Writing in The Guardian, former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, describes with simplicity and clarity how ordinary citizens can help bring about the change we need and encourage our leaders to actually lead on issues from drugs to climate change.
What does the illegal drugs trade have in common with the death toll from the Ebola epidemic? Or our collective failure so far to address climate change (the climate agreement in Paris marks the beginning, not the end, of the road) or the security council’s inability to stop the violence in Syria and Iraq? In each case – as with so many other crises in our world – they have at their heart a lack of political will and a failure of leadership. Narrow, short-term self-interests have overshadowed the understanding of how, in a truly global world, interdependent are our destinies. ...
The expertise, experience and evidence needed to solve ... pressing problems already exists. What holds us back is the lack of leadership that can galvanise the political will needed to deliver solutions. The world is experiencing a crisis of leadership, not a crisis of knowledge.
So how can ordinary citizens help bring about the change we need and encourage our leaders to actually lead? Let me give three clear answers: Vote, make some noise and use your power as a consumer.
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