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№ 2000.005 — Stanford University — Commencement keynote
Kofi Annan
U.N. secretary-general
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Kofi Annan at Stanford, 2000
A commencement address about global leadership, shared responsibility, environmental stewardship, and future generations.
- 01 UN leadership
- 02 Global environment
- 03 Interdependence
- 04 Security
- 05 Justice
- 06 Science and wealth
- 07 Cooperation
- 08 Future generations
World stage
Leadership for one planet
Annan frames graduates as entering a deeply interdependent world that needs leadership to safeguard the global environment.
No nation stands outside shared ecological systems.
Privilege and knowledge create obligation.
The environment becomes common inheritance.
Stakes
Environment, security, justice
Environmental protection is linked to human security, equity, and the stability of communities.
Ecological harm becomes political risk.
The vulnerable often bear the costs first.
Development must include stewardship.
Tools
Science and cooperation
Wealth, science, technology, and institutions are presented as tools that matter only when used cooperatively.
Knowledge gives capacity to act.
Global problems need durable collaboration.
Shared rules turn concern into action.
Charge
Safeguard the future
Graduates are asked to lead across borders because future generations depend on present choices.
The unborn inherit today's decisions.
Leadership must cross national limits.
Protecting the planet is shared work.
Transcript
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