Commonwealth Leader Messages Presentation 3r4 Green

© ROYAL COMMONWEALTH SOCIETY WWW.THERCS.ORG/YOUTH

DIVERSITY AND THE COMMONWEALTH | PAGE 1 OF 10


Kamalesh Sharma,

Commonwealth Secretary-General

I am very pleased that it is you – the young people of the

Commonwealth – who are around the table and talking today.

It is you who will inherit this century: the world in all its

wonder; and indeed the world in all its mess, created by the

people of my generation and before. Our hopes rest on your

shoulders: see that as a challenge and an inspiration, not

as a burden.


“

”Extract from a letter to delegates of the RCS Youth Leadership Programme 2008


1. Is the world more full of „wonder‟; or more full of „mess‟?

2. Why does Kamalesh Sharma think that it is good for

young people to be talking?

How does talking help the world?

3. Is it too much responsibility to place on young people to

take on the hopes of the people of the Commonwealth?



Desmond M Tutu, Archbishop

Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

Each of us is amazing. The scientists tell us that genetically

we are more than 99% the same as one another. Wow, isn‟t

that amazing? Yet each of us is unique. That 1% must be very

important. When we have so much in common, it is the 1%

over which we fight and kill each other. Instead, that tiny, small

percentage which makes each of us unique is a cause for

celebration! It is pure gift.


”

“

Extract from a letter to delegates of the RCS Youth Leadership Programme 2008


1. What does Desmond Tutu mean when he says „each of us

is amazing‟?

2. Why do people find it hard to remember that we are all

human beings with so much in common? How do

conflicts happen?

3. How can we celebrate our uniqueness?



Percival N. J. Patterson,

Former Prime Minister of JamaicaI hope that you are very well prepared to dream, to think

big and moderate your ideas as you test them in the real and

ever changing world, rather than to accept the world as it is

and perhaps, as the saying goes, tinker at the edges.

The future depends on you and people like you. It is not only

yours to inherit but yours to manage, protect and

guarantee for your children and those who come after them.

As we say in Jamaica, “Walk good” today and every day.


”

“

Extract from a letter to delegates of the RCS Youth Leadership Programme 2008


1. Why does P. J. Patterson suggest we should „think big‟?

Do you agree?

2. What does it mean to „moderate your ideas‟?

3. How can we manage, protect and guarantee the future?

4. What do you think the saying “„Walk good‟ today and

every day” means?



Nelson Mandela,

Former President of South Africa

I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there

was mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another

person because of the colour of his skin, or his background,

or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn

to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more

naturally to the human heart than its opposite…

Man‟s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never

extinguished.


”

“

Extract from ‘A Long Walk to Freedom’ (published 1995, p.749)


1. Do you agree? Is love stronger than hate?

2. In the last sentence, does Nelson Mandela mean just man,

or does he mean man and woman? What could he have

written instead to make his language more inclusive?

3. What can we do about hatred and conflict? Can we

teach people to love? If so, how?



Decide on an action you can take to help people

around the world have a better life.

Go out and do it!


Commonwealth Leader Messages Presentation 3r4 Green

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