and experiences offered, and to be part of that process is, I sincerely believe, an
honour for all concerned and I hope that we can be able to offer it to even more young people.
A UWC spirit of actively embracing challenge and understanding the needs of others will be so useful in
the future.
Mike Price, Director of Studies - Deputy Head

INSIDE
6 March 2011 3
Reunions 2011 - New Format 4
News from UWC Adriatic 5
Alumni Contributions to INA & TOK 9
Alumni events 2010 11
Stories of Donations 12
Music Masterclass 14
Pagine Italiane 15 Mike Price, Director of Studies

2
 6 MARCH 2011
1st Worldwide UWC Adriatic Action Day.

6th March
6th March, 2011 is coming!! Are you ready?

As posted in our first Alumni Newsletter last October, following on from one of the ideas that came up at
the 2010 Reunions, we are organising the first worldwide UWC Adriatic Action Day.

Here are some ideas that you can use to create your own Action Day event:

INVOLVE
you can organise a gathering
(tea party, reception, brunch) to explain the College
шестой марT
ideals and values and ask for donations or other COMMUNICATE
actions to support us you can speak with a journalist about
your UWC Adriatic experience;
you can give visibility to UWC Adriatic by putting a link to
our website on your facebook /blog /website
DONATE
you can donate one day's salary to
the College while communicating UWC values and
mission to your colleagues, asking them to help you support
us. Remember to check whether your company offers a gift
matching programme which could double your
donation.

6 Marzo
We can provide you with promo and info materials that you can use during your event: we're
preparing a brochure (hard copy and electronic) in English and Italian, a powerpoint presentation
and a 6th March post card.

We will shortly post the 2011 Action Day page on our website where you'll find additional
information and be able to download our brochure, presentations and cards.

If you want to take part in the first worldwide UWC Adriatic Action Day and organise your own event,
or if you just want to learn more about how to help , please contact:

6 Μάρτιος
Alberto Pisani
Action Day Events Coordinator
Development & Communication Office
UWC Adriatic - via Trieste 29, 34011 Duino (TS)
alberto.pisani@uwcad.it
Tel: (+39) 040 3739 554
3
 REUNIONS
New Format from 2011:
Starting from 2011... The experience remains the The 2011 UWC Adriatic reunion :
same but the reunion format has changed! This year we will be celebrating generations 1984-
As of this year, we will be holding Annual Reunions 86, 1994-96 and 1999-01
open to all alumni but honouring specific (the 1989-91 generation took part in the “20 year
generations on a 5-year cycle beginning with the Reunion” in July 2010)
10th anniversary.
This new format is in line with what other The 2012 UWC Adriatic Reunion :
UWCs do and will provide greater flexibility and In June 2012 we will celebrate generations 1985-
participation, it will also allow you to plan well in 87, 1990-92, 1995-97 and 2000-02
advance.
Other generations are welcome to attend and join
The Annual Reunion will take place over the 3rd in the celebrations.
weekend in June every year.

16th - 21st JUNE 2011

20yr Graduation Gift 2010


 We are proud to announce that not only did generations 1986-1988, 1987-1989, 1988-

1990, 1989-1991meet their 20yr Graduation Gift goal, but exceeded it!
€ 1,301
A total of €21,600 has been raised, enabling us to cover a full one year scholarship,
Target

€ 20,000.00

€ 19,000.00 making a significant difference to our current students and helping us maintain our full
€ 18,000.00
scholarship policy, which is at the heart of the
€ 17,000.00

€ 16,000.00
UWC Adriatic Vision. Generations 1986-1991
20yr Graduation Gift
€ 15,000.00
Final results - 31 December 2010
€ 14,000.00

€ 13,000.00
The overall increase in Alumni giving and
the strong support received from the 20yr Donated: €21,618
€ 12,000.00

€ 11,000.00
€ 19,931
generations is empowering the whole UWC Porto 1,424 6% Rilke 2,763 13%
€ 10,000.00

€ 9,000.00
Adriatic Community to work even harder for our Other 786 4%
Castello 2,950 14%

