a short introduction

In January 2008, with the assistance of Fredskorpset, Red Cross Nordic United World College (RCNUWC) entered into a partnership program with the Ministry of Sport and Youth/Polisario in Western Sahara. The objective of the program is to offer young people from Norway and the wider Nordic region, and their counterparts from the Western Sahara refugee camps in Algeria, an opportunity to act as cultural ambassadors for their respective countries. While the project is open to current staff, and current and former students from UWC's, Nordic students will be given priority.



About Western Sahara:
A mainly desert territory in north-west Africa, Western Sahara has been the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

Western Sahara fell under Spanish rule in 1884, becoming a Spanish province in 1934. Nationalism emerged in the 1960s, as nomadic Saharawis, settled in the region.P olisario was set up on 10 May 1973 and established itself as the sole representative of the Saharan people.

In October 1975 the International Court of Justice rejected territorial claims by Morocco and Mauritania. This court ruling recognised the Saharawis' right to self-determination and Spain agreed to organise a referendum. This didn't happen as most of the territory fell under Moroccan control in 1976. Economic factors in the dispute include that the territory is phosphate-rich, has important fishing grounds and is believed to have offshore oil deposits.

The Camps:
More than 150,000 refugees still live in Polisario's camps in Algeria and have been living there for 33 years now. Exact numbers are hotly disputed as it is a politically sensitive issue.

The camps are completely reliant upon foreign and Algerian aid for everything: food, clothing, material for tents, and water are brought in by car and plane.

Despite the many difficulties, International refugee experts consider the camps to be very well organized.