From birth to their 21st birthday
I lived on a small island of Sri Lanka,
my never set foot on the other shore.
When I finally left the country
as a law student and journalist,
it was less the result of my choice or plan
because I was more agile fear and necessity.
While my home with idyllic paradise
It becomes a country devastated by civil war.
Killing thousands of people.
This country has become an inhospitable place for students, journalists, lawyers
and in general for anyone else.
Shortly after my departure, my friend, my teacher, my fellow journalists,
who had previously convinced me to leave the country for the sake of my own safety,
He was kidnapped, tortured and killed simply because of their beliefs and work,
which he did in the name of the struggle against injustice.
Since that time I have lived more than 20 countries worldwide.
I saw more than 100 countries.
I had the opportunity
touch the lives of thousands of people,
I was given the rare privilege of firsthand
hear stories of men, women and children,
survivors of Ebola in Africa,
tsunamis and cyclones in Asia,
conflicts and wars in Europe,
violence and discrimination in South and North America.
All these people have influenced my life and my world changed.
Of course, none of the above, I originally did not plan to.
But today I’m here to testify,
that the changes are not only possible, but inevitable.
Some 200 years ago
on this planet is inhabited by about 1 billion people.
Today, we have 7.5 billion.
By 2056 it will be 10 billion by us.
Over the past 25 years, our forests were reduced to the territory,
equal to the size of the South African Republic:
126 million hectares.
Over the past 50 years
two-thirds of the planet’s wild animals have disappeared forever.
And at the same time there is global warming,
rising sea levels,
more and more hurricanes.
Only in 2015 was registered in the world
7000 natural disasters.
The ice of the North and South poles of the planet melting.
If we do not stop this process now, it will become irreversible,
that we would eventually do.
At the same time the world’s 28 continuing armed conflicts and wars,
which has killed thousands of citizens
and forced millions of people to flee their homes.
In the past year,
we have witnessed the largest number of refugees in history:
65.3 million people.
Just imagine!
It is almost 7 times more than the population of Belarus!
What does all this mean?
The fact that changes are taking place, and they are happening now.
We can either take the changes into their own hands and begin to control their own destiny,
or we can surrender to chance and go into oblivion.
Change – means to survive.
Gone are the days when you could have fun and hope
that for you tomorrow will be removed others.
Because in this case there is no tomorrow.
But you can say, “I live in Belarus. This quiet country.
Over recent years, there have been no major epidemics or natural disasters.
Yes, there are certain economic issues, but it is a safe country.
My family and I live quite comfortably.
So what’s the deal? Why change something?
It’s not my problem. It’s not my concern. It’s not my headache. “
Recently, I spoke with the children and tells them:
“What do we have? You – the children, I – an adult.
You – the Europeans, I – Asian.
You – white, I – black.
We even speak the same language! “.
One boy raised his hand and said: “But we all – the people!”.
And then another girl,
probably it was about 9-10, he says:
“We all live in the same house called planet Earth!”.
I think that these children are trying to tell me, tell us all
that in this increasingly shrinking world is difficult to find differences
between calls on a global scale and local issues.
If another iceberg is melting in the Arctic,
at the same time in the Maldives disappearing island.
If Liberia bat infects a person,
Ebola strikes in Amsterdam.
When is the stock market crash in New York
People in China are poor.
When a bomb explodes in Ukraine,
refugees seeking asylum in Belarus.
Our future, our fates are intertwined.
Conventional boundaries, fences and walls
can no longer protect us.
Recently, I went to Beijing.
Of course, the biggest wall of all time
It is right there in China.
But whether it can really protect the Chinese?
This is a remarkable piece of architecture.
But will she be able to stop the spread of the virus?
He still penetrate the computer or in some other way.
Therefore, we can make a choice:
or look at the horizon and work together to find opportunities,
or arrange their tents in a circle, considering that we are in a no security
and the future never comes.
But this is an empty hope, right?
Because tomorrow will come anyway.
And if that happens, it will be too late to learn from those
who were forced to solve problems similar to ours before,
and we have to face them alone.