€ 8,000.00 mission to transform young peoples' lives and to

€ 7,000.00

€ 6,000.00
make the world more united.
€ 5,000.00 Donations have been received from alumni from Adriatic 9,600 48%

€ 4,000.00 all four generations represented at the 2010

reunion and just over half of the donations have
€ 3,000.00

€ 2,000.00

€ 1,000.00 come from alumni who were unable to attend Duino 4,095 21%

€-
Total donated: € 21,618
the reunion. Such support is testament to how
To go! Pledges
much UWC Adriatic is still in the heart of so Donor recognition Clubs

many alumni. € 120 - 250

€ 251 - 500
(Porto Club)
(Rilke Club)
€ 501 - 1000 (Castello Club)
€ 1001 - 2500 (Duino Club)

4
€ 2500 and over (Adriatic Club)
A special thanks to the 20 Year Reunion
Fundraising Team! Congratulations!
NEWS FROM UWC ADRIATIC

World Arts & Cultures Conference for the European Commission Staff:
Intrigued by the potential for the World Arts and within the enlarged EU.
Cultures' methodology to stimulate intercultural During the training session, Henry Thomas
dialogue, the European Commission invited the transported the 60 participants to his "virtual"
College to run a training session for the EU staff in classroom, challenging them to look closely at
Brusselles, on 16th November 2011. various cultural phenomena and ask themselves
questions about their meaning and the context in
which they were created.

The approach focused on the World Arts and

Cultures distinct syllabus, which can be adopted
to foster cultural awareness even outside the IB
context.
With “cultural awareness” as one of the 8 key
competencies identified by the EU Education
Commission in 2008, the session proved to be of
great interest to the decision makers in Brussels.

Before and after the Conference, College

The session, led by Henry Thomas (teacher of representatives held various meetings with EU
World Arts and Cultures) and Rettore Peter commission decision makers, including Ms. Alison
Howe, was a milestone for the College's outreach Crabb, Deputy Head of Unit - Culture Policy &
programme. Intercultural Dialogue.
The session was opened by Xavier Troussard, Head The event was held in the Madou Plaza Tower,
of Unit - Culture Policy, Diversity and Intercultural headquarters of the EU Directorate General for
Dialogue. What better person to appreciate how Education and Culture and was organized thanks
our school based syllabus “World Arts and Cultures” to Laura Cassio (AD 84-86) who works at the
is relevant for addressing issues of cultural identity European Commission.
5
 NEWS FROM UWC ADRIATIC

UWC Adriatic Strategic Plan :
For the first time in the nearly 30 years history of
the College, we stopped classes for a day to focus
on the College of the future: our vision for this
multicultural educational force, the problems and
difficulties we will have to face, our objectives,
hopes and wishes.
The day’s work followed a precise schedule, based
on the Open Space Technology technique. After
a brief plenary introduction, we were split into 3
groups (students, faculty, staff ), each of which set
up their own Open Space session.
The faculty session was facilitated by Steve
Donato, visiting us from UWC International;
the Staff session was facilitated by Valentina
Bach, our Development and Communication
Director, together with Rag. Giorgio Pontoni, our
Secretary General; Marjeta Novak from Humus
Communications Management in Ljubljana was
invited to lead our student sessions.
Marjeta and her husband Robert Krzisnik have
been involved with UWC for a number of years
through their work at Nordic College and led an
Outreach Workshop in March in Duino that was
attended by representatives from Colleges and
National Committees alike.

