Date: 04/09/2004
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: University of Zululand Graduation Ceremony
MESSAGE BY CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, DR JG ZUMA, AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY, Bhekuzulu Hall, 4 September 2004
Vice-Chancellor,
Members of the University Senate and Council
Esteemed Parents and Students
Members of the Convocation
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today is an auspicious occasion at this institution.
It is a culmination of many years of hard work by the academic staff and students, and a day of elation as you see the fruits of your labour.
The graduates in our midst today are a unique breed in many ways, made so by both the times they live in, as well as the achievements they have scored under these circumstances.
I would therefore like to express my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of the graduates. You have succeeded against all odds.
While celebrating success today, you also need to be aware of the maze of challenges that lie ahead, through which you will need to navigate.
In many ways, you are the freedom generation, protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights and many other freedoms that were won in the historical struggle against apartheid. You are a generation who will grow and thrive in a community free of racial bigotry, gender oppression and discrimination on the basis of ethnic, religious our political background.
Ahead of you there is a world ready not just for exploration but equal to your innovation, moulding and direction.
We will rely on you for instance to support the efforts to advance and consolidate democracy, protect Human Rights, fight poverty and underdevelopment, combat the spread of HIV and AIDS and make the vision of a better South Africa an achievable goal.
You have no doubt succeeded today, but the yardstick by which society will measure your future success will be how well you address the challenges that face you individually, your community, the country, the continent of Africa and the world.
Significant as this achievement today is, it will mean that your contribution to society as graduates will have a global impact and live long after many of us have gone. You have graduated today with a variety of skills, including expertise in commerce, arts, science and technology. It is these very skills that are essential as we embark together on a journey to develop, reconstruct and transform our country into a prosperous society.
Many students who graduated from this prestigious institution before you are now leaders in various sectors of our society, making an unmistakable contribution to the development of our society. I have no doubt that you will also follow that very path, armed with the qualifications you have obtained.
We congratulate you, on behalf of the University, and in doing so; we also pay tribute to your parents without whose sacrifices none of us would be celebrating here today. These parents have abandoned all manner of comfort, in singular pursuit of their children's education. They have made a right choice and today is very much their day of honour too.
We also like to express our gratitude to your lectures, the many academics whose collective acumen has made you into the proud graduates you are today. Perhaps more than anything else, these academics' commitment to their work is driven, not by profit, but by the strongest of passions. Today they also glow in your success.
Finally, you are a unique of breed of graduates; having achieved all this in the very year that South Africa celebrates a decade of freedom and democracy. But your contributions will be most appreciated in the second decade, as we grow, develop and modernise the First Economy, at the same time as we respond to the challenges posed by the Second Economy. We therefore wish you all the best as you assume the roles of productive citizens of our country.
You now have an obligation to respond not only to the challenges facing our country and our economy, but also to the social, economic and political challenges as identified through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). All Africans, particularly graduates, have this obligation to the continent and its renewal.
But also never forget where you come from. May you find it within your hearts to plough back what you have gained here to your various communities. Your communities need all the expertise they can get, and you cannot fail them.
So stride into the future without losing sight of your past.
Know always that knowledge is light.
It empowers and allows you to play a more meaningful role in society
Congratulations.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
4 September 2004
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: University of Zululand Graduation Ceremony
MESSAGE BY CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, DR JG ZUMA, AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY, Bhekuzulu Hall, 4 September 2004
Vice-Chancellor,
Members of the University Senate and Council
Esteemed Parents and Students
Members of the Convocation
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today is an auspicious occasion at this institution.
It is a culmination of many years of hard work by the academic staff and students, and a day of elation as you see the fruits of your labour.
The graduates in our midst today are a unique breed in many ways, made so by both the times they live in, as well as the achievements they have scored under these circumstances.
I would therefore like to express my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of the graduates. You have succeeded against all odds.
While celebrating success today, you also need to be aware of the maze of challenges that lie ahead, through which you will need to navigate.
In many ways, you are the freedom generation, protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights and many other freedoms that were won in the historical struggle against apartheid. You are a generation who will grow and thrive in a community free of racial bigotry, gender oppression and discrimination on the basis of ethnic, religious our political background.
Ahead of you there is a world ready not just for exploration but equal to your innovation, moulding and direction.
We will rely on you for instance to support the efforts to advance and consolidate democracy, protect Human Rights, fight poverty and underdevelopment, combat the spread of HIV and AIDS and make the vision of a better South Africa an achievable goal.
You have no doubt succeeded today, but the yardstick by which society will measure your future success will be how well you address the challenges that face you individually, your community, the country, the continent of Africa and the world.
Significant as this achievement today is, it will mean that your contribution to society as graduates will have a global impact and live long after many of us have gone. You have graduated today with a variety of skills, including expertise in commerce, arts, science and technology. It is these very skills that are essential as we embark together on a journey to develop, reconstruct and transform our country into a prosperous society.
Many students who graduated from this prestigious institution before you are now leaders in various sectors of our society, making an unmistakable contribution to the development of our society. I have no doubt that you will also follow that very path, armed with the qualifications you have obtained.
We congratulate you, on behalf of the University, and in doing so; we also pay tribute to your parents without whose sacrifices none of us would be celebrating here today. These parents have abandoned all manner of comfort, in singular pursuit of their children's education. They have made a right choice and today is very much their day of honour too.
We also like to express our gratitude to your lectures, the many academics whose collective acumen has made you into the proud graduates you are today. Perhaps more than anything else, these academics' commitment to their work is driven, not by profit, but by the strongest of passions. Today they also glow in your success.
Finally, you are a unique of breed of graduates; having achieved all this in the very year that South Africa celebrates a decade of freedom and democracy. But your contributions will be most appreciated in the second decade, as we grow, develop and modernise the First Economy, at the same time as we respond to the challenges posed by the Second Economy. We therefore wish you all the best as you assume the roles of productive citizens of our country.
You now have an obligation to respond not only to the challenges facing our country and our economy, but also to the social, economic and political challenges as identified through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). All Africans, particularly graduates, have this obligation to the continent and its renewal.
But also never forget where you come from. May you find it within your hearts to plough back what you have gained here to your various communities. Your communities need all the expertise they can get, and you cannot fail them.
So stride into the future without losing sight of your past.
Know always that knowledge is light.
It empowers and allows you to play a more meaningful role in society
Congratulations.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
4 September 2004
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