UWC Western Sahara

The idea of granting UWC scholarships to Saharawi students from the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria was conceived in 2002 during a visit to Norway by the Saharawi lecturer at Lund University in Sweden, Yahia M. Mahmoud. Together with members of the UWC National Committee of Norway, Mahmoud visited UWC Red Cross Nordic and discussed the prospect of granting scholarships to Saharawi students. Soon after, the UWC National Committee of Western Sahara was set up as a formal entity. Since then, seven rounds of selections have taken place in the refugee camps.