Secretary-General, in Remarks to UNA-USA Global Classrooms Model United Nations,

Stresses Importance of Truth, Courage, Principles, Practical Ideals

 

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the UNA-USA [United Nations Association-United States of America] Global Classrooms Model UN Conference in New York on 12 May:

Good evening, everyone.  Welcome to the United Nations.  Thank you very much for your warm welcome.  It should be me that is welcoming you, but you are welcoming me.  And thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for your warm welcome.

I just wanted to show you, not just tell you, what the Member States are doing in the United Nations.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million.

[VIDEO SHOWN]

The most important thing, the purpose of my meeting you is to hear from you.  I will try to be very brief; I will just say a few words.

We can talk about the issues around the world, starting from climate change, the Millennium Development Goals and the situation currently happening in the Arab [world], Côte d’Ivoire, Libya and elsewhere.

I’d like to tell you:  Be free.  Since it is not every day that you might be able to get to know better and speak to a Secretary-General of the United Nations, perhaps you may ask, instead all of these official questions, some personal questions, about me and my life, and about what you expect from the United Nations.

Someday, I am sure that one of you may be standing in my place.  By that time I expect that the Secretary-General will be called “she” or “her”.  It has always been a man who has been taking this position; particularly young ladies, try to have big ambitions.

The United Nations is just that:  a group of like-minded people, like-minded nations determined to do good, determined to change the world, determined to make a world better for all, and this Organization begins with action, action by many, in the here and now.  Your leadership begins today.  It begins with what you are doing this minute.

What I have discovered in my long life is that the future has a way of arriving sooner than you would expect.  This is very important.  Look at the revolutions in North Africa.  They were led by people no older than you.  It was the same in Eastern Europe 20 years ago, when students in Prague and Berlin took to the streets to demand change, demand for greater freedom, demand for real, genuine freedom and democracy.

Now we have new technology to make this easier, faster and more direct.  There are authoritarians in our world who fear weapons of war less than they fear a single Tweet.  They know how to fight armies, but I don’t think they have any idea how to defeat Facebook.  Young people are driving this groundswell of change in the nature of our society, how business is done, and even how we elect our leaders.

The United Nations can be an old-fashioned place.  I am trying to transform this Organization, this hierarchy, into a network.  That is because we live in a network society, where position matters much less than energy, engagement and creativity.  All of those are the province of youth.

There is so much I would like to say to you, but I will focus on three things.

First:  say what you mean.  Always try to live in truth.  Be true to yourself.  And know who you are and what you are.  Be true to your principles.  Be careful what you think, because what you think shapes what you say, and what you say shapes your actions.  Your actions shape your character, and your character will define your destiny.

Second:  living in truth takes courage, so you have to be brave.  Being brave means more than being cool in dangerous circumstances; it means being willing to take a stand for beliefs, even when those beliefs might expose you to disagreement, controversy or sometimes even persecution.  Be brave and be bold.

That is what I am doing.  I know that not all of the people around the world will like me.  Not everybody likes what I say, particularly when I am critical and I am criticizing or condemning those violations of human rights, where people are suppressing the free will of young people like yourself, and free will of women and girls and many people.  That is what we are seeing in many parts of the world at this time.

And finally, embrace a vision larger than yourself.  The roads we walk are long and winding; the lights we pass are often blinding.  Let your principles - the United Nations principles - be your guide.  They can lead to a life of greater meaning and larger purpose.

I often talk to young people this way:  “Keep your head above the clouds, but stand with your feet on the ground.”  That means keep your high ideals, but stay practical.  Our ideals are in the United Nations Charter.  The UN stands for justice.  The UN stands for peace.  The United Nations stands for dignity for all people.

When I travel, I always try to visit the United Nations Association.  But I will be honest with you:  it is mostly people of my generation who are active in United Nations Associations.  We need their wisdom and their experience, but we also need your energy and your ideas — the young generation.

So I hope, when you leave today, when you graduate and go on to your career, you will support the United Nations.  What I would like to tell you, as I close my brief remarks:  Try to be a truly global citizen.  You may come from the United States or some other country, Japan, or elsewhere, but try to look beyond your national boundary.  You are, of course, a citizen of a certain country where you come from, but try to be a global citizen.  That is what I would like to ask you.  As a global citizen, the world depends upon your leadership, your vision.  I am a leader of today, but you are soon going to be a leader of tomorrow.  Prepare yourself, try to be imaginative and visionary — cultivate yourself and try to be a global citizen.  That is what the United Nations wants — that will ensure that you will be living in a better world for all.

Thank you very much for your attention.

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For information media • not an official record