On behalf of all of my United Nations colleagues here in Viet Nam, let me first say a huge congratulations to the “UNIS Hanoi Class of 2007” on your tremendous achievement in graduating tonight.

            As I believe you all know – and will come to cherish even more in the years ahead of you – you are graduating from a very special school, the only United Nations school outside of UN Headquarters in New York.

            This makes you an extremely special group of graduating students, not only because of your terrific education, but I believe,  even more importantly, for the wealth of experience you have already accumulated just by learning, laughing and almost living together -- no matter your nationality, your gender, your race or ethnic group, your religion or cultural background.  This is what the rest of the world strives for, and you live it everyday here at UNIS. This is not something to be taken for granted.

            I have no doubt that the education you received here and this invaluable diversity of experience, has already led you to a path that  begins with a desire to better the world you live in. And as each of you go forward into that world -- maybe into higher education, maybe into the business world, or to travel the globe – you will come across many different “brands.”

            We all choose to brand ourselves differently, to find ways to set ourselves apart. I’m not just referring to the swoosh on your sneakers, the wave on the soda you drink, or the logo on your t-shirt, but the way way we live our lives. Our world runs on mission statements, on visions, on life philosophies. From big business to self-help books, mission statements help us rally around a common set of ideals. They shape our way of thinking, they inform our actions.

            While you are now graduating from UNIS and will be leaving behind so many memories and so many exams, I hope that you never leave behind this school’s mission statement. And I quote:

            “To encourage students to be independent, lifelong learners who strive for excellence and become responsible stewards of our global society and natural environment, achieved within a supportive community that values diversity and through a programme reflecting the ideals and principles of the United Nations.” (end of quote).

            You live in a world today filled with the likes of Face Book, flat screen TV’s, iPhones, You Tube – it is a world that looks nothing like the one 12 years ago when each of you started out on this incredible educational journey. While it’s difficult to keep up, I do hope for your sake, and for the sake of the world you are entering, that you cling to the ideals of this school. They are a constant in a sea of change. They are a foundation while surrounded by distraction. And they will serve you well.

             We live in a time of unprecedented wealth, and yet unmistakable poverty. You of all people know the global challenges we now face with HIV, with climate change and with rapidly growing levels of inequality where the richest 2 per cent of adults in the world own more than 50 per cent of global household wealth.

            But here again, as you face these and other challenges, you can rely on another great “brand”, in this case in the form of UN principles -- principles that UNIS is based upon and which set it apart: (and I quote)

To promote peaceful solutions to problems;

To develop friendly relations among children and adults of different nationalities;

To promote co-operation and problem-solving in economic, social, cultural and humanitarian matters;

To encourage respect for fundamental freedoms and equality for all, without distinction as to race, gender, language or religion and,

To be a centre for harmonising the action of the UNIS community in the attainment of these common ends. 

            You are a special group of graduating students and though it is a cliché, the world is truly at your feet. Your education, your exposure to the UNIS brand and to the diversity of our world has begun already in the best form possible -- through people, whether they be your friends, your teachers or people you have met and shared with here in Viet Nam.

            And as such, you have already seen much more of the world at this school than many people will experience in a lifetime. This will be part of what sets you apart. Your own brand, your own personal mission statement will be built on these experiences, and on the foundation UNIS and the United Nations itself was built upon.

             I am happy to conclude my few remarks with a special treat for you tonight – the first graduation message given to any class of graduating high school students by our still (quite) new UN Secretary- General, Ban Ki-Moon (and I quote):

Dear Young Friends,

            As graduates of the United Nations International School in Hanoi, you represent much of what is best about the United Nations: people of different backgrounds joining hands in friendship and in search of knowledge and understanding.

            If the United Nations is the international community’s most universal organization, schools like yours provide its earliest training ground. It is a place to prepare all of you for the responsibilities of global citizenship. It is a forum bringing together rich strands of academic thought and world cultures. It is a way to open minds and prepare you to take on the challenges of our time.

            Now as your class disbands, your paths will diverge. But whatever profession or activity you pursue, I hope you will always be united by the bond of global citizenship that this school has forged among you. And I hope you will always identify with the United Nations and its mission.

            In that spirit, please accept my warmest congratulations on your graduation. May the UNIS Hanoi Class of 2007 do the United Nations proud!  

            Congratulations again to all of you and thank you very much for including the United Nations in your special evening.

UN Resident Coordinator

Chair, UNIS Board of Directors

Middle and High
School Principal

2007 UNIS Graduate
End of the beginning

2007 UNIS Graduate
Beginning of the end