The Prime Minister, Marí Alkatiri, participated in the “Responsible Citizen” lecture held at the Timor Lorosa’e National University (TLNU), in Dili, on Monday 12th February.
The event is included in a series of activities organized by the UNTL from February 12th to 17th, on the occasion of the opening of the Timorese public university 2018 academic year.
The Rector of the UNTL, Francisco Miguel Martins, referred in his opening speech that “to reflect on our responsibility as citizens is also to reflect on the responsibility of the society where we are inserted, as well as of the public institutions that deal with our welfare and our development”, emphasizing the role that UNTL, as the only public university in Timor-Leste, plays in Timor-Leste, where “50% of the population is under 19 years of age” and stating that the institution “must be aware of its social responsibility as an essential driving force of human capital to the country’s sustainable and autonomous development, within the framework of the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
Francisco Miguel Martins, also highlighted that Marí Alkatiri “has been one of the University’s greatest promoters, since its creation in the year 2000, having played a key role in opening the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as the Faculty of Law, during his term as Prime Minister of the First Constitutional Government.
In his speech, the Prime Minister said that “when referring to citizenship, we must always start this thought within a logic where a good citizen is a citizen responsible for public well being, which means that he/she must defend, protect and conserve the public well being above all” and “it’s the ethical quality of his/her stance that above all conveys responsibility as a citizen, in the relationships with others”, adding that “any responsible citizen must know his/her rights and duties, and know what their duties are towards others and the State”, highlighting the role of the universities and all schools in citizenship building.
He further stated that “citizenship in a multi-party Democratic Constitutional State implies that politicians behave ethically, which in an election period means that everyone should mobilize and organize people in order to respect their own rights but also be able to exercise their right to vote as an ethical obligation to themselves and to the entire population.”
Marí Alkatiri ended his speech by referring the ” complex cultural interaction question that has produced a new Timorese [citizen] who wants to have his own identity, linked to tradition, while following the evolution of science and technology, not denying himself nor that which are the universal values” and declared that “in order to be a fully responsible citizen one must be such towards himself, his community, the country and the world. “
The lecture was attended by UNTL students, Government members, as well as national and international scholars.