Open Space Technology (OST) has been

defined as: Our goal in this exercise was to both re-imagine
• a simple, powerful way to catalyze effective the UWC Adriatic of the future and to contribute
working conversations and truly inviting to the UWC Strategic Plan in articulating the
organizations -- to thrive in times of UWC Model of education. Six themes have been
swirling change; identified for further exploration – facilities, music
• a methodological tool that enables self- and arts at the College, sustainability, residential
organizing groups of all sizes to deal with life, selections and admissions, and integration into
hugely complex issues in a very short the local community.
period of time;
• a powerful group process that supports The reports drawn up by each group will serve
positive transformation in organizations, as the starting point for the newly-constituted
increases productivity, inspires creative Strategic Plan Group set up by the Rettore and
solutions, improves communication and which includes representatives of the students,
enhances collaboration;
faculty and staff. Their next task is to draft a
• the most effective process for organizations Strategic Plan for the College for the next 5 years.
and communities to identify critical issues,
voice to their passions and concerns, learn
from each other, and, when appropriate,
take collective responsibility for finding
solutions.
The goal of an Open Space Technology
meeting is to create time and space for people
to engage deeply and creatively around issues
of concern to them.
The agenda is set by people with the power
and desire to see it through, and typically,
Open Space meetings result in transformative
experiences for the individuals and groups
involved.
UWC Adriatic bases all its main meetings on
OST.

6
“The future of UWCAd. Big Ideas, Big Dreams. No limitations.
That was the starting point for the current students of UWCAd to think about how we want this place to be in 10
years time. The morning was then filled with a wide range of discussion groups, led by those who believed the topics
were important to discuss, in a open space manner. Such themes ranged from cultural shock,where we discussed
the differences of judging and accepting, and how to find weekend activities that were not alcohol orientated. The
future of the music program disscussion resulted in planning and producing an arts marathon. The first year and
second year divide topic had a very positive result since many students felt that our year had a good mixture. We
also talked about how we can be active over the vacations and extending the introduction period needing to have a
better transition to 'reality'. Ways of improving communication was a topic in which many believed there should be
more linking with the entire movement.
After a morning of intensive thoughts and discussions, the entire community then joined
together before lunch by creating traditional Tibetan Prayer flags in which everyone was
invited to write, draw or show in any way or language that they want to express their hope or
dream for their future of UWCAd. This colourful array of dreams now hangs in the auditorium
foyer as a creative reminder that we are capable of re-imaging the future of our UWC.

“
Alexandra Zuur - New Zealand (AD 09-11)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
April
February 1-3 Arts Festival
10-12 Africa/Middle East Cultural Showcase 2 Open Day
17 Opening Ceremony in Duino 8-10 Model United Nations
19 Verona Cultural Visit 16 Bologna Cultural Visit

