Ameen Rihani, one of the earliest Arab Americans, devoted his life to bringing the East and the West together. We are not of the East or the West, he wrote. No boundaries exist in our breast: We are free.

Young people - with their dynamism, their energy and their inherent understanding of our interconnected world - have much to teach us. Increased educational attainment, advances in technology and the spread of information have made this generation the best educated, most connected and most informed in history

I observe a lot. I see a lot around me.

I don't see a situation where one side will win militarily, take over Syria, and there will be peace and quiet, a clean victory.

Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope... Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition.

We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough job... It can perhaps be done if you stand united and work with me in putting sustained pressure on the protagonists or the parties to come together and seek a political settlement.

...there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.