Kofi Annan

“In the rush for justice it is important not to lose sight of principles the country holds dear.”

“Sometimes I walk into a situation and know someone is going to provoke me, and I just simply refuse to be provoked.”

“No single solution or actor can deal with the complex and interrelated challenges to electoral integrity arising from manipulated data, hate speech, and fake news. These phenomena are not new; they have been part of electoral cycles since the advent of democracy.”

“Change is a process which has to be managed.”

“Eating insects is good for the environment and balanced diets.”

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

“Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations.”

“The Lord had the wonderful advantage of being able to work alone.”

“The skills you need to fight the colonial power and the skills you need to gain independence are not necessarily the same you need to run a country.”

“We need to keep hope alive and strive to do better.”

“Often we mistake stability, in terms of security and economic activity, to mean a country is doing well. We forget the third and important pillar: rule of law and respect for human rights.”

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

“There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole - women and men alike - than the one which involves women as central players.”

“We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.”

“It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.”

“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.”

“If information and knowledge are central to democracy, they are conditions for development.”