Dartmouth, Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Good morning. I would like to thank the Coady International Institute, and especially Mary Coyle, for organizing this meeting with you.

I would like to leave as much time as possible for the discussion, because I am very interested in hearing your ideas about and your approach to international development.

It is a great pleasure for me to hear from young people who believe that citizen engagement is paramount to the democratic health of our world.

I think our discussion today will be an opportunity to strengthen and celebrate that spirit of solidarity that drives you and that unites you and me.

Your commitment no doubt started with a strong conviction that you have the power to change the world for the better, to narrow some of the gaps that exist between people, and find a better way to share our know-how and our wealth.

And I have to tell you, you are absolutely right.

What you are doing, all the actions you take, at school, in your neighbourhood, in your community, and even in other countries… I hope you know that all these actions are inspiring an entire generation of young people.

You are examples to be followed.

You are expanding our understanding of the world.

I believe in your commitment.

I believe in your willingness to translate your ideas into action.

Because I believe in the power of saying yes to humanity and no to the notion of “every man for himself.”

Like you, I believe that the most productive approach to community development depends on mutual assistance, dialogue and sharing.

I know this because I was born in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

I know that solutions can only come from citizens who take charge.

Citizens who work together and join forces and ideas with people on the other side of the world.

In so doing, a circle of solidarity is created—potentially all around the world—and in this circle, people guide and assist those who sometimes need a helping hand.

I think that this philosophy of guidance is the way of the future.

We are all responsible for the future of our world.

And we all win when we work together to find ways of fighting poverty.

I saw this with my own eyes on my recent trip to Africa.

And it just so happens that Mary Coyle was a member of the Canadian delegation that accompanied me last November on my first State visits to five African countries: Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco.

And I would like to point out that the delegation did have youth representatives.

Because, in the countries we visited, young people are often the majority and the ones coming up with solutions.

One of the things I learned from that extraordinary experience is that the knowledge that you, as young people possess, and your willingness to act, are the most powerful tools we have to alleviate hunger, quench thirst, and share knowledge.

Everywhere I went in Africa, I met graduates of the Coady International Institute and Canadian aid workers striving with their African partners to find solutions to concrete problems.

To see the work young people are doing on the ground, and to see the importance of their contribution reflected in the eyes and words of those with whom they have developed partnerships and friendships was an important lesson for me, one that I want to share with all young Canadians.

After all, we live in one of the most affluent countries in the world by sheer luck. And I strongly believe that with this luck comes responsibility.

An absolute responsibility to create opportunities for those with the greatest need.

I hope you know, dear friends, that what you have accomplished, and what you are trying to accomplish completely contradicts the old stereotype—still prevalent today—that young people in affluent countries are indifferent and self-centred.

Let us be frank—another misconception is to perceive young people as consumers without a social conscience.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

You are proof positive of that.

My greatest wish is that others will follow your example and that we will find new ways of living together.

We need ways that are more fair.

Ways that are more equitable.

Ways that are—dare I say it—more humane.

As I said at the national conference for Engineers Without Borders, this goes for developing countries as much as it does for us, here, in a country full of opportunity.

We must not forget that there is a developing world right here in Canada that we can no longer ignore.

Let us admit once and for all that the developing world is closer than we think.

Look around you.

You will see that the challenges faced by your fellow Canadians also need approaches like the ones you so passionately advocate.

Think about it.

After all, the situations that helped you decide to give so much of yourselves to help others do not exist only on the other side of the world. They exist here in Canada as well: think, for example, of the many Aboriginal communities across our country that have poor access to drinkable water, to health services, governed by despair and a sense of hopelessness.

How could you or do you reach out to them too? In that same spirit of partnership and solidarity …

How can you or do you take what you have experienced in the global world back home?

I will conclude my opening remarks with that challenge, so that we may begin our discussion.

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.