Champion Inclusion, Help Cultivate and Put into Practice Skills of Cooperation, Diplomacy, Secretary-General Urges in Message for World Rectors’ Conference

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres' message for the World Rectors' Conference, in Rome today:

I am pleased to send my warm greetings to university leaders gathered in Rome for the World Rectors' Conference, as part of the Jubilee 2025 celebrations.

I thank Roma Tre University and the Dicastery for Culture and Education for convening this timely forum on the vital role of higher education in building peace.

You come together as the world faces multiplying conflicts, deepening inequality and a planet in peril. Trust in institutions is being tested as never before. Yet, the world's universities stand as beacons of hope and engines of progress - nurturing new generations, advancing knowledge and fostering dialogue across cultures.

Your commitment to academic freedom and critical inquiry is fundamental to more peaceful, just and sustainable societies. And your efforts build on the Pact for the Future, adopted last year, which calls for education that inspires citizens to drive positive change.

Peace starts in the mind of the individual, and education is critical in helping it grow. I spent my own student days living under a dictatorship. The university was one of the rare places where we could begin to envision something different - and where we worked to make it real.

As we look to the challenges ahead, I urge you - as leaders of the world's universities - to champion inclusion and open doors to those left behind. Let us not only cultivate the skills of cooperation and diplomacy - but help put them into practice.

Thank you for your dedication to education and peace. I wish you a successful conference.