As prepared for delivery...

Good afternoon. Welcome to the J.W. Fulbright Center.

I am pleased to be with you today and to share in your success as “bold leaders.”

I’ve heard a bit about your experiences last summer in Denver, Colorado and look forward to getting your full reactions first-hand.

Congratulations on your accomplishments, including your hard work and your commitment to facing challenges and working together. I believe the program enabled you to demonstrate your compassion, your self-confidence and your interest in learning about yourselves and others.

Those are important qualities to nurture and develop. They go to the heart of what makes good and bold leaders. Much has been written about leadership. But genuine leadership certainly draws on the qualities you displayed last summer.

The concept of leadership has changed radically in the twentieth century. We no longer think of leadership as solely a function of raw power. The powerful say simply “go!” but genuine leaders say “let’s go.” The powerful arouse fear whereas bold leaders inspire confidence and elicit enthusiasm. As one pundit has said, “leadership is something we earn from followers on a day to day basis.”

The qualities and leadership you have developed will be tested as you put into practice the commitments you have made to be bold leaders. Leadership is not easy. It requires vision and values to produce action. As you will discover, it often requires patience, fortitude and imagination.

We at the Embassy remain committed to working with you – Greek and Turkish Cypriot youth – on a variety of programs that encourage tolerance, critical thinking, collaborative leadership and civic engagement. Those may sound like big, high-minded concepts, but they boil down to a simple goal – to help everyone on this small island to live and work together in peace.

The qualities of leadership you have developed during this program and lessons you have learned will stand you in good stead as you grow up on this island with its difficult past, but future full of hope. The future is in your hands. If we can be of further assistance, give us a call. We want you to succeed and nothing would give us more satisfaction than to be able to support those who are truly bold leaders. Given the success of your experience, we have scheduled a similar program for this coming summer.