Wisdom in fragments

The scale of our damage on the animal world is unimaginable. We inflict pain and suffering on wild and domestic animals. We take away their wild lands and habitats, we use them to test our medicines and they're affected by climate change, pollution and many other aspects of our world. We are the master race. We are the creatures who impose our will on virtually everything that lives and breathes. It's deeply shocking when you start to think about the scale of it.

British actress known for "Born Free" and animal welfare advocacy

I started to get concerned about the natural world as a child and there are 2 images that I remember always from my childhood. In London Zoo, I remember the sound of the iron doors that clanged behind us as we went in. And there they were… these wretched creatures, walking up and down their very small caged area. I hated it! I absolutely hated it without knowing why really, at that age. Later in the Kruger, I saw a group of lions, obviously a pride, sitting peacefully and calmly under a tree. And these two contrasting images in a way became symbols for the rest of my life and the way I think about wildlife. One is how not to keep them, and one is how to leave them alone where they should be.

British actress known for "Born Free" and animal welfare advocacy

In our culture, particularly in the last 300-500 years in Western culture, people have become much more ambivalent to ecstatic experiences. The idea of losing control is seen as dangerous and shameful... We're a culture that's very much about individual autonomy, and ecstasy is the opposite of that – it's about surrendering control.

I use the word ecstasy, which people think means being very, very happy- but in Ancient Greek it means ecstatic, which means standing outside. It's a moment where you go beyond your ordinary sense of self and feel connected to something great and new.

Ancient philosophy almost hasn't been bettered as a kind of therapeutic toolbox in 2400 years, and have a certain aesthetic to them which makes you feel part of a long tradition... You're part of a three millennia old tradition of wisdom that thousands and thousands of people have read the same book that you're reading, and found it therapeutic in very dark times.

The Ancient Greeks believed philosophy was a medicine for the soul. Socrates said 'I teach my student how to take care of their souls', which is where the word psychotherapy comes from. Cicero said, 'there's a medical art for the soul, and its name is philosophy'.

Philosophy is embedded in everything. We all have philosophies which form the basis for our motivations and what we do with our days. Everyone has their own philosophy of life; every institution has a philosophy... but for most of us, those philosophies are unexamined and more or less automatic and instinctual.

Our ability to do philosophy is one of the things that distinguishes us from other animals- in some ways, it is that which makes us sapiens, 'wise monkeys'. Only humans seem to have developed this capacity for higher order questioning…. asking 'to what end are we doing this?' – 'why are we doing this at all?'

examines the research behind diversity and discrimination while grounding them in personal narratives, highlighting our common humanity.

UN Secretary-General & Nobel Peace Prize Winner

When you bring communities together to talk- these central themes, and things we have in common, come to the fore. When you break bread together, and you find common ground, before you know it you stop thinking about your differences, or you appreciate them.

British TV Presenter, Diversity Advocate & Commonwealth Games Federation Official

I am in favour of quotas and targets. I think affirmative action works, and we've had affirmative action in the opposite direction for centuries. So sometimes we have to shock the system. We have to do it to normalise things, to get to a tipping point and then let the system just takes care of itself.

British TV Presenter, Diversity Advocate & Commonwealth Games Federation Official

We need to change our hearts and minds, not just our behaviours. Forget even the moral argument, discriminating is such a waste. It is from our diverse cultures and communities that we could find the cure for cancer, where we could find all of the solutions for some of our most pressing problems.

British TV Presenter, Diversity Advocate & Commonwealth Games Federation Official

When you meet somebody who seems unfamiliar, who appears to be different, and for whatever reason you feel uncomfortable with that, a wall goes up, and you behave differently towards them; it impacts your actions.

British TV Presenter, Diversity Advocate & Commonwealth Games Federation Official

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.

Indian Independence Leader & Pioneer of Nonviolent Civil Resistance

our school system is the best performing urban school system in the entire state of California. In less than 5 years. Because of Bennioff and the Sales Force foundation with Circle the Schools and all these other programs.

Mayor of San Francisco (2011-2018) & First Asian-American Mayor

If you're going to be a city of love and compassion, you're going to have to develop economics infrastructure, capital planning and job creation policies, complementing them with education. For those who feel left out, we have to bring them in, and have that conversation with every company, every worker, and fight for them to be part of the more complicated world.

Mayor of San Francisco (2011-2018) & First Asian-American Mayor