Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The
United Nations International School Commencement Address
New York, NY
June 2, 2011
Transcript
Excellencies... Board of Trustees Chair Nandan... Executive Director Dymond... Administration... faculty and staff... Families... friends... and members of the United Nations International School class of 2011... Good afternoon and thank you! It is a great honor for me to be part of this very special occasion, and I appreciate you including me.
I also want to thank you for inviting me to New York. This city, as you very well know, is a bustling international epicenter of commerce and finance, art, entertainment and diplomacy. Beyond all that...we have two grown kids who live here now, so that makes it even better!
There's another family reason I'm glad to be here. My lovely wife Defne is a proud alumna of the United Nations International School. We've been married for more than three decades, and I am grateful every day for her love, her friendship and her profound influence in my life.
Like today's graduates, Defne spent some of her most important formative years as a UNIS student. And I can tell you - as she would - that she has been greatly blessed by the lessons and relationships she gained at your very special alma mater.
I want to begin by congratulating today's graduates.
You've worked hard... You've been dedicated to your studies and other worthy pursuits... And you've been part of a community of individuals like no other. Congratulations to all of you...the United Nations International School class of 2011.
This is your day, so enjoy it... relish it... don't ever forget it or where you've come from. But not before you honor your friends, families, faculty and loved ones who have joined you here today.
So please, class of 2011 - rise for just a moment with me and let's give a big, hearty round of applause to these incredible people who have nourished your minds and souls for all these years.
Parents... guardians... friends... loved ones... your guidance, your support and your love has been essential to the growth and maturity of these graduates... and this should be a very proud day for you as well. Congratulations to each and every one of you.
As I look out at all of you - many of you in traditional clothing - I feel right at home. Like many of you, I was born into a diplomatic family.
In fact, I was born right here in New York, when my father was serving as the Turkish Consul General. A career diplomat, my father was stationed around the world, and our family was with him... in India, Thailand, Iran, Poland and Sweden.
Like you, I was given the great gift, at an early age, of meeting and befriending wonderful people from all walks of life, from all over the world.
Today, at The Coca-Cola Company, I'm surrounded by some of the world's best and brightest. At our Atlanta headquarters alone, our people represent more than 50 languages.
Which is pretty good... unless we compare ourselves to your school, which brings together some 90 languages!
At Coca-Cola , we do business today in 206 nations. That's 14 more countries, I hesitate to add, than are members of the UN.
And while we are proud of what we do at Coca-Cola , I realize that we're refreshing people, not securing world peace. So we all have our jobs to do!
Graduates, I don't need to tell you what a tremendous gift you've been given here at UNIS. In a world that is more globally connected and interdependent than ever, you have a truly invaluable head start.
People often ask me how important it was for me to grow up as I did. Living in different places... Meeting people from so many different cultures... Constantly building new relationships.
And I can honestly tell you that it has made all the difference to my career and my life.
I travel the world on behalf of Coca-Cola. Over the years, I've had the privilege of visiting most of the nations represented here today. And, as distinctive as each culture is, I find there's something familiar about each one - and you will as well.
Each of you is - after all - a citizen of the world. And even as you appreciate what is unique about individuals and communities and nations, you'll see the common threads that bind us together. Those insights will serve you well, trust me.
Today, I have one simple question, graduates: What are you passionate about?
That's the question of the hour...and I'll tell you why. There is inherent dignity and fulfillment in honest work of any kind.
Putting in the time. Doing the work. Providing for yourself and others.
But there is a special level of fulfillment when you match your passion with your vocation... when you connect what you love with what you do.
I can tell you this from personal experience - because I love what I do, and I can't wait to get started, each and every day.
I wish the same for you.
As internationalists, you know this new century is one of great challenges and even greater opportunities.
The challenges are obvious: global conflict... human rights... disease... climate change... esource scarcity. The very things that keep the people who work here very busy indeed.
And yet the world is not all doom and gloom. Not hardly.
In fact, by 2020, a billion people will enter the global middle class. The world will grow $20 trillion more wealthy... and record numbers of people will flock to cities in search of a better life.
Today, demographic and lifestyle patterns suggest we're heading into a world that's more youthful, more mobile, more healthy, more affluent and more committed to positive change than ever before.
As UNIS graduates, you are uniquely equipped to make a difference in seizing the opportunities and solving the challenges of our time.
Fifty years ago, UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold perished in a plane crash on a peace mission in what's now Zambia... And the world lost one of the last century's truly great statesmen.
Hammarskjold once said, quote, "We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours."
Graduates, I trust you will remember these words as you begin the next phase of your life. Because, while there are certain things - the frame of our destiny - we cannot change, there is a vast, open expanse of canvas for you to leave your mark. And I know you will do just that.
Graduates, I look at you and I see the great hope and promise and potential of this new century. I have every confidence in you and your generation... and I wish you every success, joy, and happiness along the way.
Thank you very much!
i have read entire message goven to grads. Essence of this message is to have a long term vision... Destiny is not in our had but we have vision which will surely have enfluence on journy of life...Your prediction of change in poulation demography in near future, is really praiseworthy.....thanks & wish you all the best for your entire life....