Patrick Awuah: Educating a new generation of African leaders

翻译人员: Jane Wang 校对人员: Gary Wang

Like many of you here, I am trying to contribute

像在座的很多人一样，我一直在不懈地

towards a renaissance in Africa.

为实现非洲的复兴而努力。

The question of transformation in Africa

非洲要实现转型的

really is a question of leadership.

关键是领导力。

Africa can only be transformed by enlightened leaders.

只有开明的领导者才能改变非洲。

And it is my contention that the manner in which

我的论点是，

we educate our leaders is fundamental

我们教育培养领袖型人才的模式是

to progress on this continent.

这个大陆进步的基础。

I want to tell you some stories that explain my view.

我想给你们讲一些故事，来解释我的观点。

We all heard about the importance of stories yesterday.

我们昨天都听说了故事的重要性。

An American friend of mine this year volunteered as a nurse in Ghana,

我的一个美国朋友，今年，到加纳去做一名志愿护士。

and in a period of three months she came to a conclusion

3个月后，她得出一个

about the state of leadership in Africa

我用了十多年的时间才明白的

that had taken me over a decade to reach.

关于非洲的领袖人才的状态的结论。

Twice she was involved in surgeries

有两次，她参与的手术过程中

where they lost power at the hospital.

医院停电了，

The emergency generators did not start.

紧急发电机没有启动，

There was not a flashlight, not a lantern, not a candle --

也没有手电筒，没有手提灯，甚至连一支蜡烛都没有。

pitch black.

漆黑一片！

The patient's cut open, twice.

两次都是患者的开刀伤口还打开在的时候。

The first time it was a C-section.

第一次是剖腹产。

Thankfully, baby was out -- mother and child survived.

谢天谢地，幸好婴儿当时已经出来了，后来母子平安。

The second time was a procedure that involved local anesthesia.

第二次手术包括局部麻醉，

Anesthetic wears off. The patient feels pain.

停电的时候麻醉逐渐消失，患者感到疼痛。

He's crying. He's screaming. He's praying.

他哭喊，尖叫，祈祷。

Pitch black. Not a candle, not a flashlight.

漆黑一片！没有蜡烛，没有手电筒！

And that hospital could have afforded flashlights.

而其实那个医院应该是可以提供手电筒的，

They could have afforded to purchase these things, but they didn't.

他们有那个钱去买这些东西，但是他们没有。

And it happened twice.

而且这种现象发生了两次。

Another time, she watched in horror as nurses watched a patient die

另外一次，她无比惊恐地和护士们一起眼睁睁地看着一个病人死去，

because they refused to give her oxygen that they had.

因为他们拒绝给病人输氧气，而医院是有氧气的。

And so three months later,

因此，3个月后，

just before she returned to the United States,

就在她回美国前，

nurses in Accra go on strike.

阿克拉医院的护士举行罢工。

And her recommendation is

她的建议是，

take this opportunity to fire everyone, start all over again.

抓住这个机会把所有人解雇，从头再来。

Start all over again.

从头再来！

Now what does this have to do with leadership?

那么，这个故事和领导力有什么关系？

You see, the folks at the ministry of health,

你知道吗，这些错误来自于卫生部，

the hospital administrators, the doctors, the nurses --

医院的管理人员，医生，和护士——

they are among just five percent of their peers

而他们是同龄人中的百分之五的精英，

who get an education after secondary school.

只有他们接受了中学以上的教育。

They are the elite. They are our leaders.

他们是中流砥柱，是我们的领导者。

Their decisions, their actions matter.

他们的决定和行为都举足轻重。

And when they fail, a nation literally suffers.

如果他们不行，整个民族，不夸张地说，都受连累。

So when I speak of leadership,

因此我所说的领导力，

I'm not talking about just political leaders.

并不是只局限于政界领袖。

We've heard a lot about that.

那些东西我们已经听得太多了，

I'm talking about the elite.

我说的是社会精英层人才，

Those who've been trained,

那些接受了教育的人，

whose job it is to be the guardians of their society.

那些应该以社会督导为职业的人。

The lawyers, the judges, the policemen, the doctors,

律师，法官，警察，医生，

the engineers, the civil servants --

工程师，公务员……

those are the leaders.