March May
5-9 Project Week 24 Closing Ceremony (tbc)
6 UWC Adriatic Action Day
18 UWC International Office Reception June
in London 16-21 Annual Alumni Reunion
19 Mantova Cultural Visit
24-26 Italian Cultural Showcase Some events are to be
26-27 "3rd Year" Reunion - for last year's
graduates
confirmed, further details on
28 Theatre Week starts www.uwcad.it
7
8
Alumni contributions to INA & TOK :
The "International Affairs (INA)" Programme at
UWC Adriatic is designed to offer students and
staff an insight into current issues from around
the world and to make them reflect about the
challenges of our time.
The INA Programme involves a biweekly speaker
series, encompassing academics and international
organization professionals, poets, writers and
journalists, politicians, diplomats, NGO workers,
scientists and UWC Adriatic Alumni. Speakers
present a topic to the students and staff. The
presentation is generally followed by a very
interactive Question & Answer session.
During last year, 3 UWC Adriatic Alumni, Lubomir
Ribarov (AD 88-90), Stian Håklev (AD 98-00 ) and
Suzie Alexander (AD 82-84), returned to Duino as
INA speakers; below is a brief summary of their life
and lectures at UWC Adriatic:
Lubomir Ribarov -
“Sustainability in the Business
World: The case of United
Technologies Corporation”
In his current role as a Senior
Research Engineer, Lubomir
Ribarov leads a system
integration team developing
integrated environmental control systems and
air management solutions for some of the most
advanced commercial aircraft in the world.
He is married and currently resides in West
Hartford, Connecticut, with his wife and two
children.
His talk focused on the current sustainability
initiatives of the company he works for, including
environmental stewardship, corporate social
responsibility, ethical and safety standard
and employee growth and education while
demonstrating equally strong market
performance. He underlined the importance for
private business to pursue ethical responsibility
and to focus on the future: profitability and
environmental responsibility should go hand
in hand. Respect for the environment, health
and safety are among the most important goals
for Twenty-First Century companies. He likes to
remember his unique educational experience at
the College, the place where he was educated
in social responsibility and respect for the
environment.
Suzie Alexander - “The Courage
of Your Convinctions”
Suizie Alexander now lives
in southern Tuscany with her
husband Antonio (they met
through the EU Erasmus project
in 1987) and their two children,
Nicolai and Francesca. They moved
to Toscany from London looking for a better
quality of life, to stay closer to nature and to
find more humanity and less economics in the
relationships. They are fully members of a small
rural community of less than 2000 people and
they pursue sustainable agriculture, sustainable
communities, and renewable energies. They are
self- employed and work from home.
The talk focused on the courage to make decisions
and undertake actions or life styles driven not by
"feel good" and competitive consumption patterns
but by considered values, and on a sharing of
thoughts and ideas.
“I did not leave the College and become a UN
diplomat or a Nobel Prize winner - says Suzie - but
I did learn to take responsibility for my actions
and choices and the importance of sharing my
experiences with others. I have a strong feeling
that attending the College helped me enormously
to assert as an individual later on in life, make
courageous decisions and not feel obliged to go with
the flow. My strongest memories, the Bora and the
sound of the waves aside, is of the history classes, the
history brought to life : Palestinians and Israelis, black
and white Zimbabweans, agreeing to disagree, but
talking to each other for the first time. I realized that
everyone has a heartfelt point of view that has to be
heard and there is no one version of history, there is
human experience and interpretation ”.
Stian Håklev - “Multilingual
Open Educational Resources for
a Multilingual and Multicultural
UWC”
Stian Håklev speaks Norwegian,
his native language, and some
seven other languages. He is a co-
founder of the Peer2Peer University,
a platform for forming learning groups around
open courses.
 Alumni contributions to INA & TOK:
His talk focused on the three main pillars of
openness: open license, open files and data,
open collaboration, and also on new perspectives
on bilingualism. He claimed the UWC Adriatic
is an intensely international and multicultural
place, however the IB program is firmly Western
in its outlook on knowledge. So he gave some
suggestion for innovation.
“Now there are concrete opportunities for the
students to connect better with things around the
world” says Stian “If you are an Indonesian student
you can have access to Indonesian materials that
can support your learning here not only in terms of
language but also in terms of culture and points of
view. My dream is to see a Chinese student going
to a history class and learn about the Second World
War, then go home and watching the lecture of a
Chinese University about the Second World War
on line, which has a very different perspective, and
eventually bring this new perspective back to the
class.” Stian believes that students could produce
open resources in their national languages: “ If
you look at Wikipedia in English the articles seem
almost done, but if you look at Wikipedia in Hindi
there is for example only one sentence about
Norway: ' Norway is a country in Europe. The
capital city is Oslo.' And that is it. An Indian student
of UWC Adriatic could easily write one page about
that, even without research, just asking about
Norway to a Norwegian student! And there are
six million people that speak Hindi and who can
benefit enormously from that!”

Ghil'ad Zuckermann (AD 87-89),

Full Professor of Linguistics of Endangered Languages at the University of Adelaide

(Australia), contributed to our Theory of Knowledge programme in October 2010, by
offering a presentation on the epistemological aspects of his research into the origins of
the modern Israeli language. His presentation was a great chance for students to meet
a person like Ghil'ad, who is a concentration of cultural diversity and can transmit a true
passion for the complexity of languages and cultural identity.

Ghil'ad is the author of various books such as the revolutionary bestseller "Israelit Safa Yafa" (Israeli, a
Beautiful Language) and has published books/articles in English, Israeli ('Ivrit'), Italian, Yiddish, Spanish,
German, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.
During his presentation on the birth of the Israeli language, Ghil'ad concluded that the study of Israeli
offers a unique insight into the dynamics between language and cultures in general and in particular
into the role of language as a source of collective self-perception. Israeli, resulting from the attempt to
revive a no longer spoken language, is, according to Ghil'ad, a hybridic Eurasian language, both Semitic
(Afro-Asiatic) and (Indo-) European which is the result of cross-fertilization with the revivalists' spoken
languages. Ghil'ad presentation helped students to appreciate the complexity and the multisourced
nature of languages.

