New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday had a message for the youth — take an interest in global happenings — as he underlined that the world which awaits the students of today is a “radically different” one, impacted by AI, technology, drones and electric mobility.
In his address at the 70th raising day of his alma mater, The Air Force School (TAFS) in Delhi, the EAM also said he felt a great deal of sentiments and an “enormous sense of nostalgia” in returning to its campus.
Emphasising the value of school education, he said, “What was instilled in us when we were in schools, has stood us in good stead in life. When I look back how I have navigated through life, a lot of these qualities (imbibed)”.
Referring to his own experience as a veteran diplomat, he underlined that lessons and skills acquired in schools come handy in professional life as well.
“I have spent most of my life in the world of diplomacy, and in diplomacy, you are negotiating all the time. And, to negotiate, you have to really out-prepare and outthink your competitors. And, you can only out-prepare and outthink them if you carry those virtues which teachers try to instill in us, which is do your homework, figure it out, prepare, try to anticipate what is coming,” he said.
Jaishankar, also a former foreign secretary, said those qualities, those habits acquired during school life, really have “stood me in very good stead all these years”.
In his address, he offered a four-point message to the school-going youth, and said his first message was to “take school seriously, listen to teachers”.
“The second message I give, today both as a foreign minister as well as a person from the world of diplomacy, which is, take an interest in the world. Take an interest in the world, because we do live in globalised times, whether we like it or not, the world has come into our homes, the world shapes everything we do,” the EAM said.
The external affairs minister asserted that if India is to prosper as a country, rise as a society, and “if we are to aspire to the goals of ‘Viksit Bharat’, it is important that we recognise the reality of the globalised world, and how profoundly it impacts us”.
He cited the example of COVID-19 pandemic, saying it started in one country and completely changed people’s lives. It in conflicts, as a war may be going on somewhere else, but its impact actually “affects our daily lives”.
“This world, the world which awaits the students of today, is a radically different world. It will be a world of AI, a world of tech, a world of drones, a world of space, it will be a world of electric mobility, of green hydrogen. It will be dramatically different from everything we know,” Jaishankar said.
“I know that every generation says that, but this time believe me, it is the scale of change, the intensity of change, the impact of it on our lives, is going to be profoundly different from anything that we know, possibly anything that we can even imagine. My advice here is, as you go through school, develop an interest in the world,” he asserted.
The EAM mentioned that an interest in the world does not mean that it be taught formally in schools.
It can be developed through music, books, movies, and with smartphones allowing people to connect to the world so much more than before, he said, adding, it is something the generations that will come, they will define the county by their ability to fully take advantages that the world has to offer, and also meet the challenges that the world presents.
Further on the importance of school eduction, the EAM said, “We pick up broader perspectives in and out of classrooms in school”.
He urged students to stay fit and play some sports to retain the competitive spirit.
The Union minister urged students to enjoy life to discover themselves.
“I was presented with a picture of my passing out. I was in the last row (in the photo), trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. There is also a view from the last row that no everybody is brilliant at everything everyday. And, they don’t need to have an issue with that,” he said.
Jaishankar said 70 years of TAFS is being marked, and by a coincidence, “I also happen to be 70 years old”.
Imbued with nostalgia, he said, “When I came back to the building, I knew exactly year my classrooms were”, adding it was “wonderful to be back in this school, where I pretty much did most of my education”. PTI KND MNK MNK
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