Society

People underestimate their personal probability of encountering negative …it is not so much that individuals believe that negative events will not happen, but rather that these events are relatively unlikely to happen to them.

Former Premier of New Brunswick & Canadian diplomat and businessman

Poverty is a result of history first of all. Mankind was always 'poor' according to our development standards. Growth has been very high in the last two centuries, but only in the west for a while, and now

French Economist, Advisor to Mitterrand & Founder of EBRD

Chinese global trade went down 20% and Chinese exports collapsed by 25%. This had an immediate effect whereby factories along the coast, in the last quarter of 2008 alone, fired between 20-30 million migrant workers.

Founder of Gavekal Research & Investment Strategist

The net result would certainly be worth the effort as now, more than ever, stakeholders in a fragile global economy from central banks to individual consumers need to know that what they are seeing is, in fact, the truth... the whole truth... and nothing but the truth.

Corruption can be seen as denigration of the basic right of people to dignity. It is also a threat to human security and human rights.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Around 66,000 women and girls are violently killed every year. Most of them are victims of 'intentional homicide'. Armed violence, in all its forms and manifestations, is mainly a direct consequence of transnational organised crime.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

We estimate with the World Bank that US$20-40 billion each year is lost in developing countries through corruption. If you add to that $5 billion each year in stolen assets, it clearly shows that corruption is a serious obstacle to the achievement of the millennium development goals.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Corruption destroys societies, hinders development and undermines security. Note what happened in the Middle East and North Africa… corruption was one of the triggers of unrest in these countries. It appears that people are fed-up of corruption, they want change, and they want it now.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

There are a high number of young people who want to set-up businesses, but there is a huge gap between their aspirations/intentions and the actual delivery of setting up a business…. More so with the young than any other age group.

In the same way that business entrepreneurship has transformed industry since the early 1970's, social entrepreneurship can transform the social sector by having people who are willing to take risks and innovate to help address social issues.

The social sector offers this middle-ground where you've got organisations that have a social purpose. They care about the level of service in a real way, but also have the financial disciplines of a for-profit company as they must be sustainable.

Impact investing starts from the other end. It starts with an issue… this could be a problem, a social issue or so on. Impact investors start with an issue and then try to build a viable, sustainable financial model around that.

For businesses to survive, let alone brands, you need a secure and stable base. You need secure economic and social conditions to reduce risk.

Leading brand strategist and founding partner of Interbrand

The Pritzker Prize recognizes not just technical excellence, but architects who have made a significant contribution to humanity through the built environment.

Cities are the future of humanity. How we design them will determine whether we create sustainable, equitable communities or contribute to further environmental and social decay.

Renowned British Architect & Designer of Iconic Modern Buildings

Architecture has the power to democratize space - to create environments where all people, regardless of their background, can participate in civic life.

Renowned British Architect & Designer of Iconic Modern Buildings