Society

We have become robots, instead of humans with feelings… with conversations… with letter writing, you know.

Holocaust survivor and author, stepsister of Anne Frank

I remember we used to have much better family ties too… parents very often lived with you, little children learned from the older generations, there was a deep personal link between generations… now? if I give advice to one of my grandchildren they laugh and say, 'oh my, you don't know about our lives today…'

Holocaust survivor and author, stepsister of Anne Frank

We [older generations] want to sit down with people and talk about things- but young people go to a restaurant, and sit together, both with their telephones! In today's world, people have become so ambitious, everything has to be quick, and everyone wants more… there is so much greed. Have, have, have. Everything has to be quick.

Holocaust survivor and author, stepsister of Anne Frank

We have lost the personal touch – today, everything is fast – impersonal, digital… yet, we are not robots. We need personal contact, we need to understand each other's feelings… and this can't be done via email; and especially for the older generations in or society, this change is really hard.

Holocaust survivor and author, stepsister of Anne Frank

Once the cancer of authoritarianism gets into the veins and organs of society, it's not easy to get-out – they have this very specific way of paralysing political mechanisms and dismantling the fundamental human logic.

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

Populism is the act of politicising and mobilising ignorance to the point of political and moral insanity.

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

There is also a huge cultural misconception that heart disease is the patient's fault, they did something wrong to themselves. When we blame individuals and not the society that created those risk factors and behaviours, we don't react as forcefully as we could.

Cardiologist and author specializing in heart disease and public health

Diseases of the heart are sometimes thought of as forgotten diseases, which is ironic as they still kill more people than any other condition on the planet… and are on the rise in some of the largest countries in the world like China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia.

Cardiologist and author specializing in heart disease and public health

In today's United States, asking a republican parent if it was OK for their daughter to marry a democrat would elicit a response similar to asking parents years ago if their daughter could marry a black person – the polarization is astounding.

Philosopher, Cosmopolitanism Advocate & Princeton University Professor

People are individuals, they have to make lives and decide how to live their individuality – and society provides labels to allow that for example, 'I am a man, and here are the things that men typically do, and so I'm going to do those things…' or 'I'm British, that means I must like tea and cricket… or a cheeky Nando's'

Philosopher, Cosmopolitanism Advocate & Princeton University Professor

People come to Glastonbury and can try out ways of living that can be rolled out across the country. If we can make a change at the festival, then why not across a whole city like Oxford, it's the same size!

Co-organizer of Glastonbury Festival with her father Michael Eavis

Glastonbury means different things to different people, but for me, there's something really life affirming about bringing people together who can live peacefully, without conflict, for 5 days in the middle of the countryside with pretty basic facilities, leaving feeling like they can change the world.

Co-organizer of Glastonbury Festival with her father Michael Eavis

I got through the audition, but I'll never forget the writer/director telling me, 'what prompted us to call you was the way your bio was written, it was great!' – That's why I credit my sister for so much in my life, including my very first opportunity as an actor.

Indian actress known for critically acclaimed roles in unconventional films

When I told my parents and sister – my sister (who has always been my champion) took me to a local photo studio. I had my best clothes, she did my make-up and I posed in front of the camera. I sent those pictures with a bio that my sister wrote, and I got called for an audition.

Indian actress known for critically acclaimed roles in unconventional films

We need to be responsible adults, yet society is- at best- irresponsible adolescents. Our society isn't worried about long-term consequences, it's 'live for today, party now, forget about the hangover...'

Co-inventor of Public-Key Cryptography & Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

Our ethics are not static, they evolve over time and that gives me tremendous hope. If we had remained static, the progress we have made would have been impossible. The evolution of ethics is essential to our survival.

Co-inventor of Public-Key Cryptography & Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange