Our Global Future: Harnessing Education's Power

Our Global Future: Harnessing Education's Power

Occasional Address by The Hon Alexander Downer, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the International Degree Conferring Ceremony, University of Melbourne, 18 December 1997.

Introduction

Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Members of the Academic Staff, Graduates and their Parents and Families, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure to be here this evening, and to have the opportunity to speak at this international degree conferring ceremony.

I know that the formal end of any worthwhile academic course of study brings with it a powerful mix of emotions and feelings - a great sense of achievement and pride, a sense of relief, and a sense of regret as a highly significant part of life comes to an end.

This is even truer when the institution involved is as highly regarded and innovative as the University of Melbourne.
All of you who are graduates here this evening - and your parents and families - have much to be proud of, as does the University of Melbourne and all those associated with this event. I congratulate you on your fine achievement.

It is a time to celebrate all that you have achieved, savour the plaudits you have won, and then set yourselves firmly to face the future with new confidence and assurance.

Globalisation : Challenge and Opportunity for the Future

The world of today is barely recognisable when compared with the world which faced your parents in their early twenties.
And it is a radically different world to the one that challenged your grandparents' generation when they were young adults.
Of course, change has always been with us, but the difference today is that the pace of global change is quickening.
Globalisation is shaping and reshaping today's world and the world of tomorrow - your world - in extraordinary and far-reaching ways.

The defining feature of globalisation is that firms, social networks, political structures and information flows are increasingly being organised along transboundary lines with the emphasis on the exercise being undertaken rather than on traditional boundaries.

What globalisation is teaching us then is that the greatest security we have, comes from excellence, innovation and adaptability.

It comes from the dynamic ability to deploy and expand our skills and talents as individuals and societies.

It comes from knowing that we have the strength and resources to meet any challenges that come our way - not always by ourselves, but often with the help and support of our friends and neighbours.

The real choice for Australians - and, I believe, for most other people in the world - is the extent to which we participate in a wealth-generating process of global proportions, and harness its potential, not whether we participate.

That is why the future will belong to those who embrace globalisation and are willing to prepare for it.

And education is the key to preparing for our shared, global future.

The world of tomorrow will require people with a genuine depth and breadth of talents - not just the formal skills found in the engineering, scientific, economic, legal, medical or other professions - vital though they are - but many other skills as well.
The global information and telecommunications revolution is an excellent example of what I am talking about.

New forms of communications technology, emerging by the month, are ensuring that no corner of the world will be untouched by globalisation.

The notion of a purely domestic market is becoming obsolete with the spreading use of the Internet. Once a product or service is available on the Internet, it can be sold to the world at large.

Recent estimates suggest that the value of goods and services transacted on the Internet will grow from its current value of less than $US 5 billion per year to between $US 100 billion and $US 150 billion by the year 2000. And before too long, it will be possible to access the Internet not just in English but in the user's own language.

The fast growing services sector is another dynamic part of the global economy which offers unique challenges and opportunities for tomorrow's professionals.

To succeed in this demanding sector, you will need to understand and work in a range of different cultures, languages and legal and financial systems. You will need to think and act in region-wide and global terms.

That is why tomorrow's world will require people who are willing to embrace the world around them and all that it offers.
It will require people who can shape global and regional forces to the advantage of their societies and enterprises, and not be cowered and defeated by them.

Harnessing Education's Power: The Key to a Better Global Future

Above all, the 21st century will be the century of the `knowledge worker'.

Universities are sources of the new knowledge which will be needed by tomorrow's leaders, and are key repositories of the wisdom and insight we have garnered to date.

If the process of global enrichment is to continue unabated, universities and other applied institutions will need to drive the development of global knowledge workers.

Australia has made a strong policy commitment to promoting education, not just for Australians but for people from throughout the Asia Pacific and beyond, in preparation for the new millennium.

I know that the new skills and insights you have gained here in Australia will help you build your own futures with pride, and the futures of your countries with equal pride.

But the vital contribution you make to the success and stability of your home countries will do more than enhance the lives of your friends and families.

It will lay the foundations for the wellbeing and security of people throughout the Asia Pacific.

I believe that Australia needs to do more to recognise this important link between knowledge and the development of better and more effective relations between countries.

We need to harness the intellectual `horse power' of the Australian university system.

We need to place this unique educational asset in the service of our national interests more systematically and productively.
That is why I am delighted to announce today that Australia will have its first ever Foreign Affairs Council.

The Foreign Affairs Council will comprise a panel of distinguished and highly qualified individuals - drawn largely from Australia's universities and including some of the nation's foremost academic brains.

The Council will have a range of people with expertise in diverse disciplines and professions.

The Council will provide a new mechanism for the Government to obtain business and community perspectives on a broad range of political and strategic issues.

The Council will complement the work undertaken by my Department and other departments and agencies. It will also parallel the work of the Trade Policy Advisory Council which provides advice to my colleague, the Minister for Trade, Tim Fischer.

This is a significant and practical innovation in Australia's foreign policy.

I see the Council making a valuable contribution to the development of foreign policy on a continuous basis, and acting as a forum for canvassing ideas and insights.

It will help bring the collective wisdom of our academic community and other prominent experts to bear on some of the most pressing and complex issues relevant to Australia's foreign and trade policy and the future of our region.

Australia's Universities - A Regional and Global Asset

Australia has a proud history of educating people from throughout our region and the world as a whole. All of you are worthy custodians of that tradition.

According to UNESCO's global estimate, 1.35 million tertiary students study outside their home countries. And Australia hosts more of these students on a per capita basis than the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada. This, I believe, is a clear indication not just of the quality of our institutions but of the attractiveness of our lifestyle and the friendliness of the Australian people.

This evening, we have graduates from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan, and the South Pacific - as well from every other corner of the globe - the Middle East, South Asia and the Western Hemisphere.

You will take back to your countries what I hope are wonderful experiences and memories of Australia beyond the lecture room and the computer terminal.

I know that you have enriched Australia and our quality of life immeasurably during your time here.

You have enriched the lives of your fellow students and your teachers.

You are part of an historic process through which Australia is becoming ever more open and receptive to the world and region around it.

You have also been part of a great institution with a remarkable tradition of excellence in higher learning and personal development.

The University of Melbourne can boast many alumni who have gone on to make extraordinary contributions to the life and work of the Asia Pacific. To mention only four of the more prominent alumni:
. Dato' Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia's Minister of Entrepreneur Development;
. Mechai Viravaidya , Chairman of the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand;
. Khun Nukul Prachuabmoh , a former Thai Minister for Finance and former Governor of the Bank of Thailand, and the first Thai graduate of the University of Melbourne; and
. Mr Lionel Lim from Singapore, Managing Director of Sun Microsystems.

Conclusion

I know that similarly, many of you - when you return home - will become leaders not just in your respective fields of expertise but more broadly in the social, political and economic life of your home countries.

I hope you will take with you a simple but important message - a successful global future requires a global education, and it requires deep respect for the cultures, values and experiences of others.

I also very much hope you will take with you a genuine love for Australia, and the warmth, friendliness and openness of its people.

Wherever your career leads you in the future, go forward knowing that you will always have friends and colleagues in Australia.

You will always be linked with this country and your fellow graduates in a profound way.

It is the unbreakable bond of shared experience, of shared endeavour, and of shared success.

The time you have spent in Australia has made you a member of our remarkably diverse Australian community.

But it has also made you a truly international citizen - a citizen of the world.

Once again, let me congratulate you on your wonderful achievement in completing such hard won degrees.

You have achieved much already, but I believe your greatest and most lasting achievements are yet to come.

I wish you every success in the future.