{"id":1351150,"date":"2025-04-14T23:35:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwcstaging.co.uk\/?post_type=impact-story&amp;p=1351150"},"modified":"2025-04-14T23:35:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:35:51","slug":"carving-out-a-niche-to-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"impact-story","link":"https:\/\/dev.uwcstaging.co.uk\/es\/impact-story\/carving-out-a-niche-to-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Carving out a niche to make a difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\"><strong>Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-as-part-of-our-series-of-impact-stories-focusing-on-peacebuilding-we-sat-down-with-mark-mattner-li-po-chun-uwc-of-hong-kong-1995-1997-who-is-currently-working-for-german-development-agency-giz-which-focuses-on-international-development-co-operation-and-international-education-work-looking-back-on-his-time-at-li-po-chun-uwc-over-two-decades-ago-mark-explains-how-the-experience-helped-to-expand-his-worldview-leading-to-a-fulfilling-and-challenging-career\" style=\", sans-serif\">As part of our series of impact stories focusing on peacebuilding, we sat down with Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997) who is currently working for German development agency,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giz.de\/en\/html\/about_giz.html\">GIZ<\/a>, which focuses on international development co-operation and international education work. Looking back on his time at Li Po Chun UWC over two decades ago, Mark explains how the experience helped to expand his worldview leading to a fulfilling and challenging career.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\"><em>\u201cIf you have nothing to fight for, then what do you have to live for?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Mark remembers well how this question pulled him up short when it was posed to him by one of his new classmates at Li Po Chun UWC. As a 17-year-old German coming to UWC, Mark remembers bringing with him a certain sense of guilt about his country\u2019s history. But, as he listened to the stories of his classmates from all over the world, it started to open his mind to other people\u2019s experiences of war and conflict &#8211; giving him a much more nuanced perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\"><em>\u201cIt was these discussions, and the exposure to different cultures and points of view that really helped to broaden my horizons\u201d<\/em>, Mark reflects. Looking back, Mark realises now how ignorant he was of things happening in the wider world. Coming from a Europe-centred point of view, he remembers choosing Li Po Chun UWC specifically, as it seemed\u00a0<em>\u201cso far away\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and, sure enough, he was quickly exposed to real-world issues happening right on his doorstep:\u00a0<em>\u201cThe college was right next to a detention camp for Vietnamese refugees (referred to as \u201cboat people\u201d at the time). There were riots in the camp several times when I was there, and at one point the police were actually using the college dining hall as their command post.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0At the same time, Mark remembers also being heavily involved in the local community through UWC\u2019s focus on service, and it was this combined experience that helped to shape his desire to work in international development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Mark developed strong friendships from his time at Li Po Chun UWC,\u00a0<em>\u201cmy roommates were from Hong Kong, Canada, Japan and Sierra Leone, and I went on to live in Canada for five years, and I worked in Sierra Leone. I stayed in touch with these guys, and they\u2019ve often been there for me at very important times in my life.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Once he\u2019d caught the travelling bug, Mark says it was difficult to shake, as he was keen to see more of the world and to discover where he could best put his skills to use.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">From Hong Kong, Mark went on to SOAS University of London to study Politics and Economics with a focus on SouthEast Asia. Working for the World Bank a few years later, he travelled to Nigeria to help with a pilot violence mitigation project, and found it so pertinent (and interesting) that he decided to pursue doctoral research on violence and oil production in the Niger Delta. Mark comments,\u00a0<em>\u201cfor me, this is the great privilege that studying somewhere like UWC brings &#8211; you find something that interests you, and you have the confidence to pursue it, no matter where that takes you.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Mark had been set on continuing in academia, but then decided he wanted to return to engaging with international development issues in a more practical hands-on way, so jumped at the opportunity to lead a project for GIZ in West Africa, focusing on regulating mining companies more effectively and on reducing conflict in mining regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Much of Mark\u2019s work has centred around violence mitigation,\u00a0<em>\u201cwe could say peace is the absence of war, that\u2019s one definition of peace, and even if it\u2019s not a very satisfactory one, it does at least give you something concrete to work on.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0And it\u2019s this sense of pragmatism that Mark credits with helping him to stay focused and hopeful in his work,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-makes-no-sense-to-me-to-think-that-you-can-change-everything-the-problems-are-often-very-significant-and-they-affect-people-s-lives-in-terrible-ways-we-can-t-even-imagine-but-if-you-carve-out-your-niche-and-you-choose-to-concentrate-your-energy-there-then-you-can-make-a-difference-mark-mattner-li-po-chun-uwc-of-hong-kong-1995-1997\" style=\", sans-serif\"><em>\u201cIt makes no sense to me to think that you can change everything\u2026.the problems are often very significant, and they affect people\u2019s lives in terrible ways we can\u2019t even imagine, but if you carve out your niche, and you choose to concentrate your energy there &#8211; then you can make a difference.