10
UWC Adriatic Development Office
meets Alumni 2010-2011 :
The UWC Adriatic Development Office is trying to create opportunities for UWC Adriatic Alumni to meet with
our current President, Rettore and staff.
Recently we have organised :
• an alumni event in Lincoln - Massachusetts - hosted by Patrik and Iris Muzila (AD 90-92) on 6th November
2010 (see below);
• an alumni gathering in Brussels, the night before the World Arts and Cultures presentation in the European
Commission, which took place on 15th November;
• meetings and dinners with our President, Amb. Facco Bonetti in La Valletta and Moscow
In 2011, we are planning to organise alumni gatherings in London, Hong Kong and New York.
Please contact us if you think you could manage to help or host an event.

The first UWC Adriatic official Alumni Event in North America

took place in Lincoln, Massachusetts on Nov 6th 2010.
The evening was a great success thanks to the generous Amy Rowe - first
hospitality of Patrik and Iris Muzila (AD 90-92) who hosted UWC Adriatic
the event in their house, and to the great musical talent generation
of 9 UWC Adriatic alumni, now studying at the Boston - with Gereltuya
Tumurbaatar,
Conservatory and at the Manhattan School of Music. Sergio Escalera,
Over 60 people attended the event, including alumni from Sophie Hawley
various generations, the Rettore, Peter Howe, the Director Weld - the
of Communications and Development, Valentina Bach most recent
(AD 89-91), the new Italian Consul General to Boston, UWC Adriatic
generation
Giuseppe Pastorelli, and the Honourary Consul of Slovakia,
Peter Muzila.
Alumni, with many making the trek from far afield,
included young students from Brown University, Colby
College and Middlebury College and older ones from
Connecticut and Manhattan. The marvellous concert was

“
followed by drinks, hors d'oeuvres and lively conversations
that went well into the night.
Patrik an Iris
Muzila (both
“UWC Adriatic is an extended family but AD 90-92) - with
we lost touch with many members. Our Peter Howe, our
Rettore - and
goal with the Development Office is to Valentina Bach,
bring the family back together, so that we our Director of
Development &
can move forward together, imaging the Communications
UWC Adriatic of the future” Peter Howe.
11
 Stories of Donations
Donations triple in 2010 :
Since the foundation of the Development The 10 year and 20 year reunions last summer
Office in January 2010 and a commitment with their dedicated fundraising campaigns
to improved communications with all played a significant role, accounting for 52% of
constituencies, donations have soared and the last year’s donations.
results speak for themselves:
Alumni response to the launch of the Duino
2009 = €16,600 from 65 donors Annual Fund in September has been heart
2010 = €64,312 from 267 donors warming. In the period September-December
2010 more funds were received from alumni
What is even more encouraging, is the level than in the whole of 2009.
of support we are receiving from our alumni,
raising the total in 2010 to 1.16% of overall The following chart shows the breakdown of
budget expenditures, compared to 0.46% in donations in 2010 by generation:
2009.

Alumni donations in 2010

08-10 € 25
07-09 € 51
06-08 € 75
05-07 € 387
04-06 € 90
03-05 € 130
02-04 € 310
01-03 € 414
00-02 € 57
99-01 € 15
98-00 € 7,721
97-99 € 5,270
Generations

96-98 € 9,113
95-97 € 100
94-96 € 50
93-95 € 1,791
92-94 € 1,075
91-93 € 600
90-92 €0
89-91 € 6,531
88-90 € 4,376
87-89 € 2,288
86-88 € 8,286
85-87 €0
84-86 € 4,292
83-85 € 1,041
82-84 € 837

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000
Amount in Euro
These results were greeted with enthusiasm by the College's Council of Administration, as was
our continued commitment to a balanced budget.
A heartfelt thanks to all of you who have contributed to this success.

