Honorable Chief Justice,
Ambassador James Murphy, Cabinet Secretary,
Dr Santos Mahung, President of the University of Belize,
Chair and members of the Board of Trustees,
Faculty and support staff of the University of Belize,
Members of the Corps Diplomatique,
Graduating students and their families,
Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am truly honored to have been afforded this privilege to address those who will be leaders and drivers of policy and action in this beautiful country, a country that feels and looks very much like my own the Republic of Suriname, so I feel very much at home.

My dear friends, it is always a pleasure to be in hospitable Belize and I thank the University of Belize and especially your President and my good friend Dr Santos Mahung for the kind invitation.

Today as I stand here, I am indeed impressed to see so many young and exited citizens of Belize seizing the opportunity for education and graduating as our new leaders and hope for the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we live in very special and in some ways challenging times, many changes are taking place and new opportunities are being created, at the level of the hemisphere, at national level and at the level of the individual. That is why I thought of summarizing this new environment in the title for my speech today “Time for a New Beginning”.

And as I reflected on the theme for this year’s commencement exercise, my initial thoughts were drawn to the symbolism behind the word “horizon” - an imaginary line which disappears as one gets closer.

For some of you, the horizon may represent the seemingly never ending, and possibly sometimes highly frustrating, distance you have travelled to reach this point. However, the horizon also symbolizes unlimited potential and the opportunity to establish your place in this world, regardless of your origin. While your families, your teachers and many others have shaped your present, where you go from here and how you get there is entirely up to you. Because in effect life for you starts now !

Dear graduates, faculty staff, ladies and gentlemen, universities are primarily considered institutions for higher education, for knowledge transfer and knowledge creation, but ultimately universities are institutions that foster change and facilitate progress. And you, my dear friends, will be the agents of this change, you will be the future leaders in the public sector, the business community, in non-governmental organizations, religious and social cultural entities that will be your channels to communicate new ideas, different approaches for an even better future.

Governments should consider the investment in education as a strategic investment in building peaceful, prosperous and stable societies. I believe that in many countries much more of the national budget need to be allocated to education, to better equip educational institutions and upgrade facilities and better remunerate teachers and lecturers. It is clear that an uneducated population will never be able to reach great heights and achieve the ambitions every country should have.

Dear graduates, at the University of Belize, you have been given an opportunity that many in the world long for but may never attain. Think of the education that you have received here as an investment in you future, an investment which should encourage you to give back to your community and your country. You can contribute in many ways. You can give of your time, become involved in your communities, make financial contributions or simply fulfill your role as an active and honorable citizen.

You are privileged and you must feel that way ! At the same time, you must not ignore or forget that there are many like you, or your age, that did not have the opportunity you have been afforded. We cannot and you certainly cannot neglect those many in your own country and communities, as well in the wider world that did not sleep last night with a roof above their head, sleep in a safe environment where the little they own needs to be fiercely defended, sometimes with their lives, the too many that did not have a meal last night and will rise this morning without the luxury or necessity of a breakfast, a decent bath and a future that goes beyond the next day.

Almost 80 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean live under these circumstances. We cannot afford to accept or ignore social exclusion, inequality, discrimination and poverty in our countries. I appeal to you to make it your obligation to assist in a better future for not only yourself but for all.

Friends, your role in society is to give hope, to help create a society build on hard work, old fashioned moral with norms and values that foster unity, harmony and peace.

Be assured that your work and your actions will have effects far beyond the shores of Belize. As a global citizen, it is all the more important for you to choose wisely and purposefully so that your contribution can make a difference. Most importantly, be forever mindful of what President Barack Obama so pointedly referred to as the “fierce urgency of now”. Tomorrow may be too late.

We frequently hear the refrain “education is the key to success”. Yet, the economic and social realities of today challenge our faith in this statement. We encounter graduates who are still unemployed or underemployed and so we tend to become skeptical of the need for devoting time and energy to education. My personal experiences have taught me however, that while education is indeed one key to unleashing our potential, we must be relentless in pursuing all opportunities and all avenues for advancement, even those beyond our area of training.

