Culture

More than just being a luxury item, they are pieces that represent milestone moments- that's why they're important. People also reflect on whether diamonds are a hard asset class. They are the hardest of all assets, being the hardest asset known to man!

I can't look an African-American parent in the eye for thinking about what they must tell their sons about what can happen to them on the streets of their country.

Creator of The Wire, acclaimed HBO crime drama series

I was an accidental witness to history, it wasn't technology that intrigued me; but rather the question about who these human beings were… who was this hidden tribe that had the power to change our lives?

The difference between rap, jazz, blues, rock & roll, pop, r&b and all that is that the hip-hop artists held on to it…. MTV didn't play any people of colour until hip-hop came along. They had Michael Jackson then they had Run D.M.C. Run D.M.C's 'Rock Box' and these records were honest and real reflections of what came from these people's communities- from a poetry and music standpoint.

Founder of Def Jam Records & Hip-Hop Pioneer

It's been constantly shocking how resilient and expansive Hip Hop is.

Hip-hop scholar and cultural critic; author of "Black Noise

Honesty! It has a greater share of integrity than most pop phenomenon- and consistently. They coined an expression early, that people had this attitude of '…keeping it real…'. People always said they do art, but they don't do art for money… what was real was that they wanted to get ahead- so their poetry reflected what was in their hearts.

Founder of Def Jam Records & Hip-Hop Pioneer

When they went to work, it wasn't that they were selling out but rather the intention of human beings to chase things… material stuff… come out of the ghetto… achieve… they wanted their own reflection in pop culture… they didn't want any of this YMCA, Patrick Juvet's – I Love America or any of these disco records that were out…. they didn't want to listen to that on black radio, it was insulting…. so they made their own.

Founder of Def Jam Records & Hip-Hop Pioneer

If you go to any rave, or any football event, you will find people chanting in a rhythm- human beings do that. We have this sense to participate and organise- Music lets you rediscover your humanity, and your connection to humanity. When you listen to Mozart with other people, you feel that somehow- we're all in this together….

Acclaimed film composer known for scores like The Lion King and Inception

We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans- because we can… We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings… That's why we paint, that's why we dare to love someone- because we have the impulse to explain who we are.

Renowned poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist; author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Sleep became not just devalued but actively scorned. After all, every hour spent sleeping was another hour spent not working—therefore another wasted hour. And despite a growing awareness of the importance of well-being, so many of our modern attitudes still reflect this.

Co-Founder of The Huffington Post & Wellness Advocate

Countries trade with each-other, and trade is in the context of goods, services, labour and many other things. They trade with each other because they're different, and have different tastes and preferences, different attitudes towards risk, different technological frontiers, different resources, different climate and ecologies and so on. It's differences in tastes and preferences, resources and technology together with ways of thinking (manifesting in managerial and design differences) which are the reasons countries benefit when they trade with each other in goods, services, finance and labour.

I'm surprised that people argue that economic integration causes a loss of identity. In fact, countries get the benefits of their own country (whether it be food, types of goods, technologies) but in-addition, they get the benefits of all the things other countries produce too. Economic integration doesn't remove a country's identity, far from it… rather the range of products, services, instruments and intellectual processes available increases. You keep what you have and add things from abroad. This is not reducing identity, but expanding it.

One of the ideas you hear often is that in America there is a culture where not only is it ok to fail, but it's almost expected – like a badge of honor. This is true to a point but that implies a cut-throat culture that is more legend than reality and is actually bad for innovation.

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom

I was sitting on a train—the British invention that transformed trade and travel, and was embraced very early in the United States. In my hand was an iPhone – another revolutionary advance, this time created by Americans with its iconic appearance designed by an Englishman. There are countless examples like these.

U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, France, and the United Kingdom

I'm always searching for that black-swan, what is that project, or who is that artist that feels specials, and feels counter-culture. Who is that artist that feels interesting and has a bold, unapologetic point of view? That's what pulls me in- and you know what, if you find that and put the right strategy around it? You can disrupt culture.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

The polarising EU referendum brought much of this to a head. Let me be clear: I do not, by any stretch, feel that people that voted to leave the EU were racist- but it's clear that UKIP, EDL, and their peers realised the power of the race card, and played it to their advantage.