Well aware of the fact that our fates are intertwined,
in 2015, world leaders gathered at the United Nations
and made a promise to each other and to all of us,
that by 2030 we will live in a world that would like to see.
It has been called “sustainable development goals”. Their 17.
We were told that by 2030 we will live in peace
unnecessarily, without hunger,
no unemployment;
with better health, education,
in conditions of equality;
that we live in a world of justice,
in a safe environment;
we live in a world where people are protective of the environment;
in a world in which the current generation will be able to meet their needs,
without compromising future generations.
You can say, “Wow! But it is a difficult task!
Are you serious? Are we going to make it all up to 2030? “.
Let us not forget that the world has also teamed up and said in 2000:
“We are going to achieve the eight goals.”
Not 17, only eight.
And they were called “Millennium Development Goals”.
Many skeptics saying:
“Well, well, this has not happened. Is that possible? “.
By 2015, we have not only achieved the majority of them,
but in many cases exceeded.
Belarus is a good example.
In 2000, more than 40% of the population of Belarus
below the poverty line.
The global objective, one of the “Millennium Development Goals”
It was that, by 2015, to halve poverty.
And Belarus has managed to reduce the number of people below the poverty line from 40% to 6%
in just 15 years.
Thus, I repeat for the skeptics:
“It’s possible.
Just for this you need to work hard. “
But it also means that we must all work together.
Promising technologies and their perception of humanity as a single organism,
Why do we need “providers” Global Goals,
give us an opportunity to change the world
and make it the way we want it to be.
I believe that we can very well become the first generation,
and in fact I think that we are the first generation,
which will find the strength to eradicate poverty.
And I also believe that we can very well be the last generation,
who still have a chance to save our planet.
But if we want to do this, we must look at the world in a new way.
If we want to do this, we must look for new ways to each other.
And if we want to do it,
the need to help people to look for a new themselves.
If we look at the world in a new way,
it comes to us an understanding that our actions have consequences,
that go beyond our apartments, cities, and possibly
even outside the allocated us time.
If you choose to retain the positive track,
it may be the small:
turn off unnecessary lights,
ride a bike,
responsibly prepare and eat food,
Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If we decide to look in a new way on the other,
it will mean that we will fight against stereotypes,
who scored, looking at other people at a distance.
Take a trip to another country, learn a new language,
Sit on a bench with a neighbor’s son with autism
or retired from your porch, stay in the place of another person.
If we can help other people to look for new ways to themselves,
we can unlock the potential of a large part of humanity,
who lives with us in the same house – on our planet.
And it will help us all to not only survive, but thrive.
One billion people
with 7.5 billion who live in this world,
have some form of disability.
In Belarus
home to more than half a million people
with different types of disabilities.
Ask yourself: when you walk through the streets of Minsk,
how often do you see a man in a wheelchair,
a woman with a white stick, a child with Down syndrome?
Not very often, huh?
But that’s half a million people in a population of 9.4 million country!
And where are they?
Imagine a world
where together we have destroyed
obstacles and barriers:
psychological, emotional, financial and physical.
Would not benefited from this we all?
Is it not better, than do these people objects of our sympathy?
Someone will say: “This will require investing a lot of resources!”.
And I’ll turn this argument on its head and say:
“In fact, this is the most important,
at our disposal, resource. “
The diversity of the human race
just it is thus the only resource,
which can really save our people and preserve our planet.
Some technologies this is not enough. All the matter in humans.
In humans, such as you and I,
and in others, which we, unfortunately, often do not see,
because we are not just eliminated the barriers.
Remember each,
leaves no one behind – is not just a right,
no other choice.
But to do that, we need to know,
Who are the vulnerable people and where they are.
And let us always remember:
perhaps today you do not consider yourself to be vulnerable,
but tomorrow they can become full,
because it can suddenly go bankrupt,
suddenly receive a disability
when something can go wrong.
We must understand that at different times by different people
They face various problems.
And, in fact, if you treat everyone equally,
the discrimination is inexhaustible.
If you have the same attitude to the fact, whose situation is worse than the situation of others,
the fact you contribute to discrimination.
