It’s been a busy week so I haven’t posted much, but I got so much to tell. First of all I’ll give my credits to a very nice evening at NRGI Arena in Aarhus listening to Kofi Annan and Bill Clinton. The event was well-arranged and the two persons wchich is among the people I respect the most in the entire world, didn’r disappoint. They didn’t surprice eiter, but with an hour each of speaking time, it is difficult to get all around the world.
Kofi was as always nice, polite and I think one ofthe worlds best diplomates. He talkes about his childhood, the way through life and of cause the lastes 10 years of work with the learnings from that. He stated the 6 most important issues in the world to day, talked about the misunderstandings of clashes of civilizations and kept stressing the need to always remember to analyse a situation based on the premises, and ALWAYS to take advice and listen. Told a perfect little story about a black dot on a white paper ith the point, that this paper showed to people all will notice the black dot, but ignore the big white space. So with an overall focus on the importance of understanding context and seeing cultures and not just extremests, he made a good short presentation, with standing ovation.
The Clinton went on stage (after a rather long pause) taking a lot more political stand. This was not about the history of Clinton, but on what this perfect ex-president considered being the worlds most important issues of today. He talked about the problems in an unequal world and how the interdependent world is fantastic, but makes us so much more vulnarable everyday. It’s an unequal, unstable and unsusstainable world we live in and we have to change thing. Being rather green (which I can actually think I can claim) I enjoyed this speech - especially because some (if not all of) Denmarks most important business leaders was present in the room. This Green concerns really seems to approach a tippng point. All the people driving fromthis evening in their big SUVs ought to feel a little bit less proud of their need for a nasty huge car to express their achivements in life..
But this was not the Al Gore speech - is was less coloured, boader perspectives and also copncerned with green not as a expence, but rather a way to keep emplyment high, being more independent and actually achiving great economical benefits of greening our lifes.
Then we had some issues on terror.. I will not go through this but stress that Clinton made a perfect point on the soul of USA that when terror hit NY that terrible day september, it didn’t change the world - it changed our feelings. We started feeling insecure - not because of terror but because now it could be us. As Kofi Annan said earlier; 9/11 was a case where the world though this would change USAs view on USA, but it actually changed USA view of the entire world.
Clinton talked about the human need for belonging - herd instincts and how we do not define ourselves as individuals, but as herds. About how 99,9 % og every human being consist og the same material, but we keep using all our ressouces fighting each other on the last 0,1 %. He wrapped up Kofis black dot by keep telling to focus on similarities and shared values/missions - not on small differences. Only if we work as a herd to change the world we will succeed..
This was what I got out of the speeches - and a perfectly nice evening with lots of nice people…
