President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sargsyan, who is in the United Arab Emirates on a working visit, was the keynote speaker at the Youth for Sustainability conference in the framework of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week forum in the United Arab Emirates.
“For me, this is a journey through time, a journey into the future, because one day, maybe fifty years from today, one of you will be standing here and telling the other generation about his or her life experience, presenting his thoughts about the future. I hope you will remember me on that day and in fifty years you will send me your greetings, “said the President, addressing the youth.
“You are the future. I think time is one of the greatest values in our lives,” the President said.
He said hundreds of years ago people were passing on their profession to their children, but now – at the crossroads of civilizations, new technologies – stability in the ever-changing world first of all implies that you cannot hope that your work will continue forever. ”
According to the President, stability in the ever-changing world implies development. “Stability today means more opportunities. And we must take advantage of it,” President Sarkissian said.
“This is much easier nowadays. Today, if you have a bright mind, you are smart, you learn fast, you go to university, you are active, you have a vision, you have great opportunities as the age of success is getting younger and younger. If you said years ago that someone could become a billionaire at the age of 25, people would laugh at you. But today, when I talk to young people, everyone wants to be the future Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. This shows that the world is changing,” the President stated.
“The one who succeeds in getting the information, studying and using it, has the vision and the ability to process that information and go 30-40 years ago to understand what will happen in the years to come. He has to have the vision, the plan, the strategy, and implement it every day,” he added.
As an example the President cited his dream of flying into space, the President said: “When I was very young, the first man flew into space. His name was Yuri Gagarin. It seemed to be science fiction. How can a man go to space? From that day on, however, I began to dream of flying into space. And all the time in my life I keep thinking whether I can fulfill my dream or not. At first I was a scientist, and to get to the universe one had to be physically strong, trained, and an astronomer, which meant that the young mathematician couldn’t do it. Then I became a diplomat, then a Prime Minister, then I became a free man, a businessman, but my dream remains. When I was very close to fulfilling my dream and had enough money to become a space traveler, I became President. But I continue to dream, and may become the first President to fly into space”
President Sarkissian stated that the world is changing, but it is more or less the same in terms of human values. “We should not be afraid of these changes,” he said. “Everything will change much faster, it will change every day. If in the 1960s and 1970s there were only two superpowers that could send humans into space, now even private companies are thinking about it. Flying into space will become a commonplace. 30, 40, 50 years ago, everyone was afraid to lose the jobs because of computers. But computers created hundreds of millions of jobs. Now artificial intelligence is coming, but you need not worry, because your natural, human intelligence is millions of times more powerful than any artificial intelligence. It will help you create robots, multiply your physical strength as you use robots, and make your life more creative. You will be involved in creative work, not physical activities.”
“We have begun to realize how much we benefit from the industrial revolution, but at the same time we have done a great deal of damage to nature and climate. However, using the same technologies that we have been creating for hundreds of years, we will be able to heal the wounds of the world. With new technology and your talent we can clean our world. There are three solutions to healing the world and moving it forward: the first are technologies that have created the genius of mankind. And you will continue that work. The second is the human potential that is not fully utilized; it is the talent of young people, including women. And third, we have to be smart,” Armen Sarkissian stated.
“May God help us be smart enough. We should not be afraid of technology. The only thing we should be afraid of is ourselves, as we can use nuclear energy both for and against. We can use any great idea for the good or the bad. So my message to you is that the most important are your human values, your morality and your humanity. Do not be afraid of anything,” the President concluded.
