Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here today and to meet the first class of master students who will be studying at the Global Virtual University.

I have followed this work from the very beginning, and it is wonderful to see that you have now started on your studies.

I am certain that the mix of students from Norway and from Africa will make for a stimulating learning environment. I have had the opportunity to visit several African countries, which has taught me a great deal and which I thoroughly enjoyed.

You will now have the chance to exchange first hand information about the situation in the countries you represent, and this will give you valuable insights into your fields of study.

We are at present in the first year of the United Nation’s decade of education for sustainable development.

Promoting sustainable development is a high priority for my government. We have put sustainable development firmly on the map with our own plan of action, our National Agenda 21.

Sustainable development is based on three pillars: economic social and environmental. But the environment occupies a special position.

If we overstep nature’s tolerance limits, the consequences will be dramatic and irreversible. But economic and social development is more easily reversible. As one of the richest nations in the world, Norway has an obligation to do everything it can to reduce global poverty, to create opportunities for development and to raise living standards in poor countries.

Your university has a vital mission: to increase people’s sensitivity to and involvement in finding solutions for environmental and development issues. This is an ambitious goal, and I am very pleased that you have taken up the challenge.

I am impressed by the wide range of options available to you. This is a university for the future, where all study programmes and courses are based on online learning.

This seems particularly appropriate in a field that will play a major part in shaping our future.

Thank you for inviting me here today.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you every success in the studies ahead of you.