Wisdom in fragments

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

People find that you don't have to go around managing the maintenance of a building with a tool belt anymore, you can go around with an iPad. You've still got to operate buildings, but our buildings have to be technically oriented as we're challenging them to be greener. So, how do you go from a tool belt to an iPad?

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

People don't have to fear the innovation age as being victims of it. They can actually embrace it by saying 'okay, I've got to have some additional skill sets I can go back to, and maybe truck driving is not going to be the whole thing but maybe it's other mobility things so that I can actually use my background of skillsets to get involved in'.

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

San Francisco is the city of love and compassion, will always be, and will never change that. I know that's a very broad response, but I do think that's what motivates me the most in terms of the vision and feeling I have for the city.

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

As a nation, our brains deceive us into thinking we're going to be safer with a gun when in fact we typically endanger ourselves.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & New York Times Columnist

Even if we end up with better regulations, we'll still have 300 million guns washing around the US, and that's going to be a huge problem for decades, because guns last a long time.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & New York Times Columnist

There are two key advantages of thinking of guns as a public health issue. First of all, it removes some of the emotion from the issue because it's no longer about banning guns, it's no longer about guns being awful things. Secondly it moves the debate to be about evidence; where we can empirically show what works, at what cost.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & New York Times Columnist

When it comes to guns, the trend of covering of mass-shootings leads the public to think the big problem is mass shootings. However, the big problems are suicides, domestic violence, known people, and gangs shooting at each other.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & New York Times Columnist

The recent politicisation of guns, which I think the NRA is partly responsible for, has been incredibly debilitating for the country.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & New York Times Columnist

We all share the same 'planet in space'. When you take the time to think about it, that 'we're all in space' part is pretty compelling. I would argue though that small does not mean insignificant. It is a bit of a contradiction – seeing the beauty of Earth from space and the reality of how small our planet is in the grand scheme of the universe, but at the same time recognizing the significance in how perfectly placed in the universe our planet is to take care of us.

NASA Astronaut & ISS Expedition Crew Member

Art is a universal communicator, it is one of the ways that allows me to engage with audiences that might not otherwise think about what we're doing in space every day that's helping improve life here on Earth. And it's a way to help them consider the view from space and do a little bit of Earthling and Earth appreciation.

NASA Astronaut & ISS Expedition Crew Member