We look forward to doing even better in 2011!

12
Stories of Donations
UWC Adriatic welcomes three new Foundations among its sponsors:
Fondazione Banco di Sicilia, currently sponsoring two students from Sicily: Gaetano Vacanti second year
student at UWC Adriatic and Adriana Di Graziano, first year student at UWC-USA;
Fondazione Cattolica Assicurazioni, sponsoring Francesca Annicchiarico, a student from the Veneto
Region, at UWC-USA;
Fondazione Cariplo, sponsoring Claudia Marina Della Pona, from the Lombardia Region at UWC Nordic.
With the inevitable decrease of public funding in Italy, we are particularly happy to have been able to
guarantee regional scholarship support for Italian students thanks to our new donors.

“ “I come from Portogruaro, a small town very close to Venice. I have always known about
UWCs because my mother, who grew up in Trieste, told me about the UWC in Duino when
I was a child. UWC has been my dream for many years. I have always thought that there
was much more to learn in the world than what I could learn by staying in my town, so last
year I attended the selections. Now I am a student at UWC-USA, and I feel I am living the
best experience of life. Although I am thousands of kilometres away from home, I feel like
the UWC community – made up not only of students, but also of faculty and other people
who work here – is now my family.” Francesca Annicchiarico (UWC-USA 2010-2012)

Peer-to-peer generosity at just 16 years old “

Originally from Trieste, Miljan is currently attending the International School of Milan in his first IB year.
At a recent Sotheby's Photography auction he sold one of his photographs that he took while on a
Columbia University educational exchange program in Jordan last summer for € 2500.

When Miljan heard of our netbook project through Mary Myers, he decided to donate the money he
made from the photograph to buy netbooks for some of our more needy students.

The netbook project was launched last year by Mary Myers, who is a good friend of the College, as part of
the Harvard Club of Italy's (HCI) work to promote excellence in secondary schools. Last year HCI members
donated 6 netbooks and now, thanks to Mary's activity, Miljan has donated a further 7.
Together, Mary and Miljan have made a significant difference to a number of young lives.

“ “I am very happy to help my IB

peers and am pleased to have
given them this opportunity
for their future studies.”
Miljan Todorovich

“ 13
 Music Masterclass
Luis Parés - Venezuela (AD 1997-99)
What is the purpose of the Masterclass you are organizing, where did the idea
come from?
New Virtuosi is a UK charity dedicated to offering new generations of young talented
violinists, usually aged 10-22, coming from around the world, the opportunity of
learning with some of the most distinguished violin teachers in the world in a friendly
and nurturing atmosphere and over a short and intensive period of time. New
Virtuosi was founded by its Artistic Director, Professor Ani Schnarch from the Royal
College of Music in London. We currently hold three sessions during the year: one in
April in the UK and two in August: the first in England, the second in Italy.
I met Ani whilst I was a student at the RCM where I played with many of her students.
She invited me to work at New Virtuosi for its first course in August 2009 in the
capacity of Piano Accompanist, and in January 2010 I was appointed Executive
Director.

Why did you decide to organize it in Duino?

We held our first two courses in Italy (summer 2009 and 2010) in a wonderful location
in Val Gardena, at Fischburg Castle. We had great success in Val Gardena with both
our students and our local audiences, but the facilities presented a series of logistical
problems that forced us to consider a different location for our future courses.
It had already crossed my mind that I wanted to do something in Duino, and after attending my 10-year reunion and
witnessing the greatly improved facilities for music (and the wonderful Fazioli piano in the Auditorium!) I decided to
present this idea to Ani and the Executive Board. They were greatly impressed by the possibilities Duino offered and
that’s when I contacted Maura Colomban in the Music School and later the Rettore Peter Howe. Maura was immediately
attracted to the idea of holding this course in the Music School and she has been vital in planning and developing our
daily activities. After some preparation, I presented the project to Peter, who has been fully supportive from day one. I
visited the College with Ani in October 2010, and after playing a concert in the Auditorium and holding a meeting with
the Rettore, everything was set to start preparations for next summer!

