Ban Ki-moon Quotes

The world needs opportunities for new leaders and new ideas. Kids need opportunities to lead and succeed. Are you ready to make the match? Because the world's problems shouldn't be the human family's heirloom.

I think business leaders all over the world should not just think of how we can make lots of money, which is fine, but to take some of the problems in the world and get out there and tackle them using business. I think that if businesses do that we can get on top of these problems.

Building capacities for the young generation is going to make a better generation and a better future tomorrow for Africa.

Generally, it is human endeavour to have young people lead, and you see that in public life in the U.S. and everywhere.

Philanthropists can learn important lessons from business entrepreneurs. They both spend their time solving problems. And to be successful, they both must overcome physical challenges and create self-sustaining operations. And ultimately, they must allow people to take action for their own benefit.

I believe that young kids have agency and can make a difference in the world.

Often, sustainability is discussed only in the context of energy. Energy sustainability is essential - but the word has a much broader meaning. It means long-term thinking about how we manage our businesses, invest in social spending, and plan for the future. This requires vision and leadership, and it requires citizen engagement.

We've set up groups in schools across North America. They apply and receive a curriculum about different issues facing the world - from environment to health to sustainability. Then, the students take actions from fundraisers to awareness raisers, and some of them even go overseas and volunteer.

I am ever hopeful that there are generations of young Chinese people who are really thinking about the future and what kind of society they want.

We have the enormous opportunity in our hands to make a positive difference for business, people, and the planet.

The aspiration to save the world is a morbid phenomenon of today's youth.

Every single social and global issue of our day is a business opportunity in disguise.

You are already leaders. Your ideas, your actions and your decisions make a difference. More than any other generation, you have a voice. Social networking is changing how we interact - and it can change our world. You are in touch with peers from around the world. You understand the power of instant communication. I appeal to you to use that power for the common good, the power of communication and the power of networking.

People look at the future and see a black hole. They look at climate change and see an ecological crisis. They look at their leaders corrupted by money and see a political crisis. They wonder if they'll ever be able to pay off their student loan or own a house. Given this ecological, political and financial crisis, what they want is a different future. Their fundamental demand is a different regime to provide that future.

I was getting mad at the system or the politicians or the government, and then I realized someone should talk about this stuff, and I have a big, multinational global-youth platform of kids who are going to change the world. So I was like, "I should be doing that. I should be showing this to people. That's my job." And since that time, I've been very happy.

I'm trying to influence the next generation or two generations or three generations behind me. That's a big ambition of mine.

I think something very weird's going on now, 'cause the power that is permitted to youth is quite extraordinary. And they are sort of run by that kind of power.

I think one of things that Steve Jobs, in his own funny way, encouraged us to remember with those "Think different" posters of Gandhi and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King was, "How do you make the world a better place?"

Mend the part of the world that is within your reach.

Welcome to We Day! Since last year, WE have volunteered over 1.7 million hours of our time!

Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environments and social degradation.

Compassion can change a lot of things, including the world. Young people especially need to know that, because they're the future.

We need to awaken the next generation to understand that we are all change-makers. The nation is not as strong as its government but its next generation

Be a voice for the future and a voice for the planet.

Each of us, as citizens, has a role to play in creating a better world for our children