And at the same time it is really important not to focus only on the needs of those
who are disadvantaged,
who belongs to the category of marginalized
or vulnerable citizens.
Because it would mean that such people are
passive recipients of help from others.
What we need to do –
focus on the disclosure of their potential
What can we do here together?
We can not only remove the barriers,
but also to reveal the potential of these people,
which will be their contribution to the common cause.
And, thirdly, we need to fight stigma,
discrimination,
prison for many people, including ourselves.
Is it only those who are the targets of stigma and discrimination,
I feel like a prison?
We are also behind bars with his handmade stigma
and our perception of reality,
which is often the result of ignorance and fear.
Do not forget that not long ago many people thought:
a woman’s place – barefoot and pregnant – in the kitchen.
More recently, many believed
HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis and need to be thrown out of the society.
Recently, many believed
that children with mental health problems need to keep locked up for life.
More recently, many believed
that people are non-white skin color
They belong to an inferior race, and only need for manual work.
Ask yourself:
I am a woman, a child, a fugitive,
person in a wheelchair or a grandmother from the village,
affected by the Chernobyl accident,
deserve less than the others?
And would these people are capable of less,
to have at their disposal all the resources we have?
Let us not forget that the father of Steve Jobs
He was a refugee from Syria.
Let us not forget,
that one of the most brilliant minds of our time – Stephen Hawking –
paralyzed and is in custody in a body that is not functioning.
Let us not forget,
Joan of Arc and Marie Curie,
despite their contribution to humanity,
We paid a high price just for the fact that they were women.
The world is changing, and we have a choice.
We can try to hide or bury your head in the sand like an ostrich,
hoping that tomorrow would never come.
In the end, we find ourselves on the page read stories,
like dinosaurs.
We can decide to demolish barriers,
preventing communicate with each other,
prevent us from understanding our brothers in humanity.
We can make a choice in favor of the joint work
in order to preserve this planet for us, for our children and grandchildren.
I believe that together we can
conquer the mountains and save more than one planet.
Thank you!
(Applause)
I lived on a small island of Sri Lanka,
my never set foot on the other shore.
When I finally left the country
as a law student and journalist,
it was less the result of my choice or plan
because I was more agile fear and necessity.
While my home with idyllic paradise
It becomes a country devastated by civil war.
Killing thousands of people.
This country has become an inhospitable place for students, journalists, lawyers
and in general for anyone else.
Shortly after my departure, my friend, my teacher, my fellow journalists,
who had previously convinced me to leave the country for the sake of my own safety,
He was kidnapped, tortured and killed simply because of their beliefs and work,
which he did in the name of the struggle against injustice.
Since that time I have lived more than 20 countries worldwide.
I saw more than 100 countries.
I had the opportunity
touch the lives of thousands of people,
I was given the rare privilege of firsthand
hear stories of men, women and children,
survivors of Ebola in Africa,
tsunamis and cyclones in Asia,
conflicts and wars in Europe,
violence and discrimination in South and North America.
All these people have influenced my life and my world changed.
Of course, none of the above, I originally did not plan to.
But today I’m here to testify,
that the changes are not only possible, but inevitable.
Some 200 years ago
on this planet is inhabited by about 1 billion people.
Today, we have 7.5 billion.
By 2056 it will be 10 billion by us.
Over the past 25 years, our forests were reduced to the territory,
equal to the size of the South African Republic:
126 million hectares.
Over the past 50 years
two-thirds of the planet’s wild animals have disappeared forever.
And at the same time there is global warming,
rising sea levels,
more and more hurricanes.
Only in 2015 was registered in the world
7000 natural disasters.
The ice of the North and South poles of the planet melting.
If we do not stop this process now, it will become irreversible,
that we would eventually do.
At the same time the world’s 28 continuing armed conflicts and wars,
which has killed thousands of citizens
and forced millions of people to flee their homes.
In the past year,
we have witnessed the largest number of refugees in history:
65.3 million people.
Just imagine!
It is almost 7 times more than the population of Belarus!
What does all this mean?