How is it going to work? Who will participate? What will they do exactly?
The course will be held on 12-22 August. We will host all our students/staff in the Foresteria, and we will work in the
Music School teaching rooms and the Auditorioum. Students will initially have a lesson every other day (although
sometimes they are taught every day!) and we will have masterclasses in the afternoons and four public concerts: one in
Trieste, one in Slovenia, a third in the north of the Friuli region and the last one, our closing gala concert, at the College’s
Auditorium on Sunday 21st August at 20.30. It will be a very intense and productive seminar where students will explore
all areas of the violin repertoire and will be able to gain experience from public performances. I am also extremely proud
and honoured to count on the presence of Maestro Renato Zanettovich from the Trio di Trieste, who will join us during
one afternoon and will give a masterclass to our students. This year, Maura and I will start a small project where we will
take volunteers from our student body and take them to elderly people houses and give some short violin recitals!

Why are you still in contact with the School of Music? What did studying music in Duino mean to you?
I have always been grateful and extremely attached to my experience in Duino. I had the opportunity to learn with the
Maestri of the Trio di Trieste and with Sergio Cimarosti, who gave me a great deal of inspiration and knowledge that was
vital in my decision to become a pianist. I have been in touch with Sergio and his wife Maura ever since I left Duino in
1999, and hence my connection with the School of Music!

Any idea for the future of the School of Music?

I hope New Virtuosi will bring new musical experiences to Duino and the Music School, and if everything goes well I
hope we will be able to come back for many years. The Music School has the capacity for growth and my first thoughts
go to keep developing and expanding its activities during the summer and bring it to the international stage of the
summer festivals. This takes time but I am sure that we will be able to do it with dedication and a good amount of effort!
The Music School has provided invaluable knowledge to many graduates of the College and I am looking forward to
contributing to its activities as much as I possibly can! It is great to have the possibility to be back in Duino. It always feels
like home.

14
Pagine Italiane
Seguendo alcuni suggerimenti dei nostri alumni e in occasione dei festeggiamenti per i 150
anni dell'Unità d'Italia, è con sincero piacere che inauguriamo una nuova sezione della
Alumni Newsletter interamente in italiano, dove racconteremo storie ed iniziative legate a
questo magico paese che da quasi 30 anni accoglie ed ospita gli studenti del Collegio del
Mondo Unito dell'Adriatico.

Cos'è per te l'Italia?

150 anni fu proclamato il Regno d'Italia.
In tutta Italia, sono numerose le cerimonie, gli eventi e le
manifestazioni programmate in occasione di questa importante
ricorrenza. Anche la Regione Autonoma Friulia Venezia Giulia
parteciperà con un proprio spazio espositivo a Roma, a Villa Giulia;
per questa occasione abbiamo chiesto ai nostri attuali studenti non
italiani, cosa significhi per loro l'Italia:

"L'Italia è un appassionato stile di vita, qui si mangia buon cibo, si parla una lingua bellissima,
l'Italia mi piace molto" . Justin Koh - Hong Kong (AD 2009-2011)

"L'Italia per me è cultura, è arte ed è anche storia, e, a noi studenti,

il Collegio del Mondo Unito offre l'opportunità di scoprirle tutte".
Blanca G. Bermudez - Spagna (AD2009-2011)

"L'Italia è la mia seconda casa con tutti i luoghi tradizionali, con tutte le persone,
le amicizie e posso dire che l'Italia per me è anche la Bora sulla Costa Adriatica".
Andrei Trica - Romania (AD 2009-2011)

"L'Italia è un paese dove la storia ha moltissima importanza, così come il

presente, la cultura e il rispetto della storia, è questo che mi piace di più dell'Italia"
Diego Loyo - Venezuela (AD 2010-2012)

"L'Italia è un paese che mi ha accolto, e per me della minoranza italiana in

Slovenia è stato molto importante ed è stata una grandissima opportunità poter
riscoprire la mia cultura, le mie origini e le mie tradizioni qui".
Luisa Peress - Slovenia (AD 2010-2012)

