It was arguably the biggest day of their young adult lives—their college graduation.
On Friday, June 7th, the soon-to-be graduates of University of Denver sat in their seats, both eager and anxious to receive their college diplomas that would mark the beginning of the rest of their lives. On the stage before them stood United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, ready to deliver their commencement speech, to impart the words of wisdom to this promising class of young adults that would hopefully remain in their memories for the rest of their lives.
He could have instructed the students on how to manage their money, get a job, fall in love, or stay in touch with people who matter, as many commencement speakers have in the past. But he did not.
So what single piece of advice did the head of the U.N. choose to relay? Ban Ki-moon urged the graduates to be global citizens, to fight to conquer the poverty, hunger, and hatred that currently plagued our world.
In his speech, Ban discussed the U.N.’s by now well-known ambitious road map to eradicate global poverty through a set of Millennium Development Goals by 2030. He further called upon the college graduates to take an invested interest in the world that is being left largely for them to shape.
The University of Denver has worked tirelessly over the past few years towards achieving sustainability goals, and thus Ban’s strong ties with sustainable development advocacy made him a likely candidate for the university’s commencement speaker. His speech resonated well with the student body, and the school granted Ban an honorary doctorate of public service.
As college graduates it is easy to become self-interested, to focus all of one’s funds and efforts on securing one’s own future. What the graduates may not realize, however, is that their own sense of future security depends heavily on the world in which they must live. Without working to eradicate the fundamental inequalities and tensions that global poverty currently promotes, the future may not be as bright for everyone, no matter what plans one may make on graduation day.
In order to ensure their own bright tomorrows, today’s college graduates must work to solidify a future in which the social and economic gap between the developed and developing world does not loom quite so immensely. As the face of the future, these young men and women will determine the world’s fate by where they choose to set their sights.
– Alexandra Bruschi
Source: CT Post,UN News Center,The Denver Post
Photo: Actionable Intelligence