他们都是领导，

And we need to train them right.

我们应该正确地培养他们。

Now, my first pointed and memorable experience with leadership in Ghana

关于在加纳的领导力问题，我第一次难忘的经历

occurred when I was 16 years old.

发生在我16岁的时候。

We had just had a military coup,

那时候我们国家刚刚发生了军事政变，

and soldiers were pervasive in our society.

社会上到处都是士兵。

They were a pervasive presence.

到处都是。

And one day I go to the airport to meet my father,

一天我去机场去接我爸爸，

and as I walk up this grassy slope from the car park

我正从停车场沿着草坡

to the terminal building,

向航站楼走，

I'm stopped by two soldiers wielding AK-47 assault weapons.

两个拿着AK-47机关枪的士兵拦住了我，

And they asked me to join a crowd of people

他们命令我加入一群人

that were running up and down this embankment.

在堤坝上跑上跑下。

Why? Because the path I had taken was considered out of bounds.

为什么？因为我刚才走的路是禁止入内的。

No sign to this effect.

而其实并没有禁止入内的标志。

Now, I was 16. I was very worried about

那时我16岁，很担心

what my peers at school might think

学校的同学会笑话我，

if they saw me running up and down this hill.

如果他们看到我在山坡上跑上跑下。

I was especially concerned of what the girls might think.

我尤其担心女孩儿们会怎么想。

And so I started to argue with these men.

于是我和这些士兵争执。

It was a little reckless, but you know, I was 16.

那确实有点鲁莽，但是，你知道，我才16岁。

I got lucky.

我很幸运。

A Ghana Airways pilot falls into the same predicament.

一个加纳航空的飞行员也陷入了同样的困境。

Because of his uniform they speak to him differently,

因为他穿着飞行员制服，那些士兵对他说话的态度有点不一样，

and they explain to him that they're just following orders.

还向他解释他们只是执行命令。

So he takes their radio, talks to their boss,

所以飞行员拿过他们的对讲机，跟他们的上司讲话，

and gets us all released.

然后我们都被释放了。

What lessons would you take from an experience like this?

你从类似这种经历当中能领悟到什么？

Several, for me.

对我来说，我领悟到下面几点：

Leadership matters. Those men are following

领导才能很重要。那些士兵们是在遵从

the orders of a superior officer.

一个上级官员的命令。

I learned something about courage.

我还学会了要有勇气。

It was important not to look at those guns.

不被那些枪吓倒是很重要的。

And I also learned that it can be helpful to think about girls.

而且我还懂得了想一想女孩儿也是有帮助的。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So a few years after this event, I leave Ghana on a scholarship

后来，这件事的几年后，我拿到奖学金离开加纳

to go to Swarthmore College for my education.

去斯沃斯莫尔(Swarthmore)文理学院接受教育，

It was a breath of fresh air.

真是耳目一新。

You know, the faculty there didn't want us to memorize information

你知道，那里的教员不让我们去死记硬背，

and repeat back to them as I was used to back in Ghana.

不像以前我在加纳所习惯的一样。

They wanted us to think critically.

他们培养我们有辨析批判性地思考，

They wanted us to be analytical.

教我们养成分析的习惯。

They wanted us to be concerned about social issues.

他们希望我们关心社会问题。

In my economics classes I got high marks

我的经济学课程得了高分，

for my understanding of basic economics.

因为我对经济学基础的理解。

But I learned something more profound than that,

但是我学会了比那更意义深远的东西：

which is that the leaders -- the managers of Ghana's economy --

那些领导，加纳经济的管理者，

were making breathtakingly bad decisions

做的令人震惊的错误的决定

that had brought our economy to the brink of collapse.

使我们的经济走到了崩溃的边缘。

And so here was this lesson again -- leadership matters.

所以现在又回到了前面的这个教训——领导能力是重要的。

It matters a great deal.

它真的是非常重要。

But I didn't really fully understand what had happened to me at Swarthmore.

但是我并不能真正充分地理解斯沃斯莫尔学院对我的影响。

I had an inkling,

我只有一个模糊的概念，

but I didn't fully realize it until I went out into the workplace

直到我走出校园去工作才充分意识到。

and I went to work at Microsoft Corporation.

