Kofi Annan Quotes
We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.
Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.
To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.
We shall not defeat any of the infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation, and basic health care.
Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.
Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defense spending there is.
When women thrive, all of society benefits, and succeeding generations are given a better start in life.
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.
It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.
You are never too young to lead and you should never doubt your capacity to triumph where others have not.
...let us continue to work together to develop and nurture in future generations a culture of human rights, to promote freedom, security and peace in all nations.
I am not afraid to dream. You first have to start with a dream. Build your castles in the air and give it foundation. Without a dream, you are not going to get anywhere.
Gather the five virtues (Dignity, Confidence, Courage, Compassion, and Faith). Then you are a man.
No one is born a good citizen or a good democrat or a good leader; it takes time and education.
The Millennium Development Goals can be met by 2015, but only if all involved break with business as usual and dramatically accelerate and scale up action now.
We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children.
Open markets offer the only realistic hope of pulling billions of people in developing countries out of abject poverty, while sustaining prosperity in the industrialized world.
We must ensure that the global market is embedded in broadly shared values and practices that reflect global social needs, and that all the world's people share the benefits of globalization.
Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict.
Business, labor and civil society organizations have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community.
Above all else, we need a reaffirmation of political commitment at the highest levels to reducing the dangers that arise both from existing nuclear weapons and from further proliferation.
Once you are really challenged, you find something in yourself. Man doesn't know what he is capable of until he is asked.
Microfinance recognizes that poor people are remarkable reservoirs of energy and knowledge
I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present.
If you are neutral in a situation where one side is patently being mistreated, the conclusion is that you're siding with this wrong.
I am often asked what can people do to become a good global citizen? I reply that it begins in your own community.
The United Nations, whose membership comprises almost all the States in the world, is founded on the principle of the equal worth of every human being.
We must restore the sacredness of the family as a bedrock of humane values everywhere, in peace as well as in war.
Children are our future and if we use them in battle, we are destroying the future. We must reclaim them, every one of them, one at a time.
Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract - sustainable development - and turn it into a reality for all the world's people
If we are to make poverty history, we must have the active participation of States, civil society and the private sector, as well as individual volunteers.
We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.
I think that these flows of refugee are the inevitable counterparts to the flow of capital and goods. In other words, they too are by-products of globalisation.
A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment
Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death.
We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if only we can find the political will.
We need to create a world that is equitable, that is stable and a world where we bear in mind the needs of others, and not only what we need immediately. We are all in the same boat.
Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.
Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship.
It is not in the United Nations that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved. They have to be achieved in each of its Member States, by the joint efforts of their governments and people.
If tolerance, respect and equity permeate family life, they will translate into values that shape societies, nations and the world.