“The Philippines, in particular, must invest in our countries’ science and engineering capacity if we are to realize our demographic potential—if our nation of tens of millions is to survive the onslaught of change, much less prosper amid it. If the present administration wishes to leave a meaningful legacy, it should start building it now,” he said.

He said societies at this demographic stage have proportionally large working-age populations thus at their highest demographic potential for economic growth.

Angara, in the country policy statement he delivered at the 36th Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, France, on Friday, stressed that this is an imminent and unparalleled opportunity for the developing world to stimulate rapid growth and provide a better quality of life for their people.

However, the world is faced with complex and demanding challenges—extreme poverty and hunger; acute income and social inequities; financial crises, climatic disturbances and resource scarcities—that could only be managed and resolved through international cooperation, he pointed out. At the same time, advancements in information and communication technologies are revolutionizing how people live, learn, interact and do business, Angara added.

“At the crux of this revolution is innovation. Indeed no society, no institution, no individual can survive such a rapid and relentless flow of change by being stagnant or passive,” he said.

(Butch Fernandez)