1,250 university students from around the world submitted 2000 word essays in a language other than their native tongue and different from the language of their studies in a contest co-sponsored by the United Nations Academic Impact and ELS Educational Services Inc., a major source of language instruction and the teaching of English as a second language. The seventy winners from 43 countries were organized into six groups based on the six official languages of the United Nations to prepare and present two-minutes speeches on themes related to the post-2015 global development agenda.
These themes included: (1) to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and life-long learning opportunities (2) healthy lives and well-being for all (3) promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all (4) promote peaceful, inclusive, just and accountable institutions and communities (5) ensure the availability of and sustainable management of potable water and sanitation for all and (6) end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Note the emphasis on inclusiveness and sustainability, elements in a culture of peace and nonviolence. Peace is, after all, not only the absence of violence but also the presence of conditions for human development. There can be no peace without economic development, no economic development without community development, and no community development without the opportunity for education. This is public policy as if people matter.
The 70 students in the Many Languages, One World International Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum each commented on these themes as a member of a team speaking the same language in the Great Hall of the General Assembly. They were poised, articulate, passionate, and engaging. They spoke as if we are guests on this planet Earth and must be its guardian.
As I listened to these multi-linqual students, who are studying in many different fields, architecture and anthropology, engineering and economics, physics and philosophy, comment on these urgent issues, I was impressed by how sensitive they were to the roles and responsibilities of individuals, community organizations, governments, and the private sector. I found this sensitivity to these four pillars of progress in any society to be in sharp contrast to that shown by many pundits and politicians whose ideological inclinations give unbalanced attention to this quartet, especially by those who deny the purpose and role of government.
While it is certainly true that governments cannot solve all problems, it is equally true that the market system cannot do so either. Each society must offer a safety net as well as support opportunities for individuals to advance through schooling available to all and not limited to those who by chance are born into wealth. These students seem to understand the interdependence between the rule of law that supports the public good and the private gains that result from entrepreneurial as well as public investment.
With these young people as future world leaders, I have renewed optimism about the fate of our species. Their intelligence, values, and passion give me hope as long as we adults give them the chance to fulfill their plans, which will benefit us as well as their children.
By Robert A. Scott, President Emeritus, Adelphi University Photo: United Nations