Dubai: They may look like they have nothing in common, but West Indian cricketer Brian Lara and the stars of the hit TV series of Suits Sarah Rafferty and Gina Torres were united in their goal of stressing the importance of education and chasing your dreams.
In a session, led by comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner held at the Global Education & Skills Forum, the actors looked back at their eventful journey and their childhoods.
Rafferty, whose mother is a teacher, spoke about how being empathetic has helped her tremendously in her craft. Asked if her mother as an educator had a tougher job than Rafferty who is a mother of two children, she said “certainly my mother.”
“She was so passionate about teaching … When I was a child I was sad that my mother wasn’t playing with me and then I remember being in eighth grade and seeing the students she taught and that made a difference,” said Rafferty, adding that she took her own daughter to her mother’s classroom before she retired two years ago. Torres also spoke about how her childhood in New York City in Bronx and how it had shaped her.
Cricketer Lara also spoke about how being tenacious helped him conquer the world of cricket. Lara also reminisced about his childhood. “We had a cricket team in our homes. I was batting on the tenth position in my family and I had to work my way up,” said Lara, who has secured several world records in cricket. When the West Indies former captain was asked about the best bowler, he said ‘Wasim Akram’. “He always made me feel stupid,” said Lara.
Former Prime Minister of Britain also made an appearance and spoke about the importance of education and said that the biggest injustice in the world today is denying the rights to education
“Education has always been a passion for me and this is one of the important conferences in the world today … Education is the key to the future. If you look at the world today, there is no country that can succeed without educating their world today. If we are not educating younger minds then we are not giving them a chance in life. I had a privileged education and without it I would never have done the things I did,” said Tony Blair.