我去的是微软公司，

And I was part of this team -- this thinking, learning team

成为了团队的一份子——一个不断思考和学习着的团队，

whose job it was to design and implement new software

我们的工作就是设计和编程，

that created value in the world.

在全世界都创造着价值。

And it was brilliant to be part of this team.

成为这个团队的一员是非常棒的，

It was brilliant.

这个团队非常杰出。

And I realized just what had happened to me at Swarthmore,

我这才明白了斯沃斯莫尔学院给了我什么，

this transformation --

这个教育改变了我，它让我能够

the ability to confront problems, complex problems,

去挑战问题，复杂的问题，

and to design solutions to those problems.

去设计方案来解决问题。

The ability to create is the most empowering thing

创造能力是对于个人而言

that can happen to an individual.

最能赋予人力量的。

And I was part of that.

我当时成为了其中的一部分。

Now, while I was at Microsoft, the annual revenues of that company

当我在微软的时候，公司的年收入

grew larger than the GDP of the Republic of Ghana.

增长到比整个加纳共和国的GDP还高。

And by the way, it's continued to.

并且，顺便说一句，微软的年收入一直在持续增长，

The gap has widened since I left.

从我离开微软后，这个差距更大了。

Now, I've already spoken about one of the reasons why this has occurred.

其实，我刚才已经说了为什么会产生这样的现象的一个原因。

I mean, it's the people there who are so hardworking,

我的意思是，是因为在微软工作的人们非常勤奋，

persistent, creative, empowered.

坚持不懈，有创造力，能发挥自己的能力。

But there were also some external factors:

但是也有一些外部因素，比如:

free markets, the rule of law, infrastructure.

自由市场，法律治国，基础设施。

These things were provided by institutions

这些东西都是由社会制度提供的，

run by the people that I call leaders.

是我称之为“领导”的人们在运行着这个制度体系。

And those leaders did not emerge spontaneously.

那些领导不是自然自发产生的，

Somebody trained them to do the work that they do.

而是有人培养了他们做现在的工作的。

Now, while I was at Microsoft, this funny thing happened.

当我还在微软的时候，有意思，

I became a parent.

我成为了父亲。

And for the first time, Africa mattered more to me than ever before.

第一次，非洲比以前对我来说更重要了，

Because I realized that the state of the African continent

因为我意识到非洲大陆的状态

would matter to my children and their children.

将影响到我的孩子和他们的孩子。

That the state of the world -- the state of the world

我意识到全世界的状态

depends on what's happening to Africa,

也取决于非洲在发生什么，

as far as my kids would be concerned.

至少对于我的孩子是这样的。

And at this time, when I was going through

当时我正在经历

what I call my "pre-mid-life crisis,"

我自称的“近中年危机”，

Africa was a mess.

非洲也混乱一片。

Somalia had disintegrated into anarchy.

索马里已经陷入了无政府状态，

Rwanda was in the throes of this genocidal war.

卢旺达在种族灭绝的战争中苦苦挣扎。

And it seemed to me that that was the wrong direction,

我认为那是错误的发展方向，

and I needed to be back helping.

我应该回去帮助非洲。

I couldn't just stay in Seattle and raise my kids

我不能只是呆在西雅图抚养我的孩子，

in an upper-middle class neighborhood and feel good about it.

住在中上阶级的社区里沾沾自喜。

This was not the world that I'd want my children to grow up in.

我不想让我的孩子在这样的世界中成长。

So I decided to get engaged, and the first thing that I did

所以我决定行动起来，我做的第一件事

was to come back to Ghana and talk with a lot of people

是回到加纳和许多人谈话，

and really try to understand what the real issues were.

努力去了解真正的问题在哪里。

And three things kept coming up for every problem:

对于任何问题，三个东西总是浮现出来：

corruption, weak institutions

腐败，脆弱的制度，

and the people who run them -- the leaders.

还有运行制度的人——领导们。

Now, I was a little scared

那么，我有一点害怕，

because when you see those three problems,

因为当你想到那三个问题，

they seem really hard to deal with.

他们看起来非常难处理。

And they might say, "Look, don't even try."

他们很可能会说：算了吧，试都不要试。

But, for me, I asked the question,

但是，对我而言，我问了这个问题：

"Well, where are these leaders coming from?

