Mrs. Asma al-Assad to RT: Ambition and excellence have no limits, and our societies need this culture to achieve real renaissance

Moscow (ST): First Lady Asma al-Assad affirmed that ambition and excellence have no limits, and our societies need this culture in order to be able to achieve  a real renaissance.

Mrs. Assad explained in an interview with RT channel today that the most comprehensive challenge for the whole world is the challenge of Neoliberalism that is imposed on all peoples, with the aim of dissolving national and human identities, healthy social concepts and morals that preserve the social fabric and the family, which is the basic cell of any society.

In reply to a question about her feeling after her son graduated with an honors degree, Mrs. Assad said: “The degree of honor for me is a reflection of a set of principles found in one’s personality that leads that person  to this level, namely commitment, challenge, responsibility, and perseverance. My feeling today is of pride, like any mother whose children possess these qualities, which are a path to success and distinction. My feeling is also a feeling of contentment, because parents always strive to provide the better children for their country, and this is something that I saw today with the excellence of Hafez.

Responding to a question about the concept of perfection, Mrs. Assad said: “Of course, perfection belongs to God but it is certain that we do not look at  perfection as a mark as much as we look at it as a concept, and its concept is that a person only accepts that everything should be perfect. This feeling becomes a culture of life, not only linked to science, but rather becomes a culture of life in work, sports, and personal life. For example, a person cannot have half allegiance to his homeland or half  allegiance to his family, and we cannot say that we love our specialty up to  a certain stage only, it is a culture of thinking more than a mark with a number.

Answering a question about the negative and positive aspects of studying abroad, the First Lady said: “It really depends on how you deal with it. The importance for me lies in several aspects, first, is the high-level educational attainment, especially when the study is in a prestigious university such as Moscow State University known worldwide in the field of mathematics, or in an advanced specialized university such as the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology in Damascus, from which Hafez started.The second aspect is no less important, which is openness to a second culture, and this openness in itself contributes to broadening the human horizon, especially since Russian culture is an eastern culture, and therefore it intersects in many aspects with the Syrian society with concepts and principles, so this whole thing prepares for building a strong and solid ground to establish a deep and broad dialogue between young people, thus strengthening the bridges of communication that already exist.

In an answer to another question about the tools that should be in the hands of the youth today or in the hands of everyone in general to face challenges, Mrs. Assad said: Of course, solutions and roles are determined as a result of the dialogue. They cannot be determined before dialogue, but mainly there are concerned institutions such as educational, scientific, intellectual, cultural and youth institutions, and they can certainly rely on the relationship of communication and interaction, especially on the social level.

K.Q.