Kofi Annan > Quotes

“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

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.”
― Kofi Anan

“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?

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

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

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

“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

“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

“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

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

“As study after study has taught us, there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.”
― Kofi Annan

“Nous devions convaincre la communauté mondiale que la souveraineté devait désormais être considérée comme conditionnée à la responsabilité des États à assurer les droits de leur peuple - et donc être prise autant au sérieux que la volonté des États qu'on ne s'ingère pas dans leurs affaires intérieures.”
― Kofi Annan, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

“Every new idea and initiative meets with resistance. We have to find the courage to take risks, even to fail, if the goal is worthwhile.”
― Kofi Annan

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

“Il y a des moments où le recours à la force peut être légitime pour poursuivre la paix.”
― Kofi Annan

“You are never too young to lead, and you should never doubt your capacity to triumph where others have not.”
― Kofi Annan

“EDUCATION IS THE PREMISE OF PROGRESS”
― Kofi Annan, Basic Facts About the United Nations

“Bilgi güçtür, bilgi özgürleştirir.”
― Kofi Annan

“EDUCATION IS A HUMAN RIGHT WITH IMMENSE POWER TO TRANSFORM”
― Kofi Annan, Confronting Anti-Semitism: Essays by Kofi A. Annan, Elie Wiesel, et al

“Above all, I wish for a world in which men and women of every nation archive a measure of dignity and opportunity in their individual lives that allows each of them to serve others, and stand up to the forces of injustice and inequality wherever they exist.”
― Kofi Annan