“那么，这些领导是从哪里来的？

What is it about Ghana that produces leaders

加纳是怎样制造出那些

that are unethical or unable to solve problems?"

不道德的不能解决问题的领导者的？

So I went to look at what was happening in our educational system.

所以我去看看在教育系统里面到底在发生着什么。

And it was the same -- learning by rote --

我发现，从小学到研究生院校都是一样：

from primary school through graduate school.

死记硬背，

Very little emphasis on ethics,

不重视伦理道德。

and the typical graduate

你知道吧，加纳的大学出来的典型毕业生

from a university in Ghana has a stronger sense

自我感觉享受特权是应该的，

of entitlement than a sense of responsibility.

而缺乏对社会负责任的态度。

This is wrong.

这是不对的。

So I decided to engage this particular problem.

于是我决定针对这个具体的问题来着手。

Because it seems to me that every society, every society,

因为在我看来，每个社会

must be very intentional about how it trains its leaders.

必须非常认真地规划怎样来培训它的领袖型人才，

And Ghana was not paying enough attention.

而加纳并没有给予足够的重视。

And this is true across sub-Saharan Africa, actually.

实际上，整个撒哈拉以南的非洲都是这样。

So this is what I'm doing now.

这就是我正在做的事。

I'm trying to bring the experience that I had at Swarthmore to Africa.

我试着把我在斯沃斯莫尔学院体验到的东西带到非洲，

I wish there was a liberal arts college in every African country.

希望在每个非洲国家都有文理学院。

I think it would make a huge difference.

我想这会大大地改变现状。

And what Ashesi University is trying to do

阿社思（Ashesi）大学正在努力做的

is to train a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial leaders.

就是训练出一代新的有德行的，企业家式的领导者。

We're trying to train leaders of exceptional integrity,

我们努力培养非常正直的学生，

who have the ability to confront the complex problems,

他们能面对复杂的社会问题，

ask the right questions, and come up with workable solutions.

问出正确的问题，然后想出可以实行的措施。

I'll admit that there are times when it seems like "Mission: Impossible,"

我承认有时候觉得好像这是一个“不可能完成的任务”，

but we must believe that these kids are smart.

但是我们必须相信这些孩子们是聪明的，

That if we involve them in their education,

如果我们针对他们自身特点来展开他们的教育，

if we have them discuss the real issues that they confront --

如果我们让他们讨论需要面对的真正的问题——

that our whole society confronts --

我们整个社会都面对的问题——

and if we give them skills that enable them to engage the real world,

如果我们教授他们技巧使他们能在真实的世界里立足，

that magic will happen.

那么奇迹将会发生。

Now, a month into this project, we'd just started classes.

深入这个项目一个月后，我们才开始上课。

And a month into it, I come to the office,

再一个月后，我来到办公室，

and I have this email from one of our students.

收到一个学生的邮件。

And it said, very simply, "I am thinking now."

信上非常简单地写着“我开始思考了”，

And he signs off, "Thank you."

和签名“谢谢你”。

It's such a simple statement.

这是多么简单的一个句子。

But I was moved almost to tears

我几乎感动地流泪，

because I understood what was happening to this young man.

因为我理解这个年轻人正在经历一个怎么样的改变。

And it is an awesome thing to be a part

这是非常美妙的事情，能参与到

of empowering someone in this way.

以这样的方式来发挥挖掘人的才能的项目中。

I am thinking now.

我开始思考了。

This year we challenged our students

今年，我们让学生们

to craft an honor code themselves.

自己起草一个行为准则。

There's a very vibrant debate going on on campus now

这引起了一场激烈的争论，现在校园里正在进行，

over whether they should have an honor code,

关于他们是否应该有一个行为守则，

and if so, what it should look like.

如果应该，那它应该是什么样的。

One of the students asked a question that just warmed my heart.

一个学生问了一个问题，让我感到很温暖。

Can we create a perfect society?

我们能创造一个完美的社会吗？

Her understanding that a student-crafted honor code

她认为让学生起草的行为规则

constitutes a reach towards perfection is incredible.

构成一个对完美的追求，很令人惊喜。

Now, we cannot achieve perfection,

虽然我们不能达到完美，

but if we reach for it, then we can achieve excellence.

