Our Global Future

2022-07-18

今天，西外高中国际部十二年级的中外师生家长们相聚在线上平台，举行了一场别开生面的毕业典礼。这一届的西外高中国际部的毕业生，尽管遇到了疫情带来的各种压力与挑战，仍然取得了优异的学习成绩与升学结果。在西外任教十年，来自美国的Enrico校长，首先在毕业典礼上致词。他充满深情的演讲，给这些即将离家远赴海外深造的中国学子们提出了殷切的期望：

“最后，你们有能力和机会去在任何地方做很少人才有能力做的事情：在世界和文化之间架起桥梁。现在，对于刚刚完成高中学业的学生来说，这似乎是一项艰巨的任务。但事实上，你们在西外的教育为你们完成这一使命做好了充分的准备。你们在双语、多元文化的环境中成长并取得了成功。你们的老师让你们了解了自己国家和西方的伟大思想、历史、文学和文化。那么，在中国和世界其他国家之间建立理解和友谊方面，有谁比你们更好呢？有谁能比你们更好地提供跨文化知识与合作的范例呢？有谁能比你们更好地为我们指明一条通往和平繁荣的国家和世界的道路呢？你们可能没有意识到这一点，但在未来几年里，你们每天的言行将在实现这一未来发挥至关重要的作用。”

Students, parents, fellow teachers, distinguished guests – thank you all for joining us today. And to the young men and women of the Xiwai International High School Class of 2022: Congratulations on your achievement! You have worked, studied, persevered, and sacrificed for many years to reach this point. Some of you have been at Xiwai since kindergarten; others joined us more recently. But all of you should be proud of the great accomplishment that we are celebrating here today. This is a milestone in each of your lives – the closing of one chapter, and the beginning of a new journey whose destination is yet unknown. You do not know now what the future holds – but today, you should savor the present.

I have to confess that I was really looking forward to having your graduation ceremony on campus. Actually, I started thinking about what I was going to say to all of you in this commencement speech more than a year ago. I love the Class of 2022. You are a truly amazing cohort of students: brilliant, talented, funny, ambitious, often frustrating, sometimes even maddening – but always inspiring. I have taught some of you for all three years of your High School career – and working with you has been my honor and privilege. You are a collective example to our current and future Xiwai students of what is possible when you have the will, determination, and resourcefulness to strive and to excel. So part of me is sad that I cannot give you a proper send-off in person.

But in a way, it is fitting that your graduation ceremony is taking place online. When you were just starting High School, you became the first Grade 10 class to have to shift to online learning because of the pandemic. Now, you are the first Grade 12 class to graduate from Xiwai on a digital platform. History has come full circle. In addition to the many months spent at home studying on your laptops or tablets, quite a few of you also faced the unexpected setback of AP and A Level exams being cancelled. Usually, in these speeches, I tell students that they need to be prepared for a world that is volatile and unpredictable. But you have already experienced much of this volatility firsthand – and you have shown that you have the ability to adapt and to overcome such challenges. So I am not too worried about whether you will survive in the world you are about to enter.

Instead, I want to say a few words about your role as international students. Frankly, this is a difficult time to be internationally-minded. All over the world, we see rising nationalism; tensions among peoples erupting into violence and war; societies withdrawing into themselves and building walls against “outsiders.” People no longer talk so confidently about globalization and the world coming together. More and more, the world seems to be fragmenting and coming apart.

In this kind of global environment, as young people who are about to go live and study in foreign lands, what role should you play? What are your responsibilities – to yourselves, and to society?

Firstly,you are representatives of your great nation. You are the heirs of a magnificent culture and civilization that has shaped Asia and the world for thousands of years. Be proud of your heritage – and understand that, in many ways, you will represent China to those you meet abroad. This is a great honor as well as a noble responsibility.

Secondly,you are explorers of knowledge and culture. University is a unique time in a person’s life. Rarely if ever again will you have the opportunity to learn so many new things, encounter so many diverse people and ideas, and have such a wide range of experiences – all in one place. So take advantage of the next few years! Immerse yourself in your new surroundings! Go out in search of new challenges and adventures! Engage with your classmates, your professors, and with all the people around you, regardless of where they come from. You will become a much stronger, more intelligent, more capable person as a result – and when you finally graduate from university, you will be better equipped to make a meaningful contribution to society and the world.

Finally,you have the ability and the opportunity to do something very few people anywhere get to do: build bridges between worlds and cultures. Now, this may sound like an impossibly large task for students who have just finished high school. But in fact, your education at Xiwai has prepared you very well for precisely this mission. You have grown up and succeeded in a bilingual, multicultural environment. Your teachers have exposed you to the great ideas, history, literature, and cultures of your own country and of the West. So who better than you to build understanding and friendship between China and the rest of the world? Who better than you to provide an example of knowledge and cooperation across cultures? Who better than you to show us the way toward a peaceful and prosperous national and global future? You may not realize it, but your everyday words and actions over the next few years will play a vital role in bringing this future about. This is why I came to China; this is why you are going abroad.

Graduates, it has been an honor to serve as your teacher and principal during the last three years. I want you all to know that no matter where you go, or what paths each of your lives take, your teachers will always be here to support you, and you will always have a home here at Xiwai. I hope that you treasure the memories of your time here; that you carry on the traditions of our great school; and that you face the future with courage, optimism, resourcefulness, and determination. You will do great things in the world.

Congratulations, and best of luck in all your endeavors. Thank you! 

