And as part of the recovery plan, were making a historic commitment to innovation. The Rec

ely transformed and in a world where actions have global impact, Expos are called to fulfill a new role, which is potentially more powerful than the one in the past. Today, to be effective platforms for education and progress, Expos must inspire and connect the actions of governments and civil society in their common effort to develop and implement sustainable solutions to the universal challenges we all face. Expos build bridges that connect different spheres of society. As such, they help promote ideas and initiatives with new policies, they foster the development of new forms of cooperation and, last but not least, they introduce a degree accountability for the actions of governmental institutions and civil society alike, as we are all called to contribute solutions to our common problems. This is why more recent Expos have elected the theme as their central core and organizing principle.

rs of a new one are just beginning to take shape. Traditional institutions are being challenged. Budgets are being squeezed. Families are being stressed. All of this flux and churning creates enormous anxiety. At times of change, we must stay true to the ideals and principles that are at the heart of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among those core values is tolerance. Our practice of tolerance must mean more than peaceful coexistence, crucial as that is. It must be an active understanding fostered through dialogue and positive engagement with others. This is especially critical in combating the discrimination that causes so much divisiveness, destruction and death. We all have a responsibility to protect those vulnerable to discrimination, whether based on race, religion, nationality, language, gender, sexual orientation or other factors. Practicing tolerance can serve as the antidote to prejudice and hatred.

ot be lost, to the end of his day, by anyone who has ever had it. This is the power of taking delight in a thing, rather than in anything, everything, not as a means to some other end, but just because it is what it is, as the lover dotes on whatever may be traits of the beloved object. A child in the full health of his mind will put his hand flat on the summer turf, feel it and give a little shiver of private glee at the elastic firmness of the globe. He is not thinking how it will do for some game or to feed sheep upon. That would be the way of the wooer whose mind runs on his mistresss money. The childs is sheer affection, the true ecstatic sense of the things inherent characteristics. No matter what the things may be, no matter what they are good or bad for, there they are, each with a thrilling unique look and feel of its own, like a face; the iron astringently cool under its paint, the painted wood familiarly warmer, the cold crumbling enchantingly down in the hands, with its little dry smell of the sun and of hot nettles; each common thing a personality marked by delicious differences.

the day I walked out. I was scared of leaving the protective bubble of this place for places unknown, during uncertain economic times. And I was scared of squandering the incredible gift of my Stanford experience on pursuits that werent commensurate with expectations I, and others, had of me. I was scared of not doing it all, of making irrevocable mistakes. If youre scared today, let me ask you this: What will you do with your fear? Will you let it become a motivator, or an inhibitor? You are the only one who can answer that. But what I can offer as guidance, and reassurance, is a story: the story of one Stanford grads process of stumbling and searching to find a place in the world, oftentimes in the face of her fears.

the thrill of creative effort. The joy, the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men. Recognition of that falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrong doing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

, from the frame. of their nature, to knowledge, as their great Creator, who does nothing in vain, has given them understandings, and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge; I mean, of the characters and conduct of their rulers. Rulers are no more than attorneys, agents, and trustees, for the people; and if the cause, the interest and trust, is insidiously betrayed, or wantonly trifled away, the people have a right to revoke the authority that they themselves have deputed, and to constitute abler and better agents, attorneys, and trustees and the preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest ranks is of more importance to the public than all the property of all the rich men in the country. It is even of more consequence to the rich themselves, and to their posterity. The only question is whether it is a public emolument: and if it is, the rich ought undoubtedly to contribute, in the same proportion as to all other public burdens—that is, in proportion to their wealth, which is secured by public expenses. But none of the means of information are more sacred, or have been cherished with more tenderness and care by the settlers of America, than the press. Care has been taken that the art of printing should be encouraged, and that it should be easy and cheap and safe for any person to communicate his thoughts to the public.

its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away. The lesson of the story, I suggested, was that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him give him something he has always wanted or never had. There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.

hat happiness is, in point of fact, the good, the supreme good, or chief end of man; and this assumption, so far from being discountenanced by the philosophy of Socrates, is involved in that philosophy as one of its most vital principles. Viewed as a matter of fact, we must admit that his own happiness, whatever it may consist in, or whatever may be the means to be employed in the attainment, is the end which each individual has most at heart, and at which he ultimately aims. This is the end after which all men most eagerly strive. Happiness is the goal, which, consciously or unconsciously, we are all struggling to reach. Milton has written two epic poems in which he commemorates our fallen and our restored condition. He has written Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. But the true epic of humanity—the epic which is in a constant course of evolution from the beginning until the end of time, the epic which is daily poured forth from the heart of the whole human race, sometimes in rejoicing paeans, but oftener amid woeful lamentation, tears, and disappointed hopes—what is it but Paradise sought for?

on learning. The most gifted individual on earth has to construct confidence in his gifts from the basis of faith and experience, like anybody else. The tools will differ from one person to the next, but the essential task is the same. Confidence and pose are available to us all according to our abilities and needs—not somebody elses—provided we utilize our gifts and expand them. One of the most rewarding aspects of confidence is that it sits gracefully on every age and level of life on children, men, women, the famous, the obscure, rich, poor, artist, executive, teenagers, the very old. And you can take it with you into old age. There is nothing more inspiring than an old person who maintains his good will, humor, and faith in himself, in others, in the future. Conversely, the root cause of old peoples despair is a feeling of not being wanted, of nothing to contribute, no more to conquer and become.

, but we will try. First of all, a gentleman is not necessarily a man of wealth, or one who wears fine clothes. It is no question of outer circumstances or appearance; it is the inner nature that distinguishes the gentleman. There are men in the humblest walks of life who are natures gentlemen. Without going into complicate analysis, however, we will try to give a general definition. The truest gentleman is the one who in his treatment of others comes nearest to exemplifying the "Golden Rule. " This practically includes all, for upon this rule, all rules of conduct and rules of etiquette, however worldly, are based. Some common conceptions of a gentleman are these; a gentleman is always considerate of the feelings of others; he has tact—he knows how to say and to do the right thing at the right time. He is a gentle man—that is to say he is quiet and refined in manner and speech; he does not unduly assert himself. True strength is not loud and boisterous, but quiet and subdued. The manner of a gentleman is characterized by that essence of good manners—repose.