Follow your own inner compass!

⊙ 연설 배경

코피 아난 전 UN사무총장이 1997년 6월 미 MIT대 졸업식에서 행한 연설문이다.

젊은이들에게 바람직한 세계관을 가지며 따뜻한 가슴을 가지도록 요구하고있다.

⊙ 코피 아난(Kofi Annan)

가나 출신의 국제연합 사무총장.

1996년 10월17일 국제연합 사무총장이 되었다.

취임 후 '개혁총장'이라는 별명을 들으며，국제연합 사무국 내의 1000여개 직책을 폐지하고 대폭적인 기구의 통폐합했다.

2001년 국제연합과 공동으로 세계평화에 기여한 공로가 인정돼 노벨평화상을 받았다.

⊙ 원문 읽기

[영어로 읽는 세기의 名연설] <34> 코피 아난 전 UN사무총장 ‘美 MIT대 강연’ (上)
Thank you，Dr. Gray，for your most gracious welcome.

I am honored and pleased to have been asked to speak to you on this grand occasion and in these familiar surroundings.

The Boston area boasts of several excellent institutions of higher learning.

But there is only one MIT.

Mr. President，Trustees，ladies and gentlemen; Let us congratulate the best，the brightest，the most dedicated，the most thoughtful，and the most likely to succeed MIT class ever－－the class of 1997！

But，graduates，you know better than anyone that you did not do it alone.

Accordingly，please join me in a big round of applause for those who have stood by you throughout the years and who are with you today，in person or in spirit，your loving parents and dear friends.

Let's give them a hand.

Now you are free.

Free of the pressure of exams.

Free to begin the next stage of your life.

And free to pay back your student loans. I wish you well.

I once sat where you sit today.

Sharing these joyous moments with you today in Killian Court takes me back more than a quarter century to my own studies at MIT.

As a Sloan Fellow，I learned management skills that I draw on still today in refashioning the United Nations for the new century that is upon us.

But I learned an even more important lesson.

At the outset，there was competition－－rather intense competition－－among my cohorts.

Each was equally determined to shine and to demonstrate his leadership abilities.

I say 'his'，because there were no women among us: I am certainly glad that has changed.

Walking along the Charles River one day，in the middle of my first term，I reflected on my predicament.

How could I survive，let alone thrive，in this group of over－achievers？

And the answer came to me most emphatically; NOT by playing it according to their rules.

'Follow your own inner compass，' I said to myself，'listen to your own drummer.' To live is to choose.

But to choose well，you must know who you are，what you stand for，where you want to go and why you want to get there.

My anxieties slowly began to dissolve.

What I took away from MIT，as a result，was not only the analytical tools but also the intellectual confidence to help me locate my bearings in new situations，to view any challenge as a potential opportunity for renewal and growth，and to be comfortable in seeking the help of colleagues，but not fearing，in the end，to do things my way.

When the world thinks of MIT alumni and alumnae who have gone on to assume positions of visibility in their respective fields，as so many have，it correctly imagines Nobel laureates in physics，chemistry and economics，or business tycoons，or engineers improving our daily lives in countless ways.

But a Secretary General of the United Nations？

That's hardly the first answer anyone would blurt out on a TV quiz show！

And yet，it is not as much of a stretch as it may seem at first.

For the ethos of science and engineering shares deep and profound similarities with the twentieth century project of international organization.

Science and international organization alike are constructs of reason，engaged in a permanent struggle against the forces of unreason.

Science and international organization alike are experimental: both learn by trial and error and strive to be self－correcting.

Lastly，science and international organization alike speak a universal language and seek universal truths.

Allow me to expand briefly on each of these features of the project of international organization.

I begin with the struggle between reason and unreason.

When the history of the twentieth century is written，this struggle will figure very prominently in it.

On the plane of international affairs，the outbursts of unreason in this century surpass in horror and human tragedy any the world has seen in the entire modern era.

From Flanders' fields to the Holocaust and the aggressions that produced World War II: from the killing fields of Cambodia and Rwanda to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia: from the twenty－five million refugees who roam the world today to untold millions，many of them children，who die the slow death of starvation or are maimed for life by land－mines－－our century，even this generation，has much to answer for.

But we have also managed to build up the international edifice of reason.

By deliberate institutional means，we have better positioned humankind to cope with pressing global problems.

Measures to enhance peace and security rank among these accomplishments.

As the twentieth century draws to a close，we can take pride in numerous advances in，for example，the area of arms control and disarmament.

Perhaps the bedrock is the Nuclear Non－Proliferation Treaty，in force for nearly three decades now.

Negotiated through the United Nations and monitored by one of its Agencies，the N.P.T. has more adherents than any arms control treaty in history.

In September 1996，the United Nations General Assembly approved the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty，which has since been signed by more than 140 countries，including all five nuclear－weapons States.

In April of this year，we witnessed the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

It helps to ensure that these vile weapons never again will be the scourge of any battlefield，the silent but certain doom of any civilian population.

Finally，states that are party to the Biological Weapons Convention are seeking ways to reinforce its authority through a verification mechanism.

Much remains to be done，especially in reducing the vast and rapidly growing flow of conventional weapons: ridding the world of the viciousness of land－mines，whose primary targets are the innocents of any conflict: strengthening the methods of preventive diplomacy: and inventing the next generation of peacekeeping operations.

But only a decade ago the achievements I have enumerated seemed unimaginable.

Now they are real.

Similar accomplishments are transforming other aspects of international life.

Few are more noble than safeguarding and enhancing human rights.

Few yield more practical benefits than deepening and expanding multilateral rules for international economic relations.

Few are more rewarding than helping the world's children to achieve healthy and productive lives.

Few are more critical than preserving the human environment even as we achieve greater economic opportunity for all.