Statements in Meeting with a Group of Medalists from Scientific Olympiads

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

First of all, welcome. Meeting with outstanding and elite young individuals who are ready to work is truly joyful, pleasing, and hopeful for any human being. I have great faith in the youth. Many people — I understand and see in the conversations I have had with officials over the years — cannot truly grasp the value of the motivations of youth and youthfulness; they have little hope in the youth. I am very hopeful about the youth.

First of all, you are a treasure for the country; the youth, especially elite youth, are truly a wealth for the country. It is true that medals are important — these medals have value and each of them is a source of pride — but the value of an elite individual is very different from the value of a medal; the value of an elite is much higher than that.

You can transform an unfavorable environment into a completely favorable one. You can change history; you can change history. Unfortunately, your historical studies are limited; generally, the historical studies of the youth are limited. If you read history, you will see that history has its ups and downs, and our country, which is the center of various historical transformations, has at times seemingly been erased from the map; that is, the situation of the country has been like this. Then, you see that suddenly — after a certain period; now it is different — this entity that had essentially ceased to exist gains such glory and grandeur that when you look at it, you see that human factors have been effective here. In "human factors," one should not at all let the mind go to politics and politicians and rulers; no, they have had some influence in certain cases, their influences have not been negative; scientific, intellectual, ethical, and spiritual human factors have been among these factors, and the country has risen with these.

From the time that colonialism entered our country — of course, we were not officially colonized, but in essence, it was colonialism; that is, the dominance of foreign governments and cultures existed in the country — the country went towards decline and downfall; for example, from the 1800s when the first British agent entered the country from India and arrived at Bandar Abbas or Bushehr — now I do not remember exactly — he began to corrupt; that is, from the very beginning of his arrival, he bribed the first city governor he reached, won him over, and then with his help went to the second city, bribed him, until he reached Tehran where he bribed the king and the princes! During the time of Fath Ali Shah; that is, gradually they took control, took our culture, deprived us of scientific growth, and kept us at very low and poor levels in terms of political understanding and political motivation until the revolution occurred.

The revolution moved in exactly the opposite direction; the revolution created a leap in the country. The leaps of the revolution are clear and evident; you see this leap in the political sphere, in the scientific sphere, in the technological sphere, and in the sphere of social ethics; in all these aspects, the revolution created a leap. Who brought about the revolution? Human force, mainly young people; that is, the role of human force is this. And the more this youth is thoughtful and resolute, the deeper and greater the impact will be. You read in Dua-e-Kumayl (the supplication of Kumayl): "Strengthen my limbs for Your service"; this is the first part. Well, the youth have stronger limbs. "And strengthen my resolve"; (2) "Strengthen my heart with decision-making power." The power of decision-making is greater in youth. Until the end; now I do not want to interpret Dua-e-Kumayl for you. This is how youth are.

You can change the country, you can move in a good direction; you have concerns, you can truly strive to alleviate these concerns. Do not wait for someone like me to tell you what to do to alleviate concerns; no, think for yourselves; think, find the way, gather, cooperate, brainstorm, and find ways to remove obstacles; find intellectual paths, find paths that suit you. In my opinion, you can accomplish a lot.

I have noted two points to share with you. One point is that elitism is a process, a path; it is not a fixed point; this was a point that one of the friends also mentioned, and I liked it very much. It is not the case that we say now that we have become elites, the matter is over; this is the beginning of work, the beginning of a process. You have achieved medals or suppose you had a high rank in the entrance exam; this is the beginning of a process, you must advance in this process. What does "advancing in this process" mean? It means creativity; intellectual creativity where you think, practical creativity where you act. You must work in the fields of science, technology, and the expansion of ethics and spirituality; you must strive. A significant part is your responsibility, and a significant part is the responsibility of the officials; that is, the relevant ministries have an impact, the Elite Foundation has an impact, the representative offices have an impact, the officials within the university — various university officials, like the university president — have an impact; institutionalization must occur, a process must be created. Finally, pay attention to the fact that elitism is not the end of the work; now that you have become elites, this is the beginning of a movement and a process.

Another point that I think is important is that our country has started a scientific movement, a scientific leap since around 2001. Of course, scientific work was done in the 60s and 70s as well, but from around 2001 or a little earlier — I do not remember exactly now — a kind of public stimulation occurred among professors and students, a good scientific movement emerged; so much so that global statistics showed that we are progressing in scientific advancement several times faster than the global average. Of course, I also said at that time (3) that the speed of progress is a very good point, an important point, but the main point is not that, because progress itself must occur. Since we have had backwardness, now [if] we have speed in progress, we will only reach the middle of the road; we will not move forward; we must reach the front line and the forefront. This started in 2001, but in the last few years of the 90s, we have experienced a bit of a decline. Here, I was given a statistic that I noted, and I think it is important; that is, it is detailed, but it indicates a more significant issue. They say that from 2018 to 2021, we had a total of 26 gold medals in global competitions or global Olympiads, while in 2022 and 2023, we have 30 gold medals; that is, in two years, we have more than those four years. Therefore, again in these last two or three years, a movement has emerged, but this movement is not enough; we need a scientific uprising. You can truly work in this area, you can be effective; both strive more for scientific work and prepare the environment. This is another issue.

And politics is also influential in these areas; that is, as I mentioned, when British politics dominated and prevailed in the country — which lasted nearly two hundred years; the dominance of British politics in Iran lasted nearly two hundred years, which of course was continued by the Americans in the end — it was very detrimental to the country. Now we fortunately have a political independence; that is, Iran, the Islamic Republic, has a logic, a voice, and a specific position regarding the major issues of the world. We have a voice regarding Palestine, we have a voice regarding the issues of America, we have a voice regarding global matters [such as] the issue of the new world order; we have a voice regarding global issues; that is, we have a voice that is heard; that is, they hear our words in the world and count on them; many may not accept it, but ultimately they count on this voice. This is independence; we must not lose this. Now, whatever government comes to power, one of its important issues must be to maintain this political independence that has fortunately been established.

One of the friends referred to the issue of elections; (4) well, elections are very important, and first and foremost, participation is important, which you must — whether in student environments, work environments, family environments, and the like — do everything you can to increase participation. Then look and see who is closer to the criteria of the revolution and has the ability to work in line with the criteria of the revolution; if you consider these, you may be able to make a good choice. We hope, God willing, that the Almighty God brings forth what is best for this country and this nation easily and without concern.

I conclude my remarks; I once again welcome all of you and send greetings to your friends who could not come, and we have been deprived of their presence.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings

(1 At the beginning of this meeting — which was held after the noon and afternoon prayers led by the esteemed Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution — eight medalists from student and university Olympiads expressed their views on various issues in the elite arena. 2) Misbah al-Mutahajjid, vol. 2, p. 849 (3 Among the statements in the meeting with the heads of universities, research institutes, growth centers, and science and technology parks (1394/8/20) (4 The elections of the fourteenth presidential term, which will be held on the eighth of Tir this year.