education for all

It struck me as somewhat ironic that Shakira came to one of the most exclusive universities in the world last night to talk about providing education for all, but then again, the students here will in the future be the people with the power to change things, so I hope they did take the message in.

I didn't get access of course, but the full text of her lecture at the Oxford Union is online here:

The democratization of education.

Essentially, she was saying that the progress of civilisation throughout human history is due to education for more people, so it is in our best interest to make education accessible to all. (which is what her foundation Pies Descalzos is helping to do in Colombia)

Some snippets:

I’m still a student on all these issues, but I’ve come to learn that there are ways to change this. So no government can say that the challenge of bringing education to every child is an impossible task.

Now I want to be clear about this, this isn’t about charity. This is about investing in human potential. From an ethical point of view, from a moral point of view, it accomplishes a purpose. But also from an economic point of view, this could bring enormous benefits to all mankind. Universal education is the key to global security and economic growth.

That is how I want the youth of 2060 to see us. That our mission for global peace consisted of sending 30,000 educators to Afghanistan, not 30,000 soldiers. That in 2010, world education became more important than world domination.

Using my supernatural abilities, I managed to find her after the lecture and got to see her for about 20 seconds (while students took turns to be photographed with her) before she disappeared through the door you see on the right of the less then perfect picture below. Meanwhile, her partner, Antonio de la Rua, was lounging on a sofa just two metres from where I was standing. (I think this is the first time I saw him in RL.)



For better photos of the event, check www.shakira.com, they have now set up a picture gallery.

PS there's also a report in the local newspaper, the Oxford Mail

PPS There is now a ten-minute video with key of the speech available for viewing via the official site.