On Wednesday, we stopped classes for a day to recognise UWC (United World Colleges) Day on the campus of the College. This was the third time we have celebrated UWC Day at Li Po Chun UWC, and it was a privilege to welcome as our special guest Tim Toyne Sewell, the newly appointed Chair of the UWC International Board, who flew to Hong Kong from London especially to join us. It was also a privilege to welcome two members of the LPCUWC Board, Mr Mok Wai-kin, the Deputy Chair of the College Board, and Miss Tammy Wan, who is a UWC graduate herself (from Atlantic College) and who serves as Deputy Chair of the International Board in addition to her role on the LPCUWC Board.
Unfortunately, the weather was less than perfect, and heavy rain certainly highlighted our need for the new auditorium as events were pushed to the dry, sheltered edges of the Courtyard. This could have made the day somewhat depressing, but fortunately, we rose to the occasion in the positive spirit of one of my favourite and well-known Chinese sayings: “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair”.
The day began with some performances by students highlighting aspects of the UWC values and spirit as they interpreted them. This was followed by short speeches from myself as Principal and then Tim Toyne Sewell. After some questions from the student body, we divided into small groups to discuss some very broad questions focussing on the UWC Mission Statement.
Following an enjoyable barbecue lunch in the Courtyard, or more precisely, around the edges of the Courtyard because the rain was still falling, we moved to the Library for a discussion in which students were free to ask questions to a panel comprising five teachers, the Principal and the Chair of the UWC International Board. This provided a useful exchange of ideas on ‘big’ and ‘small’ issues that are significant to various groups within the College community. I felt that the way in which the differences in opinions were expressed was a great example of UWC-ness in action - a polite, courteous, firm (if sometimes also frustrated) representation of the diversity of thinking that UWCs were designed to foster and encourage. If there was a shortcoming in the discussion held in the library, I think it was that there was a tendency to focus and express opinions about parochial issues on our own campus rather than to listen and consider wider issues of the UWC Movement, which was supposed to be the purpose of the day. Given that UWC Day was designed to be a celebration of UWCs as a whole, I felt that the discussion spent too much time confined to the boundaries of Hong Kong - but that is just my opinion and others are free, of course, to differ.
As I commented at one point in my morning speech: “It can be tempting for us to try and shape UWCs in our own images rather than allowing us to be shaped by the UWC. That is why UWC Day is so important in helping us understand what UWCs are – not what we as individuals may want them to be, but what the people who started the movement had as their vision, their dreams and their aspirations”.