Kofi Annan: And that is why we have the United Nations

“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.”
― Kofi Annan

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... 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.”
― Kofi Annan

“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.”
― Kofi Annan

“People of different religions and cultures live side by side in almost every part of the world, and most of us have overlapping identities which unite us with very different groups. We can love what we are, without hating what – and who – we are not. We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others, and come to respect their teachings.”
― Kofi Annan

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”
― Kofi Annan, Where On Earth Are We Going

“The problem is not with the faith, but with the faithful”
― Kofi Annan

“Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defense spending there is.”
― Kofi Annan

“If you have a problem and you can't find a solution, you meet again tomorrow and you keep talking until you find a solution. You can disagree with behavior or a particular position, but you do not resort to calling an opponent worthless.”
― Kofi Annan, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

“Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples are becoming more and more closely interconnected.”
― Kofi Annan

“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.”
― Kofi Annan

“More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that is why we have the United Nations.”
― Kofi Annan

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”
― Kofi Annan

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”
― Kofi Annan

“You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.”
― Kofi Annan