Consider for a moment the two students who sat in their dorm room and created what is now the most powerful search engine in the world – Google. From this humble beginning, Google has become a part of our daily lexicon and our daily lives. A search engine created in a dorm room is now worth billions and being used to disperse information throughout the world.

Dear graduates, your ability to look beyond the obvious, to explore, to investigate and to challenge yourselves and others will determine your future. Today, the potential of future generations is undeniable. You will have opportunities that your grandparents and even your parents did not have.

Therefore, I believe that you are the crucial building blocks for transforming our economies, strengthening our institutions and securing our democracies. Last year, at the 38th General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Medellin, Colombia, OAS member states paved the way for the mainstreaming of youth and their initiatives into the inter-American system.

This is a cause for which I have long advocated. I am pleased to announce here today that now for the first time we have a Youth Agenda which reflects the importance of incorporating youth into the development strategy of the Americas. At the OAS we believe that placing an emphasis on youth creates a basic framework for advancing development, security, democracy and human rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen, indeed the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter states very clearly that “every citizen has a right to democracy and every government and by extension every leader has a right to uphold it.” This statement has provided exceptional clarity for the OAS in difficult times; it is the organization’s and let me add it should also be member states’ moral compass.

Dear graduates, each of you graduating today is a leader in your own right. As leaders you too will need to find your moral compass- the core values to which you subscribe and which will guide your decision-making. Perhaps the most fundamental of these values is integrity. You will need to establish from the start that your integrity is not a commodity- it cannot be bought, sold or negotiated. It will be your most valuable asset as a human being and the only means through which you will earn respect as a leader and reach higher on the social mobility ladder.

While the tenets of a good leader have been and will continue to be debated for many years, I believe that the fundamentals for good leadership are values that are instilled in us by our parents and mentors including our teachers such as those here at the University of Belize. And allow me to take this opportunity to thank the faculty and support staff of the University of Belize for their unwavering commitment, dedication and vision in educating the young people of this country.

Dear graduates, humility, kindness, honesty and integrity should be your guiding principles for action, the foundation upon which everything else is built. But also be principled in your actions, fight for freedom, make democracy not only a constitutional right, but also a practice embedded in the mind of the people. Freedom and power bring shared responsibilities and obligations to all in society to create a more conducive environment for peace, social and economic progress.

Be decent in your actions, put country and people before yourself. For me it has always been clear: by serving the People and the Nation, you serve also and always your own needs ! But in this respect time has brought change. I regret every time to observe that more and more young people focus on their individual and material needs and less on the common good for all. You will agree with me that we also cannot ignore or accept this attitude.

Finally graduates, I implore you to not allow anyone or any social or economic reality to deter you from realizing your true potential and dreams. Where challenges abound and obstacles can be hard to overcome, determination and a strong moral compass are the two most important forces to propel you to success. In all you do, reach great heights on your own merits. Be ambitious, but also realistic. Be part of the solution and do not become the problem.

Today it gives me great personal pleasure to say that you have made it! Embrace this moment as you look beyond the horizon to the many other successes you will surely achieve. Please take the time to thank your parents and all others who have made it possible for you to stand here today as a member of the graduating class of 2009.

And, as you continue your journey, be willing to brave what can sometimes be a difficult world. Brace yourselves to take the next step forward. Let integrity be your shield, hard work and discipline your armor and truth and honesty your guide.

The time for a new beginning is now ! Cease the opportunity and help create that wonderful world you want to be part of. You have heard numerous times that the future of a country lies in its youth. At today’s commencement, this sentence resonates most deeply. And as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi so brilliantly stated so many years ago, “you must be the change you want to see in this world”. Alone you will not always succeed, but together you will.

Therefore it is my pleasure to offer to the class of 2009 and your parents and families sincere congratulations and wish you well, great success and above all good health.

I thank you for your kind invitation and attention.