The fact that changes are taking place, and they are happening now.
We can either take the changes into their own hands and begin to control their own destiny,
or we can surrender to chance and go into oblivion.
Change – means to survive.
Gone are the days when you could have fun and hope
that for you tomorrow will be removed others.
Because in this case there is no tomorrow.
But you can say, “I live in Belarus. This quiet country.
Over recent years, there have been no major epidemics or natural disasters.
Yes, there are certain economic issues, but it is a safe country.
My family and I live quite comfortably.
So what’s the deal? Why change something?
It’s not my problem. It’s not my concern. It’s not my headache. “
Recently, I spoke with the children and tells them:
“What do we have? You – the children, I – an adult.
You – the Europeans, I – Asian.
You – white, I – black.
We even speak the same language! “.
One boy raised his hand and said: “But we all – the people!”.
And then another girl,
probably it was about 9-10, he says:
“We all live in the same house called planet Earth!”.
I think that these children are trying to tell me, tell us all
that in this increasingly shrinking world is difficult to find differences
between calls on a global scale and local issues.
If another iceberg is melting in the Arctic,
at the same time in the Maldives disappearing island.
If Liberia bat infects a person,
Ebola strikes in Amsterdam.
When is the stock market crash in New York
People in China are poor.
When a bomb explodes in Ukraine,
refugees seeking asylum in Belarus.
Our future, our fates are intertwined.
Conventional boundaries, fences and walls
can no longer protect us.
Recently, I went to Beijing.
Of course, the biggest wall of all time
It is right there in China.
But whether it can really protect the Chinese?
This is a remarkable piece of architecture.
But will she be able to stop the spread of the virus?
He still penetrate the computer or in some other way.
Therefore, we can make a choice:
or look at the horizon and work together to find opportunities,
or arrange their tents in a circle, considering that we are in a no security
and the future never comes.
But this is an empty hope, right?
Because tomorrow will come anyway.
And if that happens, it will be too late to learn from those
who were forced to solve problems similar to ours before,
and we have to face them alone.
Well aware of the fact that our fates are intertwined,
in 2015, world leaders gathered at the United Nations
and made a promise to each other and to all of us,
that by 2030 we will live in a world that would like to see.
It has been called “sustainable development goals”. Their 17.
We were told that by 2030 we will live in peace
unnecessarily, without hunger,
no unemployment;
with better health, education,
in conditions of equality;
that we live in a world of justice,
in a safe environment;
we live in a world where people are protective of the environment;
in a world in which the current generation will be able to meet their needs,
without compromising future generations.
You can say, “Wow! But it is a difficult task!
Are you serious? Are we going to make it all up to 2030? “.
Let us not forget that the world has also teamed up and said in 2000:
“We are going to achieve the eight goals.”
Not 17, only eight.
And they were called “Millennium Development Goals”.
Many skeptics saying:
“Well, well, this has not happened. Is that possible? “.
By 2015, we have not only achieved the majority of them,
but in many cases exceeded.
Belarus is a good example.
In 2000, more than 40% of the population of Belarus
below the poverty line.
The global objective, one of the “Millennium Development Goals”
It was that, by 2015, to halve poverty.
And Belarus has managed to reduce the number of people below the poverty line from 40% to 6%
in just 15 years.
Thus, I repeat for the skeptics:
“It’s possible.
Just for this you need to work hard. “
But it also means that we must all work together.
Promising technologies and their perception of humanity as a single organism,
Why do we need “providers” Global Goals,
give us an opportunity to change the world
and make it the way we want it to be.
I believe that we can very well become the first generation,
and in fact I think that we are the first generation,
which will find the strength to eradicate poverty.
And I also believe that we can very well be the last generation,
who still have a chance to save our planet.
But if we want to do this, we must look at the world in a new way.
If we want to do this, we must look for new ways to each other.
And if we want to do it,
the need to help people to look for a new themselves.
If we look at the world in a new way,
it comes to us an understanding that our actions have consequences,
that go beyond our apartments, cities, and possibly
even outside the allocated us time.