同学们，家长们，老师们，尊敬的来宾们，感谢你们今天加入我们。向2022届西外高中国际部的年轻孩子们：祝贺你们取得的成就！这么多年来，为了达到这一点，你们一直在努力、学习、坚持和牺牲。你们中的一些人从幼儿园起就在西外；其他人最近才加入我们。大家都应该为今天在这里庆祝的这巨大成就感到骄傲。这是你们每个人生命中的一个里程碑——一个章节的结束，一个新旅程的开始，目的地还未知。你们现在不知道未来会是什么样子，但今天，你们应该好好享受现在。

我不得不承认，我真的很期待在校园里举行你们的毕业典礼。事实上，一年多前，我就开始思考在这次毕业典礼演讲中对大家说些什么。我喜欢2022届的班级。你们真是一群了不起的学生：才华横溢、风趣幽默、雄心勃勃、常常令人沮丧，有时甚至让我抓狂——但你们却令人鼓舞。在你们高中生涯的三年里，我教过你们中的一些人，与你们一起工作是我的荣幸。对于我们现在和未来的西外学生来说，你们是集体的榜样，当你有意志、决心和智慧去努力和超越时，一切都是可能的。我还是有些难过，因为我不能亲自送别你们。

但在某种程度上，你们在网上举行毕业典礼也是合适的。当你们刚开始上高中的时候，你们成为了第一个因为新冠而不得不转向在线学习的10年级。现在，你们是第一个在数字平台上从西外毕业的12年级。历史已经走到了尽头。除了在家里花了几个月的时间在笔记本电脑或平板电脑上学习之外，你们中的很多人还面临着AP考试和Alevel考试被取消的意外挫折。通常，在演讲中，我会告诉学生们，你们需要为一个变幻莫测的世界做好准备。你们已经亲身经历了这种波动，你们已经证明了你们有能力适应和克服这些挑战。所以我并不太担心你们是否能在你即将进入的世界中生存下来。 

相反，我想谈谈你们作为国际学生的角色。坦率地说，现在很难有国际意识。在全世界，我们看到民族主义正在崛起；各国人民之间爆发暴力和战争的紧张局势；社会自我退缩，筑墙反对“外来者”，人们不再那么自信地谈论全球化以及世界联系在一起。世界似乎越来越支离破碎。 

在这样的全球环境下，作为即将到国外生活和学习的年轻人，你们应该扮演什么角色？你们对自己和社会的责任是什么？

首先，你们是伟大国家的代表。你们是数千年来塑造亚洲和世界的灿烂文化和文明的继承人。为你们的传统感到自豪——并理解，在许多方面，你们将代表中国面对你们在国外遇到的人。这是一项巨大的荣誉，也是一项崇高的责任。

其次，你们是知识和文化的探索者。大学是一个人一生中独一无二的时光。你们很少有机会在一个地方学习这么多新事物，遇到这么多不同的人和想法，拥有如此广泛的体验。所以，好好地利用接下来的几年吧！让自己沉浸在新环境中！出去寻找新的挑战和冒险吧！与你们的同学、教授以及你周围的所有人接触，无论他们来自哪里。你们将因此成为一个更强大、更聪明、更能干的人——当你们最后从大学毕业时，你们将更有能力为社会和世界做出有意义的贡献。

最后，你们有能力和机会去在任何地方做很少人才有能力做的事情：在世界和文化之间架起桥梁。现在，对于刚刚完成高中学业的学生来说，这似乎是一项艰巨的任务。但事实上，你们在西外的教育为你们完成这一使命做好了充分的准备。你们在双语、多元文化的环境中成长并取得了成功。你们的老师让你们了解了自己国家和西方的伟大思想、历史、文学和文化。那么，在中国和世界其他国家之间建立理解和友谊方面，有谁比你们更好呢？有谁能比你们更好地提供跨文化知识与合作的范例呢？有谁能比你们更好地为我们指明一条通往和平繁荣的国家和世界的道路呢？你们可能没有意识到这一点，但在未来几年里，你们每天的言行将在实现这一未来发挥至关重要的作用。这就是我来中国的原因；这就是你们出国的原因。

我教过你们很多人历史——如果历史教给我们什么的话，那就是没有什么是永恒的，包括巨大的紧张和冲突时期。几十年前，我的父亲从意大利移民到美国，在越南战争最激烈的时候，他在一艘美国航空母舰上服役。当时，中美之间根本没有任何联系。美国人把中国称为“红色中国”从我父亲的船上起飞的美国飞行员被警告不要在海南降落，因为正如海军所说，那里的人“怀有敌意”。现在，他的儿子在中国生活和工作。我在这里有家庭和家人。几年前，当我父母来上海看望我时，我带他们乘坐著名的黄浦江游轮，我父亲看着船甲板上飘扬的五星红旗，他告诉我，“这不是很神奇吗？我从没想过有一天我会登上悬挂五星红旗的船。”

今天，有人在谈论中美之间的“新冷战”。紧张局势再次加剧。我们所有人的未来看起来不像以前那么光明和有希望。但我今天要告诉你们的是：这不一定是我们的未来。我们不必接受这样一个世界，即各国接受孤立，并将其他国家视为对手或敌人。我们不必接受这样一个世界：语言和文化的差异将整个人类分割开来，使我们彼此格格不入。你们有能力帮助世界建立更美好的东西。我们的未来必须是全球化的未来。

毕业生们，在过去三年中担任你们的老师和校长，我感到非常荣幸。我想让你们都知道，无论你们走到哪里，无论你们的人生道路如何，你们的老师都会永远在这里支持你们，西外永远是你们的家。我希望你们珍惜在这里的时光；你们继承了我们伟大学校的传统；你们要以勇气、乐观、智慧和决心面对未来。你们一定会在世界上有巨大成就的。

祝贺你们，祝你们一切顺利。非常感谢。