Over the next 12 months we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh. It will be a wonderful opportunity to remember and honor the significant impact this region has had on our nation and the world, and like most of us I plan to participate in the celebrations with pride.

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OPINION 250:

To commemorate Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, the Post-Gazette Forum section will run articles every other week this year that explore how the region can build on its past to make a better future. Unsolicited viewpoints also are welcome for possible publication in the newspaper or at post-gazette.com. Send e-mail to: opinion@post-gazette.com (Please include Opinion 250 in the subject line.)

• • • Post-Gazette coverage of the city's birthday

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But anniversaries also are a time for taking stock, and if we want this birthday bash to really count, we should use it as something more than just a party. We should reflect on who we are and what we want to become.

Few regions in America have experienced an economic dislocation as severe as the one Pittsburgh suffered over the past three decades. But while many of us have stopped lamenting this part of our history, many still let it define us.

There is an old saying that the true measure of people lies not in what life gives them but rather in what they do with it. What Pittsburgh has done is survive. We are still here, still proud and -- if I am reading the new sense of energy in the region correctly -- poised for a new era of growth and possibility.

But the question remains: As the tide finally seems ready to turn from decline to rebirth, what will we do with it? What will we do to help make sure it happens? And perhaps more important, where would we like it to carry us? What do we want rebirth to look like?

Hardship is wasted only if we fail to learn from it, and we owe it to ourselves to learn from the trials of our recent past. For my part, I can think of at least three huge lessons that, if we remember them, will serve us well in the world in which we now find ourselves.

The first is that emphasizing short-term gain at the expense of long-term strength is a certain route to disaster. Not investing in essential infrastructure and failing to develop new ways of doing things may have saved Big Steel some money in the short run, but over time it produced a hollowed-out dinosaur.

The same rule applies to communities. If Pittsburgh wants to be competitive in today's rapidly changing world, it must think in terms of the long haul. What will make us competitive not just now or in the next few years, but for decades to come? Making decisions with an eye toward building diverse and sustainable industries is essential.

The second lesson is that we cannot afford to be insular and parochial. No city in the world has ever learned a starker lesson in the harsh realities of globalization than Pittsburgh did in the 1980s. We should know better than any people on Earth that for communities and industries to flourish they must remain ever aware of their place in the fast-paced global economy -- an economy that is merciless to those who do not offer the products and skills it needs.

This means we must arm our workforce -- especially our children, who will fill the jobs of the future -- with the skills and knowledge they need to be competitive. Providing students with a mediocre 20th-century education when they must compete in a brutal 21st-century economy is cruel and stupid, neither of which we can afford to be.

Third -- and here's the good news -- we have what it takes. What happened to our economy over the past few decades would have killed many communities, but not ours. And we have done much more than merely survive, as evidenced by the recent national accolades we've received for offering a great quality of life, a low cost of living, safe streets, a pleasant environment for retirees and numerous attractions for visitors.

These milestones reflect a strong and proud spirit. But they also reflect our willingness to invest in new strategies, to create new beginnings.

Some people believe Pittsburgh can't muster that sort of energy anymore, but look around. Look at the trails and parks being built along our rivers, the green buildings that put us in the forefront of the national sustainability movement, the unparalleled depth of the cultural assets we enjoy for a region of our size, or the extraordinary commitment to send our city's children to college through the recently announced Pittsburgh Promise.

Like many people, I believe we are put on this Earth for a purpose greater than individual success, and that we will be measured not by how well we ourselves do but rather by how much we help raise the quality of life for everyone. For me, this theme lies at the heart of the three lessons Pittsburgh should learn from its hard times.

We will survive in today's cutthroat global economy only by providing our children with good health and a good education, and by providing opportunities for everyone to learn, prosper and contribute.

In its heyday, Pittsburgh gave the world something more than steel. It offered the vision of a society in which hard work paid off and prosperity was widely shared. That vision drew immigrants from nearly every corner of the planet and made America the envy of the world.

Let's make our 250th birthday matter -- by focusing on how we can build on our past to create a similarly prosperous and inspiring Pittsburgh for today and tomorrow.