Graduation Speech at The Berlin-International-School

Dear graduates, dear parents, dear Mrs. Byleberg-Shor, dear Mr. Wegener, dear friends of the Berlin-International-School,

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. As the spokesperson for education policies for the Greens in the House of Representatives in Berlin it’s been really an honor for me to congratulate you, the graduates of one of the best schools in Berlin. But today isn’t about me or about your fantastic school. It is about you, the graduates. Today is the day you enter into the real world, and I am supposed to give you a few hints what it is about. It’s actually not that different from the environment here. The biggest difference is, from now on you will be paying for your decisions, and the real world is not surrounded by a three-foot brick wall.

So my gift to you, Class of 2007, is to tell you about the real world through my eyes, through my experiences and to let you know what your responsibility is. The last years you've been living in a safe environment, running around, talking about Hemingway, or Shakespeare, or whatever you have read here.

Lets talk about the real world for a moment. Being a green representative I of course start with a very well-known and very important problem: Global-Warming and Climate change. The climate change is a problem which concerns all of us. It does not care about race, skin colour, culture or religion. It will affect all of us, our lives, our attitudes - just everything. But it´s not to late! We still can do something against global warming and get its dramatic consequences handled. Save energy, save water, don’t waste any of it. Buy and use energy efficient appliances for instance. Act now, don’t´ wait until it’s to late. We cannot afford to lose a day and it is our and your responsibility to face it and change something, day by day!

But this is not the only problem we are facing. There are of course more problems in the world which need to be taken care of. And it is on us to learn, to be a part of the solutions and to give something back to the society. For instance: How can we provide equal education to everyone? How can we help millions who do suffer, not only from war, but from daily preventable tragedies such as malnutrition and disease? A child born in the U.S. or here in Europe today has life expectancy at birth of 78.6 years. A child born in Sierra Leone has life expectancy at birth of 38 years. In some African nations, 40% of the population is HIV positive, a situation maintained by the absence of affordable medications and suitable health infrastructure. In approximately one third of the world's nations, more than 50% of women can not read and write.

How can we educate our citizens who think responsibly about such problems, and their country’s role in forming a world community to work on their solution? Creating compassionate world citizenship has two aspects, the institutional and the personal. These must be created at the same time, and they must reinforce one another. We will not get decent public attitudes without institutions that nourish the thoughts of inclusive world citizenship. But we also will not sustain those institutions, if we do not work to produce an expanded compassion in people, so that they make real to themselves the suffering of people at a distance. The institutional aspect of world citizenship has been much discussed, and though my proposals here go against the grain of the present administration and its public policies, they are familiar, and therefore can be stated briefly. We should base all our dealings with other nations on the recognition that there are binding moral norms that link us all into an international society. We should work to formalize those norms through international institutions, such as the United Nations and multinational alliances of many kinds, and binding agreements in areas such as environment, sex equality, and the rights of children. We should work to strengthen the international institutions we already have, and to create others in particular areas. We should support these institutions with a true respect for the opinions of those who differ with us.

Now I know I blew some of your minds with my descriptions of what it's really like out there. But if anyone can handle the ups and downs of this planet, it's you guys. You had the best preparation at one of the greatest schools with the finest teachers. As I stare out into this vast sea of shining faces, I see the best and brightest. Some of you will be heads of industry and business. Others of you will go on to great careers in medicine, law and public service. It’s in your hand. Keep on learning, a lifetime long because education is the key to everything! Pursue your dreams, but also take up responsibility for the society!

A good friend of my sent me a postcard years ago with a nice proverb on it: "If you want to change the world, start with the person you see in your bathroom every morning” Thank you. I honour you, and wish you health, happiness and success in life!

Make the best of it class of 2007!