About Us...
The Beginning
Barnet Overseas Students Housing Association Ltd was started in 1967 by a group of people concerned about the lack of affordable housing in London for overseas students. Their aim was to provide purpose-built accommodation for full-time post-graduate students from all over the world. Sixty six units now make up this international community on a pleasant, leafy site which they named Nansen Village, after Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1922.
The Organisational Structure
The Association is governed by the Board of Trustees, who volunteer their time. The Board is headed by a Chair and subdivided into Committees, which make decisions and carry out policies on behalf of the Board. The General Manager is answerable to the Board and, together with the staff, is responsible for the daily running of Nansen Village.
The Aims
The Association recognises that students arriving from overseas have greater difficulty finding accommodation than people already here. Nansen Village is therefore primarily concerned with students new to the UK, on low incomes or with children under the age of 5.
To promote cultural diversity within Nansen Village, we aim to have no more than five families from the same country resident at any one time.
Facts and Figures
Over 35 years, Nansen Village has hosted more than 1300 families from over 95 different countries. There are about 170 current residents and more than 279 babies have been born to families in the Village over the years.
Site building and design by: Jessica Gareeb Leonard | www.jessigleonard.com