Madam Director General of ORT Uruguay, representatives from partner institutions who are here with us today, academic and administrative leaders of our university, graduates, and their families. We are delighted to see so many families here today because this celebration, of course, belongs to you as well. Graduation is a personal achievement but the result of a collective effort by parents, spouses, and children, who put aside their own demands and needs to support those who are graduating today.
As you know, ORT has a calling to be at the center of the storm—sometimes positive, sometimes negative. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, which found ORT in the most unexpected places, often against its will but always rising to the challenge. We have always remained true to our calling and our conviction that education, in the final analysis, is the salvation of humanity. That is why ORT was able to be present and serve as the only option for a dignified human life in the Warsaw Ghetto and in the camps for displaced persons after the war, preparing people to attempt a very difficult return to normal life. Today, in this knowledge society in which we live, ORT is once again on the front lines, and its message is more relevant than ever.
We hope that all of you, our graduates, have enjoyed your time at the University, that you will remember all the good times, and that you will gradually let go of the rest. We ask for your understanding regarding any shortcomings there may have been, and we ask for your help as we continue to learn how to teach even better. We feel honored and deeply responsible for the trust you placed in us when you chose this university, which is one of the most significant decisions young people make.
As educators, we feel a deep sense of responsibility for our ability to influence the minds and spirits of our students. We educators wield great power—the power to either foster or thwart a person’s dreams, or to cause them to waste their time unproductively, time that no one can ever give them back. Worse still, we educators can confuse or distort values essential to the formation of citizens and professionals. That is why educational institutions must exercise this great power with a strong moral compass to limit it. We must not confuse teaching with an opportunity to spread our own convictions, whatever they may be. Plato already warned of these risks when, in one of his dialogues, Socrates cautions one of his disciples: “You are going to entrust your soul to the care of a man whom you do not know and have no idea whether he will be an influence for good or for evil.” That is why we committed ourselves to you from the very beginning to cultivate shared values in an atmosphere of respect and freedom.
Today is a momentous occasion that you will remember for the rest of your lives, because it marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Graduation is an affirmation of identity, a test you have passed, and an achievement of your own—one of the first in your lives that no one else could create for you and that no one can buy. From now on, you are part of a privileged minority. You are among the most educated in Uruguayan society, which means you will have more opportunities, and along with those privileges come responsibilities.
That is why today I am setting a mandatory task for you. Set ambitious goals for yourselves. Be demanding of yourselves, because that is a prerequisite for being able to demand the same of others. Look beyond the horizon. Push the boundaries of your imagination. As Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge deals with what exists, while imagination deals with what will exist.” Act guided by the compass of ethics and personal integrity, for society has the right to expect from its university students conduct guided by values of honesty and not merely formal adherence to rules. Continue learning always, because knowledge will be your livelihood, and continuous learning must be your ongoing investment. In this, the university will always be your guide and your support. Do not resign yourselves to what our country offers you today, because Uruguay is not what we see today; it is what we can all make of it in the future. You can achieve much with your knowledge, your attitude, and your courage. Uruguay can be a different place once you transform it.
Commit yourselves to the common good. Personal success cannot be the sole measure of the success of our life’s work. Our contribution to others, to our nation, and to our society is the true measure of our worth as human beings. Help, in particular, to reshape our society so that all Uruguayans have real opportunities to access higher education, because in the knowledge society, our value lies in what we know, not in what we have. The sum of a society’s learning is the new measure of a country’s wealth. Every excluded Uruguayan takes us further away from an ethical and safe society. Every excluded Uruguayan takes us further away from sustainable human development. In an ethical and equitable society, everyone must do their part through their work, effort, and dedication, but everyone must also have their opportunity. These two parts of this formula are what you must propose and demand of our elites. Society must support the most vulnerable, not to perpetuate their dependence, but to offer them new beginnings. Help and encourage a change in our culture for the benefit of all. Boldly propose your values and goals to our society. A democracy rusts if it consists only of a minority of activists and a majority of spectators, if its citizens—especially the most educated—retreat into a private world.
