SPEECH

IS THE WORLD PROGRESSING?

If I ask you: "Do you think the world is progressing?" I'm quite sure your answer will be "of course! What makes you think the opposite?". We just have to compare our lives nowadays with our ancestors and, please, the difference is huge, isn't it?

But I will tell you one thing: here, in the Western World, we tend to just focus on ourselves and not even thinking about the others. But that doesn't mean the rest of the world lives as well as we do. Now, what if I tell you that the shoes you are wearing right now have been made by a seven-year-old kid from Thailand, who works 12 hours and whom we have stolen his childhood. How would you feel? Or, let’s put a clearer example. I’m sure someone here has an iPhone7, or the latest Samsung mobile. These devices can do things we cannot even imagine; they are awesome, pure technology. If we compare them to the mobiles we had ten years ago, the difference is huge. So, clearly, the world has progressed in this aspect, we have improved in technology. Now let’s focus on the other side of the coin: the precarious situation where these types of mobile phones are done. Do you remember? The seven-year-old kid. Is this what progress looks like? I will say the world is progressing when the whole world is progressing, not just a part of it.
Today I will only ask you one thing to do: open your eyes and think about the current situation of our world. Then, the next time I will ask you if you think the world is progressing, maybe you will have a different answer.

Thank you so much for your attention.