但是如果我们朝那个方向努力，我们就能达到卓越。

I don't know ultimately what they will do.

我不知道他们最终会做成什么，

I don't know whether they will decide to have this honor code.

不知道他们是否决定写这份行为规范。

But the conversation they're having now --

但是她们正在进行的讨论——

about what their good society should look like,

关于一个他们认为好的社会应该是什么样子，

what their excellent society should look like,

他们认为是卓越的社会应该是什么样子的讨论——

is a really good thing.

非常有价值。

Am I out of time? OK.

是不是没有时间了？哦，还有时间。

Now, I just wanted to leave that slide up

现在，我暂时停在那张幻灯片上，

because it's important that we think about it.

因为它非常重要，值得我们思考。

I'm very excited about the fact

有一件事情是我的得意之举，

that every student at Ashesi University does community service before they graduate.

在阿社思大学的每个学生毕业前都要做社区服务。

That for many of them, it has been a life-altering experience.

对于他们多数人而言，那是一次改变一生的经历。

These young future leaders are beginning to understand

这些年轻的未来的领导们逐渐开始理解

the real business of leadership,

领导力的真谛，

the real privilege of leadership,

领导者的真正特权，

which is after all to serve humanity.

其实是为人类服务。

I am even more thrilled by the fact that least year

去年，有一件事让我更加有感触：

our student body elected a woman

我们的学生团体选举了一名女性

to be the head of Student Government.

作为学生会的主席。

It's the first time in the history of Ghana

这在加纳历史上是第一次，

that a woman has been elected head of Student Government

女性被选举为大学的

at any university.

学生会主席。

It says a lot about her.

这件事情展示了很多关于她，

It says a lot about the culture that's forming on campus.

关于校园里正在形成的文化。

It says a lot about her peers who elected her.

关于选举出她的那些同学们。

She won with 75 percent of the vote.

她赢得了百分之75的选票。

And it gives me a lot of hope.

这件事情也给我很大的希望。

It turns out that corporate West Africa

后来发现西非公司

also appreciates what's happening with our students.

也欣赏我们的学生们所经受的训练。

We've graduated two classes of students to date.

至今为止，我们已经毕业了两个班级的学生了，

And every single one of them has been placed.

他们每个人都找到了工作。

And we're getting great reports back

我们也从加纳的企业，西非的企业

from corporate Ghana, corporate West Africa,

得到了很棒的反馈报告。

and the things that they're most impressed about is work ethic.

他们印象最深刻的是学生们的职业道德，

You know, that passion for what they're doing.

知道吧，他们做事的激情，

The persistence, their ability to deal with ambiguity,

坚持不懈，他们解决模糊问题的能力，

their ability to tackle problems that they haven't seen before.

解决全新问题的能力。

This is good because

这很棒，因为，你知道吗，

over the past five years, there have been times

在过去的五年，有很多时候

when I've felt this is "Mission: Impossible."

我都怀疑这是不可能完成的任务。

And it's just wonderful to see these glimmers

看到我们以正确地方式培养我们的孩子之后

of the promise of what can happen if we train our kids right.

所展现的晨曦，真是令人鼓舞。

I think that the current and future leaders of Africa

我认为非洲现在的和将来的领导们

have an incredible opportunity

有这个难得的机遇

to drive a major renaissance on the continent.

来实现整个非洲大陆的伟大复兴。

It's an incredible opportunity.

这是一个伟大的机遇。

There aren't very many more opportunities like this in the world.

世界上像这样的机会没有太多。

I believe that Africa has reached an inflection point

我相信非洲已经到了一个转折点，

with a march of democracy and free markets across the continent.

整个大陆上下都在走向政治民主和自由市场。

We have reached a moment from which can emerge

我们已经到了这样一个时期，

a great society within one generation.

用一代人的时间就能创造出一个伟大的社会。

It will depend on inspired leadership.

这将依赖于鼓舞人心的领导力。

And it is my contention that the manner in which we train our leaders

我的观点是：我们培养领导人的模式和方法

will make all the difference.

是创造这个伟大变革的基础。

Thank you, and God bless.

谢谢大家，上帝保佑你们。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）