I think the UN's role - especially since it's not an extremely rich fund, and that's to put it mildly - is mainly to act as a leading thinker of the world in terms of how to think about the future.

Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one's full potential as a human being

Economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable - and unethical.

The success of a society is to be evaluated primarily by the freedoms that members of the society enjoy.

Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity.

I believe that virtually all the problems in the world come from inequality of one kind or another.

Empowering women is key to building a future we want

Starvation is the characteristic of some people not having enough food to eat. It is not the characteristic of there being not enough food to eat.

Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development, they are also among its principal means.

Progress is more plausibly judged by the reduction of deprivation than by the further enrichment of the opulent

No famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy.

Opportunities are everywhere. The question is who is going to take advantage of them.

In America, everybody thinks they're an entrepreneur. That's the problem. It's not a title that anybody should call oneself.

A painter is a choreographer of space.

There must always be a first," said Jem. "It is not easy to be first, and it is not always rewarding, but it is important.

The more flexible we become in our thinking and being, the more we open ourselves to self-awareness & growth.

That one tickled. If electrocution is your way of flirting, I commend you on your originality.

The instinct to produce great work doesn't require a fancy notebook.

If you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.

If you have achieved any level of success, then pour it into someone else. Success is not success without a successor.

Oh, I'm not a percussionist, I just like to hit things.