…and we’re excited to have them back. United World Colleges (UWC) – its Costa Rica college – is returning for another Outward Bound Costa Rica course (their sixth year) as part of a leadership scholarship competition.

Any why wouldn’t we want them back, aside from watching their gardening techniques at a local school and enjoying their talent show?

Well, with a mission “to unite people, nations and cultures through education in order to drive peace and a sustainable future,” their values fall right in line with ours. But this makes sense since its roots come from the same international educator that started Outward Bound almost 70 years ago: Kurt Hahn. UWC was one of his many projects that helped encourage development in the experiential education arena.

More specifically, UWC is “the only global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world – selected on personal merit, irrespective of race, religion, politics and the ability to pay – with the explicit aim of fostering peace and international understanding.”

Therefore, this weekend on April 10th and 11th, 60 students will participate in a course designed to develop leadership, mainly as part of a scholarship selection process. A handful of Costa Rican students who will be given the opportunity to begin a two-year study abroad program in Canada, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Norway, Singapore, Swaziland, the United States, Venezuela, the United Kingdom or Bosnia and Herzegovina later this year.

Students’ attitudes towards others throughout the weekend will give the selection team an idea of how these students might behave in other countries. Obviously, it is important that the chosen students will be able to adapt to incredibly different cultures and diversity.

¡Buena suerte, chicos! (Good luck, guys!)