Our society is divided by values that are only seemingly opposed, and intelligence and knowledge must serve as bridges of communication. We must propose a new synthesis of values to transcend these false dichotomies. There are those who would have us believe that we must choose between freedom and equity, between solidarity and individual responsibility, between autonomy and accountability, or between the state and civil society. In reality, each needs the other, just as seeds need soil to germinate. There is no real choice between the state and civil society. Without the state, we become Somalia; without civil society, we become North Korea. There is no sustainable prosperity without equity, but neither is there sustainable prosperity without freedom, without entrepreneurship, without innovation…
Let me take this opportunity to share some important news about our university. Next year, we will be launching the first Bachelor’s degree program in Biotechnology in our country. We will also be launching a Bachelor’s degree program in Animation and Video Games, in collaboration with the California Institute of the Arts, with the express purpose of helping to establish a digital animation production industry in Uruguay. We will be launching a Master’s in Technology Business Management, a Master’s in Engineering (Research Track), a Master’s in Economics (Research Track), and a Doctorate in Education. And this year, as a necessary link in this entire chain of new knowledge, we have established a Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
To conclude, I’d like to share a few brief reflections on our country with you, because none of us exists in a vacuum. Something very important has happened recently. We have elected a new government, but will this change—beyond being important—also be transformative? It will only be transformative if, in addition to changing the government, we transform the country in a way that allows us to seize the unique opportunity presented to us in this knowledge society to become a powerhouse. Uruguay can become a creative powerhouse and a hub for knowledge production. What I’m saying isn’t the result of having tasted exquisite Uruguayan wines; rather, ask yourselves why Singapore today has a higher gross domestic product per capita than the United States. The end of the 20th century offered us that great opportunity, but we largely squandered it. Over the years, our society’s leaders mistakenly assumed that Uruguayans were not ready for the 21st century; that we were not ready to open ourselves to the world in all its dimensions—economic, cultural, and migratory; that we were not willing to take risks, to accelerate our education, to think of new ways to create wealth and new criteria for distributing it. The elites’ deference to sacred cows and their reluctance to confront corporate power have, until now, prevented the reform of our society.
But we cannot wait another five years to modernize our country, our education system, our economic model, and our capacity for innovation. Time is a non-renewable resource. For decades, we have invested in an educational and civic heritage that we have been using without replenishing it, and therefore it is going to run out. Our current system of early retirement, lifetime public sector jobs, and a growing percentage of the population that neither works nor studies constitutes a Ponzi scheme that is inevitably going to collapse.
All of us Uruguayans must come together to bring about a revolution, and the true revolution lies in empowering citizens, individuals, and entrepreneurs. To overcome the obstacles posed by corporations, the true revolution is to shift our country’s culture toward an attitude that is more open to the world, more receptive to change, and more willing to embrace entrepreneurship and cultural diversity. Recently, costly modernization efforts have been undertaken in our country with broad social support, but someone will have to tackle the Gordian knots that entangle them and ultimately doom them to failure. For example, in the long term, the limitations of the Ceibal project are Uruguayans’ limited access to the Internet and the lack of flexibility in teaching practices and management in our schools. However, both are strictly prohibited by powerful corporations. Who represents the 300,000 Uruguayans of the new generation who are being educated? Who will demand on their behalf that the investment made not be thwarted because there are many others who want to live in the last century because they benefit from that obsolete established order?
We have significant challenges ahead for the next administration and for ourselves. The most important one is to close the educational gap that prevents us from reaching our cognitive potential. Knowledge is abundant today, but the ability to apply it is scarce because it requires education and the right attitudes. Only one-third of Uruguayans finish high school, and barely over ten percent have a college education. With this stock of human capital, we will not be able to make any major strides. Reforming our education system will be, as Sweden’s Minister of Education—who faces some of these same challenges—recently said, “…difficult, like reforming cemeteries; you can’t count on much help from those inside.”
Another unresolved issue is the development of a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, the appreciation of success, and respect for failure. Success should not be equated with dishonesty, nor should failure be seen as evidence of incompetence. We must foster a public awareness of the right to accountability, ensuring that all recipients of public funds—whether public or private—are held accountable for their integrity, efficiency, and contribution to the public good.
The Uruguay we have in mind is not a pipe dream. It already exists as an invisible nation of innovators who produce for the world—some of whom are graduating here today—creating software, video games, biotechnology, audiovisual products, and other intellectual creations for the global market. These global Uruguayans compete on the world stage at an age when others are still in school, and they ask nothing of the state even as they contribute so much. Many of these Uruguayans are the first generation in their families to have a college education. Their capital isn’t in bank accounts; it’s in their minds and in their relationships. This silent, meritocratic, creative Uruguay must enter the national imagination, from which it is absent, as we saw, for example, in the last election campaign. We must transform this “invisible Uruguay” into one that is visible, assertive, and proud. We must pave the way for them, invite them to stay in the country, and encourage them to bring their partners, clients, and suppliers to settle here as well, because Uruguay can become a global hub of intelligence and creative production. In the future, “Uruguayan product” must be synonymous with quality, innovation, and integrity.
Dear graduates, as I said, this is a special day for you and for us. Let me conclude by inviting you all to work together for a generous and prosperous Uruguay and, above all, whatever your future paths may be, to remain part of the ORT family.
Thank you.