Maybe it's just a routine. Maybe it's just another spot in the timetable, but maybe, there's more to our usual Stop and Clean. Being nominated for the Impact Award recognizes how small, consistent actions can create meaningful change on how we view communal spaces. Stop and Clean in the KAC Entrance represents an opportunity to practice responsibility, mindfulness, and respect for the community environment.
Nagano Harvest is a student-led CAS initiative at UWC ISAK Japan focused on sustainable agriculture and community learning. Through hands-on farming experiences in Nagano, students explored practical methods of more sustainable food production while building a deeper understanding of the relationship between people, land, and food systems.The project aimed to bring this learning back to the ISAK community by helping students better understand where their food comes from and why responsible farming practices matter. By growing food, working with local agricultural knowledge, and sharing their experiences, the team encouraged the community to think more carefully about food consumption and sustainability.Nagano Harvest highlights how small, practical actions can strengthen connections between students and the local community of Karuizawa while promoting more thoughtful and sustainable approaches to agriculture.
Inspired by my grandfather’s hearing loss, I See Life works to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing communities. Through exchange trips and activities to a local deaf school, weekly sign language sessions, and events on World Hearing Day, we encourage more people to connect with the hard of hearing community, one that often gets overlooked in our daily lives. #DeafAwareness #Inclusion #SignLanguage #TechForGood #uwc #uwcisakjapan #isakimpactawards #isakimpact #nagano #karuizawa
I've long cared about sustainability and saw an opportunity at ISAK to make a difference. I initiated ISAK Soap, a faculty-led CAS project where students and I learned to make soap using our school's recycled cooking oil to reduce plastic waste and replace commercially-made cleaning products. Students have embraced this environmentally-friendly option and are eager to support UWC's sustainability mission. We've sold various soaps, and profits fund continued experimentation with new varieties, allowing the project to grow sustainably.
Growing up visiting remote Himalayan villages in Nepal, I witnessed women and girls lacking access to basic menstrual health education and resources. I started a Women Empowerment Project in Gorkha, reaching 1,500+ women across 15 villages. Through workshops and distribution of reusable sanitary kits, we've improved health, built confidence, and broken stigma — creating lasting change.
I left my job and cycled across the Silk Road from Beijing to Rome. What began as curiosity became connection, through moments, kindness, and people who opened their worlds to me. The world isn't as distant as it seems. Connection brings it closer.
Watch how an abandoned teahouse is transformed into a stunning space in just one year. From demolition to final finishes, this full renovation journey captures every step, including design, construction, and creative problem-solving. Perfect for fans of home makeovers, DIY, and architecture. See the before and after, get inspired, and follow the process from start to finish.
PEASO, or Peer Education and Support Organization, is a CAS project started at UWC ISAK Japan. With our motto "from students to students," we aim to learn and develop new ways to combat a multitude of issues within academically intense and culturally diverse school environments. Mental health, academic stress, safeguarding, identity, and multicultural communication are what PEASO strives to learn about and ultimately prevent.
Project Iridescent, now Hogo Women's Network, addresses the lack of support for women navigating gender-based discrimination in professional spaces. Through workshops, community building, and the development of EMBR (an intelligence-driven platform), the project transforms stigma into data-driven insight, empowering women and driving more inclusive, resilient workplaces.
Hi, I’m Lucy (Canada / Class of 2020), and I made a film entirely out of plastic!I began to catalog every piece of plastic I picked up and submitted my data to the Break Free From Plastic annual report. Then I made a 3-minute film called, "The Plastic Problem", that's being shown at film festivals around the world.Finally, I sequestered all the plastic into ecobricks and built a stool out of them.I’ve since presented these findings at a conference in Belgium and to my local elementary school on Denman Island. 🌱
ARC, Art Reach Cambodia, is a Khmer-led documentary storytelling project challenging the single story of Cambodia. With $10,000 from the Davis Peace Project, in partnership with SafeSpaceBTB, ARC documented 13 Khmer creatives and athletes, creating a full year of economic opportunity for 10 Khmer youth in Battambang. Our mini-documentary is in post-production, with an expected reach of 3,700 people. Series 2 is in development. Our vision: a world where every Khmer voice finds its place.
Restoring Hope supports 36 displaced girls in Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia, who were affected by the Tigray War. Combining psychological rehabilitation with educational reintegration, the project helps them rebuild confidence, emotional wellbeing, and motivation to return to school in a safe and supportive environment.
We tackle coffee waste by combining science with community action. Our team engineered E. coli to remove caffeine from spent coffee grounds, making them safe for use as fertilizer. Beyond the lab, we partnered with coffee shops, taught students through workshops and camps, and brought sustainability education to rural communities, empowering people to turn everyday waste into a resource.
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