Politics

The will to live together is the fundamental pillar that keeps society going- and that pillar is now under threat. What will we do when we lose the will to live together? That's one of the fundamental questions of our time.

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

At some point, corruption destroys the trust in a society so much that it has an impact on unity, and the social fabric of a country or nation. It affects wellbeing. It affects the capacity of a nation to be happy.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

Corruption is a collective mindset, anchored around a cultural mindset that shifts to become tolerant to corruption, and increased levels of corruption. When we talk about corruption it's easy to think of it as governments, but for corruption to work- and to be effective- it has to contaminate all the bodies of society.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

A lot of governments and corporations have made pledges to be carbon neutral by 2050 without having any way to do it. They don't know how to do it. They don't have the tools to do it. We have found over 1000 solutions that can help.

Swiss Adventurer & Pilot of Solar-Powered Aircraft Solar Impulse

Disasters keep coming along at random intervals, they are not normally distributed. They either come randomly (in the case of war) or they are governed by power-laws (pandemics and earthquakes). That's hard for our brains to deal with… we don't like the idea that history is just a lot of random shocks without any predictable features.

British historian and author specializing in financial and military history

We've built two great contagion machines. Firstly, international travel which has enabled vast numbers of people to fly over great distances. Secondly, the internet – and in particular, the way the internet has evolved... we saw the rapid growth of clickbait, sensationalist content, and the internet became a machine for disseminating contagious ideas.

British historian and author specializing in financial and military history

Society feels broken because society is broken. When the most powerful nations in the world are spending billions of dollars on ways to kill each-other, and a fraction of those resources on ways to heal each other, we're broken.

Author of "A Return to Love" & Spiritual Activist

It's not enough to sit in our ivory towers or offices and think we have to go out and talk to people who are affected by a problem to understand what's going on, on the ground.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

Distrust in government is very dangerous – what follows is the ability for authoritarian and totalitarian forms of government to take control, and that doesn't do anybody, any good.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

We need to shift our thinking about what government does, and what civil servants do, away from this relentless focus on policy and ideology and onto project management and problem solving.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

The danger is that when we jump too quickly to the solution, not only is the floor littered with the inventions that never worked, but we risk designing solutions that never fit the problem.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

The old diplomatic model where only representatives of states have a formal role cannot work in today's world. We need open, democratic platforms that allow everyone to participate – it could be a young activist or a business leader, it could be a scientist or an indigenous leader.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

The ice is neither left nor right, it is neither Republican nor Democrat, it is simply melting. The consequences of the sea ice melting are enormous and will be felt everywhere from Texas to China.

Former President of Iceland (1996-2016)

We've had a collective gap of imagination around economic bridges. We know how to build bridges; we just don't build them.

Dean of Columbia Business School & Economic Policy Advisor

If you eliminate dynamism, you don't have growth for anybody, everyone loses. Rather than just having some people who are disadvantaged, everyone becomes disadvantaged.

Dean of Columbia Business School & Economic Policy Advisor

Politics is not about management – it's about creating a narrative that can inspire and can bring people along in a certain direction.