If you choose to retain the positive track,
it may be the small:
turn off unnecessary lights,
ride a bike,
responsibly prepare and eat food,
Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If we decide to look in a new way on the other,
it will mean that we will fight against stereotypes,
who scored, looking at other people at a distance.
Take a trip to another country, learn a new language,
Sit on a bench with a neighbor’s son with autism
or retired from your porch, stay in the place of another person.
If we can help other people to look for new ways to themselves,
we can unlock the potential of a large part of humanity,
who lives with us in the same house – on our planet.
And it will help us all to not only survive, but thrive.
One billion people
with 7.5 billion who live in this world,
have some form of disability.
In Belarus
home to more than half a million people
with different types of disabilities.
Ask yourself: when you walk through the streets of Minsk,
how often do you see a man in a wheelchair,
a woman with a white stick, a child with Down syndrome?
Not very often, huh?
But that’s half a million people in a population of 9.4 million country!
And where are they?
Imagine a world
where together we have destroyed
obstacles and barriers:
psychological, emotional, financial and physical.
Would not benefited from this we all?
Is it not better, than do these people objects of our sympathy?
Someone will say: “This will require investing a lot of resources!”.
And I’ll turn this argument on its head and say:
“In fact, this is the most important,
at our disposal, resource. “
The diversity of the human race
just it is thus the only resource,
which can really save our people and preserve our planet.
Some technologies this is not enough. All the matter in humans.
In humans, such as you and I,
and in others, which we, unfortunately, often do not see,
because we are not just eliminated the barriers.
Remember each,
leaves no one behind – is not just a right,
no other choice.
But to do that, we need to know,
Who are the vulnerable people and where they are.
And let us always remember:
perhaps today you do not consider yourself to be vulnerable,
but tomorrow they can become full,
because it can suddenly go bankrupt,
suddenly receive a disability
when something can go wrong.
We must understand that at different times by different people
They face various problems.
And, in fact, if you treat everyone equally,
the discrimination is inexhaustible.
If you have the same attitude to the fact, whose situation is worse than the situation of others,
the fact you contribute to discrimination.
And at the same time it is really important not to focus only on the needs of those
who are disadvantaged,
who belongs to the category of marginalized
or vulnerable citizens.
Because it would mean that such people are
passive recipients of help from others.
What we need to do –
focus on the disclosure of their potential
What can we do here together?
We can not only remove the barriers,
but also to reveal the potential of these people,
which will be their contribution to the common cause.
And, thirdly, we need to fight stigma,
discrimination,
prison for many people, including ourselves.
Is it only those who are the targets of stigma and discrimination,
I feel like a prison?
We are also behind bars with his handmade stigma
and our perception of reality,
which is often the result of ignorance and fear.
Do not forget that not long ago many people thought:
a woman’s place – barefoot and pregnant – in the kitchen.
More recently, many believed
HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis and need to be thrown out of the society.
Recently, many believed
that children with mental health problems need to keep locked up for life.
More recently, many believed
that people are non-white skin color
They belong to an inferior race, and only need for manual work.
Ask yourself:
I am a woman, a child, a fugitive,
person in a wheelchair or a grandmother from the village,
affected by the Chernobyl accident,
deserve less than the others?
And would these people are capable of less,
to have at their disposal all the resources we have?
Let us not forget that the father of Steve Jobs
He was a refugee from Syria.
Let us not forget,
that one of the most brilliant minds of our time – Stephen Hawking –
paralyzed and is in custody in a body that is not functioning.
Let us not forget,
Joan of Arc and Marie Curie,
despite their contribution to humanity,
We paid a high price just for the fact that they were women.
The world is changing, and we have a choice.
We can try to hide or bury your head in the sand like an ostrich,
hoping that tomorrow would never come.
In the end, we find ourselves on the page read stories,
like dinosaurs.
We can decide to demolish barriers,
preventing communicate with each other,
prevent us from understanding our brothers in humanity.
We can make a choice in favor of the joint work
in order to preserve this planet for us, for our children and grandchildren.
I believe that together we can
conquer the mountains and save more than one planet.
Thank you!
(Applause)
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