Interview with Maya Alkateb-Chami, Co-Founder of UWC Syria

Maya talks about how it was only six years ago, in 2010, that the first Syrian student was selected through the Syrian National Committee to attend United World College Maastricht on a scholarship: since then, the number has grown to 30! This was not easy. With more than 3 million Syrians having migrated outside of Syria and having been internally displaced due to the current conflict, UWC Syria soon decided the most effective way to keep all UWC activities going despite the difficulties was... to go online! UWC Syria also decided that leveraging the internet was the fairest way to approach and select potential students - and allowed NC members who are outside the country to still take an active part in it. So from promotion, to an online selection tool, to interviews and tests, the Syrian NC does everything online! Despite the challenging circumstances that Syria is going through, the Syrian National Committee has seen impressive growth over its short lifespan. Only in the last year, they went from 230 applications received in 2015 to over 450 in 2016! Listen to Maya Alkateb-Chami, Founding Member and Previous Chairperson of UWC Syria, speak about our work and achievements. For more information on UWC Syria visit our website: http://sy.uwc.org/