"L'Italia per me è uno stile di vita più tranquillo , più libero che ha anche
cambiato, in qualche modo, il mio stile di vita". Angus Liu - Hong Kong (AD 2009-2011)

"Per me l'Italia vuol dire tante cose. Per me l'Italia è una mescolanza di colore,
di aroma, di cose che non si possono descrivere,
l'Italia ha tanta allegria da offrire a tutto il mondo ed è davvero un piacere stare qua".
Sergio Prin - Venezuela (AD 2009-2011)

"Per me l'Italia è un paese dove la bellezza della cultura ti insegna ad apprezzare la bellezza
della vita". Alexandra Zuur - Nuova Zelanda (AD 2009-2011)

15
La rivoluzione Tunisina
Martedì 1° febbraio 2011 nell’Auditorium del Collegio del Mondo Unito di Duino, Mohammed Firas, studente del
primo anno al Collegio originario di Bizerta in Tunisia, ha fornito agli altri studenti del Collegio il suo punto di vista
sugli eventi che stanno accadendo in Tunisia.

Firas ha aperto il dibattito con una canzone di Sexion Degage che parla del sentimento di rabbia ed opposizione
verso l’ormai ex-Presidente Ben Ali. Questa canzone, bandita fino a 14 giorni fa dal Governo di Tunisi, è oggi un
simbolo per i giovani protagonisti della protesta. Firas ha poi fatto scorrere le immagini dei momenti più forti
e significativi della protesta tunisina: dalla tensione iniziale fino alla repressione armata delle forze di polizia a
seguito del continuo e crescente flusso di persone che si riversava nelle strade della capitale.

Terminate le proiezioni dei video, Firas ha fornito ai presenti un breve background sulla storia della Tunisia a
partire dall’indipendenza del 1956, da lui stesso ritenuta fasulla – non reale, fino alle controverse relazioni politiche
che Ben Ali teneva con gli altri capi di stato. Avendo posto le basi per il dibattito, Firas ha avviato una video-
conferenza via Skype con suo padre. Gli studenti hanno potuto così fare domande specifiche sull’argomento ad
un testimone personalmente coinvolto nella protesta.

Questa parte dell’incontro si è rivelata molto interessante sia perché il signor Ammar Arfaoui ha dato un
aggiornamento sulla situazione attuale, ancora instabile e insicura a causa del tentativo dell’esercito di portare a
termine un colpo di Stato e permettere, eventualmente, il ritorno al potere dell’ex-dittatore attualmente fuggito in
Arabia Saudita; sia perché è stato in grado di comunicare a noi tutti il sentimento d’insofferenza e la forte volontà
di cambiare la situazione che in questo momento accomuna la quasi totalità del popolo tunisino.

Il momento più forte, coinvolgente ed emozionante del dibattito, si è raggiunto quando, alla domanda sui
possibili rischi che il signor Ammar Arfaoui stesse correndo nel partecipare ad una conferenza via Internet su un
argomento scottante, questi ha risposto con enfasi e decisione:

“ Non ho paura, Internet ha giocato un ruolo fondamentale nel movimento di

protesta, adesso mi sento veramente libero di dire quello che provo e penso.
Ammar Arfaoui padre di Mohammed Firas Arfaoui (AD 2010-2012)

“
Infine, la conferenza si è chiusa con una domanda di Jovita (Tanzania) alla sorella di
Firas, anche lei in collegamento via Skype. Balkis Arfaoui, sedicenne, ha trasmesso a
tutti noi l'emozione di essere protagonista di uno dei momenti più importanti della
storia del suo popolo: la fine di una dittatura in favore di una forma di governo più
conforme alle volontà dei cittadini.
Andrea Longo (AD 2009-2011)

UWC Adriatic © Development Office

via Trieste 29, 34011 Duino (Trieste), Italy development@uwcad.it

Director of Development and Communications Director of Alumni Affairs

Valentina Bach Colin Challis-Thompson
phone: 0039-040-3739-558 phone: 0039-040-3739-240
fax: 0039-040-3739-225 fax: 0039-040-3739-225