Kofi Annan

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

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

“More countries have understood that women's equality is a prerequisite for development.”

“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.”

“If one is going to err, one should err on the side of liberty and freedom.”

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

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

“I urge the Iraqi leadership for sake of its own people... to seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the Iraqi people.”

“The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What impact could it have? These are questions leaders I have spoken to have posed.”

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

“In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion.”

“Business, labor and civil society organizations have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community.”

“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.”