\u201d<\/em> &#8211;\u00a0Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997)<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Mark\u2019s work at the moment focuses on government-to-government assistance, and this has brought with it its own frustrations,<em>\u00a0\u201cyes, the systems I\u2019m working with are often deeply dysfunctional &#8211; but I feel like I have learned ways to navigate them and still make a positive contribution.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Mark alludes to a sense of his own moral compass in helping to guide him in his work,\u00a0<em>\u201cit\u2019s that sense of wanting to do something that is useful, and that I can stand by. Does that mean that I always know what to do, and I always get it right? No, obviously not, but we have to try to do our best. There\u2019s no point in waiting for the system to change, we have to do something about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Mark agrees that there\u2019s certainly a lot to be worried about, the multilateral system breaking down, liberal democratic norms in the West under strain, the planet hotting up, and new diseases springing up. But he believes that education must, and can, play a key role in motivating and empowering future generations to act,\u00a0<em>\u201cthe only way out is to encourage people to think -what can I do?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Mark asserts that learning in diverse environments is an incredibly important part of this as,\u00a0<em>\u201cit gives you more options to think creatively, to problem-solve, and it gives you more resources to draw upon as you listen to different people\u2019s opinions and consider what they have to say.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">It\u2019s easy to be myopic in our thinking, believing that the situation is irreversible, but Mark is reminded of his grandparents\u2019 experience of living in Germany during the Second World War,\u00a0<em>\u201cthey wouldn\u2019t have imagined at the time that one day Germany would see peace again.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Touching on climate change, Mark is also quick to assert how much these issues are inextricably linked with peacebuilding,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-w-e-need-to-get-away-from-this-lofty-view-of-peacebuilding-as-people-then-start-to-question-but-what-does-it-really-mean-to-me-it-s-very-clear-it-s-the-distribution-of-scarce-resources-and-how-we-can-best-organise-them-so-it-s-fair-and-not-violent-at-least-this-is-somewhat-concrete-and-it-helps-individuals-to-see-that-they-can-make-a-contribution-mark-mattner-li-po-chun-uwc-of-hong-kong-1995-1997\" style=\", sans-serif\">\u00abW<em>e need to get away from this lofty view of peacebuilding, as people then start to question \u2018but what does it really mean?\u2019. To me, it\u2019s very clear. It&#8217;s the distribution of scarce resources, and how we can best organise them, so it\u2019s fair, and not violent. At least this is somewhat concrete, and it helps individuals to see that they can make a contribution.\u201d<\/em> &#8211;\u00a0Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997)<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Taking a more global perspective is necessary, Mark points out, as unless we tackle the violent way resources are often managed, we will never reach lasting solutions. In his policy work now, Mark believes that\u00a0<em>\u201ccombining short-term humanitarian approaches, so supporting people with what they need now, while also supporting more longer-term changes\u201d<\/em>\u00a0will be something that brings a tangible positive impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">It\u2019s clear that Mark\u2019s desire as a 17-year-old to go beyond the bounds of his immediate experience, has propelled him forward in his career, leading him to embrace opportunities as they\u2019ve arisen. But he says he wishes he\u2019d been even more assertive in grabbing those chances,<em>\u00a0\u201cI sometimes wish I\u2019d been less timid, and had less trepidation\u2026what would my advice be to younger generations? I\u2019d say, just go for it, the only way is forward, see what the opportunities are, and don\u2019t be afraid to take them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\", sans-serif\" class=\"\">Read more\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giz.de\/en\/worldwide\/40996.html\">here<\/a>\u00a0to find out about the peace, security and disaster risk management project Mark is currently working on at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giz.de\/en\/html\/index.html\">GIZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997) As part of our series of impact stories focusing on peacebuilding, we sat down with Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997) who is currently working for German development agency,\u00a0GIZ, which focuses on international development co-operation and international education work. Looking back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1351151,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","country":[13,199],"story-category":[200,179],"class_list":["post-1351150","impact-story","type-impact-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","country-germany","country-hong-kong","story-category-li-po-chun-uwc","story-category-peacebuilding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Carving out a niche to make a difference - United World College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carving out a niche to make a difference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997) As part of our series of impact stories focusing on peacebuilding, we sat down with Mark Mattner (Li Po Chun UWC of Hong Kong, 1995-1997) who is currently working for German development agency,\u00a0GIZ, which focuses on international development co-operation and international education work. 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