Synonyms for the Lindau Spirit: Inspiration, Connection, Education – Unathi Thango’s Farewell Speech

Unathi Thango, University of South Africa, gave an engaging farewell address at the 8^th Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences.

If I were to sum up the whole experience, I’m just going to use one word: Wow! But obviously, that’s not going to be enough. So, I thought of the three themes that are synonymous with the spirit of Lindau: that is inspiration, that is connection, and that is education.

I’ve had a very, very good week of inspiration. I was very, very inspired by the discussions we had with the Nobel Laureates, their approach, how they look at life in general. Most beautifully for me, I got a chance to call my father all the way from Qunu on the Eastern cape of South Africa. I wanted him to talk to one of the Nobel Laureates, that is with Robert Aumann. I actually gave him the Video call, and he had a one-on-one with my dad.

In terms of the second value, connection: I think this is what we are all here for. I exchanged quite a number of contact cards with a lot of the scientists. I’m hoping to take back to South Africa everything I got from this collaboration, as well as a look back on my own research in ways that are enriching, uplifting, and in ways where I can also look at how to use adaption and innovation to strengthen and enhance my work.

Lastly, and of course not least, the value of education. I’m a macroeconomist. So, I originally thought I’d stay away from sessions on finance, on developmental studies. As the week progressed, I challenged myself to go in, listen, and see what I can take in to enhance and look at some of the niche areas that can also help the way that I look at economics. Even though I never got to present my own work, this challenge of sitting in and listening to the work of the Young Scientists was very educational.

I asked myself an important question, now that we have been to Lindau and we are going back to our societies, our universities: How is the fact that you had this opportunity going to change the trajectory of your own career? It’s almost a rhetorical question. I had to look and lean inwardly to answer it. The answer is in the cards we are given, the power to leverage this connection time. The power to write that email, make that call, ask for that feedback, and grow. I would say that the foundation has been laid for us. We can build now.