Concert "Musical Promises"

Your Excellency Minister Pavalkis
Ambassador Paulauskas
Ambassador Tsiskarashvili
Mr. Sogny
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear friends:

It is my pleasure to welcome you most warmly to this spectacular showcase of young talent. I am particularly delighted to welcome back, for the second time, these promising young musicians from SOS Talents.

My most sincere thanks go, first of all, to the Permanent Missions of Lithuania and Georgia – not only for organizing this concert, but for bringing us this special celebration on the occasion of Lithuania’s National Day and 25th Anniversary of Independence. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Sogny and his SOS Talents Foundation for their efforts to provide young gifted pianists with an opportunity to develop and display their skills.

There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today -- the largest generation of youth in history. People under 30 make up more than half of the global population and this represents an opportunity for all of us. The United Nations is promoting a number of initiatives to capitalize on this potential, by involving youth in discussions on key topics, by injecting a youth voice through the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth, and by placing a greater focus on youth affairs across our programme of work.

Young people are at the forefront of innovation and change. They are drivers of progress and it is for this reason that the United Nations calls on the world’s youth for ideas and action as we craft the new Sustainable Development Goals and work towards a meaningful climate agreement in Paris later this year to leave future generations with a better planet.

Teaching youth to realize their potential helps to foster a sense of inclusion, dignity and self-worth. This is exemplified by the work of Mr. Sogny and the SOS Talents Foundation. Through the universal language of music, these young scholars are given the opportunity to communicate, to inspire and also to be inspired.

As the title of this concert highlights, tonight we will have musical promises fulfilled, through the talent of the young performers here. As the international community, it is our collective responsibility to empower younger generations so that they may all fulfil their promise, regardless of which direction they may wish to go in.

It is our obligation. And it has to be our promise to them.

I hope you will enjoy the concert in that spirit and I wish you all an enjoyable evening.