Purnama House

PURNAMA HOUSE

PROJECT 2020

UWC Adriatic is an educational institution that is part of the Unite World Colleges (UWC) network, with 18 schools in 18 countries on four continents, where young people from 80 different countries between the age of 16 and 19 study together for the final two years of their high school education. Students in national school systems are selected on merit alone all around the world in thorough selection processes that admit to UWCs students of promise and potential regardless of their socio-economic background. This is made possible thanks to a system of scholarships.

Courage, openness to change, personal example, leadership, altruism and a positive and proactive attitude. These are the guiding principles at UWC Adriatic, which make the students’ experience in Duino (Trieste, Italy), a truly outstanding opportunity for so many youth hailing from every continent to this enchanting corner of North-East Italy in the region Friuli Venezia Giulia, overlooking the Adriatic and encircled by the Carso.

UWC Adriatic was established in 1982 with support from the regional government of Friuli Venezia Giulia and is located on premises owned by the Region, that has given the college full rights of use at no cost.

In 2015 a group of generous UWC Adriatic alumni, the former Rettore of the college, David Sutcliffe and the college donor Liliana Stock Weinberg jointly established the Stock Weinberg - Edward Sutcliffe Foundation in order to help UWC Adriatic thrive and attain a more solid financial situation through the acquisition of movable and real estate assets.

The foundation’s first project was the purchase of a building in Duino (the former Duino Park Hotel), so as to provide UWC Adriatic with a new residence – the Purnama House Project.

David Halpert (AD 83-85), was one of the first alumni to support this project with a generous initial donation that enabled the foundation to buy the building and start renovation works. This acquisition marked a milestone in the college’s history as this is the first real estate item owned by the foundation.

UWC Adriatic, which has exclusive rights of use for the building, started renovating it in the spring of 2020 in order to ensure its compliance with Italian legislation on student residences. At a very critical time for all residential schools, which are required to adopt all necessary measures in order to contain the spread of Covid- 19, being able to increase the college’s residential facilities is a priority. The building features 17 rooms with an en suite bathroom and two apartments for teachers.

The college is now seeking other partners – both corporate and individual – interested in joining David Halpert and other donors in developing UWC Adriatic’s real estate assets.

The first objective is completing renovation works at Purnama House by turning the ground floor (formerly the hotel bar and spa), into a common area available during the academic year for socialising and meeting purposes, while in summer it would be a venue for events, musical and art performances held in partnership with distinguished international institutions. Purnama House features a garden and a swimming pool that also require renovation. Summer activities would also involve using the upper floors, as students would be away on vacation. Necessary funds amount to approximately 200,000 Euro.

The second objective involves developing the college’s fiancial assets, in order to diminish UWC Adriatic’s need to rely on yearly contributions. This would enable this outstanding international educational institution to thrive at a time in which a multicultural education can play a particularly strategic role, enabling the college to continue to be looked upon as a beacon of excellence in education the world over.

David Halpert’s interview on the David Halpert is the founder, portfolio “Purnama House” project on the manager, and chief investment officer UWC Adriatic Youtube channel, of Prince Street Capital. available on the link below:

Prior to founding Prince Street in 2001, David managed a https://www.youtube.com/watch long only EM portfolio at Zesiger Capital Group from 1995 ?reload=9&v=anG8feoVY7I&featu to 2000, and worked in the emerging markets investment re=youtu.be group at Morgan Stanley Asset Management in New York before that.

From 1990-1993, David lived and worked in Jakarta, Indonesia as an equity research analyst. His wife is an Indonesian national, and he speaks and reads the language fluently.

A 1988 graduate of University of California, Berkeley (magna cum laude) and 1995 graduate of the Harvard Business School, David has appeared on CNBC and CNN, and presented at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is conversant in several European and Asian languages and is a director of the American-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Singapore- American Chamber of Commerce. His writings on both economics and politics have appeared in several publications in the US, Asia, and the Middle East.