Abu Dhabi: With a globalised world facing several common challenges such as climate change, poverty, and conflict, it will be up to young bright leaders to help come up with solutions for the future, said Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Speaking at the New York University Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) graduation ceremony on Sunday, Dr Gargash encouraged students to continue their journey to make the world a better place.
Dr Gargash was joined by former US secretary of state John Kerry at the graduation ceremony, which saw 253 students from 71 countries receive their higher education degrees.
Also in attendance among the ceremony’s guests was Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
“In this year when we are celebrating the centenary of Shaikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, NYUAD serves as a powerful illustration of how far and how fast we have travelled as a country,” said Dr Gargash, who noted the rapid transformation of the country’s education sector from its humble beginnings.
“We must not let the success make us complacent for it has not happened by chance, but thanks to the incredible contribution from generations of both Emiratis and foreign residents at all levels of our society,” he added.
Dr Gargash said the fresh graduates would now go into a world that would require them to work together with others in order to meet its challenges, which he said was not confined to a single country.
“Many of the challenges we face are not unique to the UAE, but shared by all of humanity, whether it be harnessing the power of new technologies, tackling climate change, reducing extremism, conflict and poverty.
“These are challenges we will all need to work on together, and the truth is that I cannot think of a better place and group of people to take on this task,” he added, noting his confidence in the new graduates and in their ability to make a positive change in the world.
“Remember you’re not the finished product and nor is the world around you, so don’t be afraid of change, embrace it. Don’t accept the status quo, act to transform it,” he said.
Sharing the same sentiments of having to work together in dealing with the challenges of the 21st century, Kerry said that now is not the time for isolationism.
“Our societies, our economies and the world will simply not allow that because we are too interconnected for the possibilities of that approach,” he said.
“No one has the luxury of pretending you can just wall yourself off – and it isn’t only the economic implication that has to concern us. When people – particularly young people – have no sense of hope and no faith in legitimate authority, and there are no prospects for employment or outlets for people to express their concerns, when frustration turns into desperation, we all have a problem,” he added.
“The way we win is by reinforcing the principles of shared responsibility and prosperity that have guided us for decades. That’s what we did from the end of World War 2 until a few years ago. We lived by an institutional structure that brought nations together understanding that we’re all in this together,” he said.
