We live in a world which is changing very fast and almost every day we face new challenges for our society, economy and our way of life. It is my deepest persuasion that the only way to master all kind of obstacles we may confront is to give young people the chance to get a good education and to form them to be active citizens.

In our time the most valuable resource of a country is not anymore just the raw material that lies deep in the rock beneath the soil or the amount of physical work power supply that can fill the factories. Today the largest treasure a nation can call its own can be found within the brains of the people and their capability to think creatively about solutions for complex situations.

Education and constant development are crucial to enable the minds of young people to become experts who are ready for the future and citizens who are capable to take over responsibility for their nation, society and as well for their personal future. This is no one-sided cause of action the youth is no passive bunch of people which has to be formed like clay. Every day in my work in the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation I see young people with eyes full of questions – with a thirst for knowledge in themselves that seeks to be satisfied.

Our scholarship program is created to help those young students and academics to develop them further, to get them the chance to grow in personal expertise as well as to evolve into an active citizen ready to participate in democratic processes.

By doing so we show our commitment for the ideals of the European Union and its agenda to create a society of well-educated and participative citizens that are capable to take over their role as the democratic sovereign in the state.

This is not the only goal within this continuously ongoing process. We live in a highly technologized world, in which changes could take place so fast that to react tomorrow on new developments might be too late. I want to emphasize that these kinds of changes do not only address the hardware or software of computers but as well the load of information from politics as well as new ideas and concepts for our social world emerging from our digital reality every day.

Serbia decided that it wants to become a member of the European Union, which means that the country is also eager to participate in the process of educating and forming its young citizens. Big steps have already taken place and one can say that things are going in a right direction – with the new law on Dual Education and a powerful reform of the entire educational sector. There is still much work to do but Serbia can count on trustful support from its partners all along the way to the European family.

When somebody decides to get a better education, he as well makes the decision to take up more obligations for the society he lives in. For such a step you need a certain portion of courage and bravery. It is amazing to see that Serbia has so many brave young people - they are its most important and most valuable precious.